Abstract: Intellectual capital which is based on the core connotation of knowledge has proved to be a key driving factor in present economic growth and corporate value creation. However, due to the absence of the logic clue formed endogenously in intellectual capital, the present theoretical explanations about value creation driven by intellectual capital are not clear. This paper believes that starting from the principle of value creation realized by the means of roundabout production, through the analysis of the capital essence that the advanced capital (monetary capital) and capital goods are unified in the roundabout production means, the formation and evolution route of intellectual capital and the internal mechanism of value creation could be found. With the dynamic formation of knowledge, intellectual capital has progressively evolved into such forms as human capital, organizational capital, social capital, relationship capital and so on, thus value creation has been gradually expanded.

Key words: roundabout production; capital; intellectual capital; value creation