Relational capital and knowledge transfer in universities
Business Process Management Journal
ISSN: 1463-7154
Article publication date: 4 July 2018
Issue publication date: 8 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of relational capital for the university has grown enormously in recent years. In fact, relational capital allows universities to promote and emphasize the effectiveness of the third mission. The purpose of this paper is to propose a case study involving an Italian university that recently set up a new research observatory, and, thanks to its success, succeeded in enhancing its relational capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted an action research approach to analyze the case study. Consistently, the authors followed the analysis, diagnosis, and intervention phases. First, the authors focused on the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the process through which the university created relational capital, and finally, the authors proposed solutions to improve the process.
Findings
This case study shows that the creation of relation capital for the host university was the result of a process of transfer and transformation of the individual relationships of the observatory’s promoters.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to filling a significant gap in the literature on relational capital and universities and provides useful insights into how these organizations can encourage its creation. It also allows scholars, managers, and politicians involved in higher education to gain a greater understanding of this relevant topic.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
F.M. Cesaroni, P. Demartini and P. Paoloni equally contributed to this work. The authors were listed in alphabetical order.
Citation
Paoloni, P., Cesaroni, F.M. and Demartini, P. (2019), "Relational capital and knowledge transfer in universities", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 185-201. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-06-2017-0155
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited