The evaluation of core competencies in networks: the network competence report
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model to disclose, report, and manage intellectual capital (IC) in a network of companies. To this end, it provides a monetary evaluation of core competencies (CCs), which may be defined as a bundle of various types of intangibles, aggregating their value into a network statement, called a network competence report (NCR).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises the interventionist approach. The intervention was conducted by the authors and studied through joint reflections on documentation from meetings and individual, semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The NCR makes IC more transparent, thereby allowing companies and network managers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of CCs with a consequent potential insight into their potential earnings.
Research limitations/implications
This method is labour-intensive, especially in its first application, and the data collection requires considerable company involvement. The interventionist approach may have influenced the empirical results, which may be affected by subjectivity. As the paper involves a single network, care should be taken in generalising its empirical evidence.
Practical implications
In making IC management more effective, the NCR is valuable for academics, management, political authorities and, more generally, for a network’s stakeholders. The NCR is a tool for internal and external communication purposes, creating the conditions to mobilise IC. The proposed model supports the diagnosis of networks by providing CC maps and assessments relevant to their governance and competitiveness. The NCR depicts company and network CCs, allowing intertemporal comparisons that facilitate understanding of the effectiveness of the network’s actions and the importance of belonging to it.
Originality/value
This paper represents a first attempt to evaluate, in monetary terms, CCs in a network. Its value lies in its practical implications. Moreover, the paper investigates IC in applied terms, contributing to reducing the gap between theory and practice.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding for this work was provided by the Liguria Region, which financed two research grants needed to develop the project. Several individuals have contributed to the development of this paper. The authors acknowledge the Distretto Ligure delle Tecnologie Marine and the companies involved in the investigation; the experts supporting the validation of the monetary evaluations of the CC; the reviewers and the auditors of the VI Financial Reporting Workshop in Grenoble (France); the tenth Interdisciplinary Workshop on Intangibles, IC and Extra-financial Information Conference in Ferrara (Italy); the research perspectives in Performance Management Conference in Pisa (Italy); the V Financial Reporting Workshop in Verona (Italy); and the XVII Workshop en Contabilidad y control de Gestión, Memorial Raymond Konopka, in Burgos (Spain). In particular, the authors are indebted to Alberto Quagli for his guidance during this work, and to Baruch Lev, Stefano Zambon, and Petri Suomala for their advice on the earlier drafts of this paper.
Citation
Francioli, F. and Albanese, M. (2017), "The evaluation of core competencies in networks: the network competence report", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 189-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-01-2016-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited