Search results

The paper seeks to develop a business model that shows the impact of operational knowledge assets on intellectual capital (IC) components and business performance and use the model to show how knowledge assets can be prioritized in driving resource allocation decisions.

Quantitative data were collected from 84 high‐tech federal contractors in the Washington DC metro area. Respondents in the target population were middle‐level and operations managers of business sectors holding positions as presidents, vice‐presidents, directors, engineering managers, operations managers, and analysts. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis was performed to develop a structural model between operational knowledge assets and IC components that maximizes explained variance for business performance. Operational assets were specified as formative constructs and IC and business performance were specified as reflective constructs.

A parsimonious conceptually sound model with significant measured variables and path coefficients was developed that explains almost 40 percent of the variance in business performance. The model shows both the interrelationships between the IC components that drive performance and the operational assets as levers for each IC component, respectively.

The scope of the study was focused on the high‐tech federal contractors in the USA. However, the model can be applied and tested in different industry sectors. This would provide evidence of the different operational knowledge assets used as levers in different industry sectors.

Senior executives and chief financial officers in particular are constantly challenged with making the optimum investment decisions given their budget constraints. The model offers a tool for developing and evaluating different resource allocation decisions based on an organization's strategic intent. In addition, the model can be useful in evaluating merger and acquisition decisions. In evaluating target companies the model can be used to identify the core capabilities or competency areas that the target company is leveraging and assess the impact or integration potential for the acquiring company.

This is the first study in the field of IC that has adopted the use of formative indicators in specifying operational knowledge asset constructs. Previous research has focused on developing models with the use of proxy measures as reflective indicators. Therefore the emphasis so far has been on scale development. The use of formative items in this study fills both the business need and theory gap to understand better the causal relationships that exist between work and knowledge assets.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new multidisciplinary knowledge management (KM) model for the service sector and to explore its applicability through pilot test research.

Construction and testing of a knowledge-based strategic model for the service industry (maturity level of knowledge usage in service organizations model – MAKUSO model). A questionnaire addressed to senior managers was developed using variables grouped into four KM constructs relating to: human and market capital, processes that facilitate KM and antecedents that contribute toward creating a total and unique service experience.

The Spearman rank order correlations results confirmed the positive effects of leveraged knowledge assets, such as human and market capital, on company performance. The outcome of a principal component analysis indicated that KM needs to be considered at a strategic level to develop processes that encourage a knowledge-based strategy approach; thus the MAKUSO model was found to be a useful framework in support of this approach.

The research was limited by its exploratory nature. Use of random sampling right across the board was restrictive as was the small sample size.

Effective use of knowledge assets creates the supportive context that enables service managers to develop unique capabilities. This context becomes conducive to service experience authenticity and thus increases customer satisfaction. The findings imply that social networking is a key driver for the effective leveraging of knowledge assets. What appears to be more important is the generation and sharing of new knowledge and less the identification, measurement and warehousing of knowledge already owned by the company. Effective KM is facilitated by “lessons learned”, especially when these are taken into account in planning.

The model presented in this study addresses theoretical and empirical gaps in the area of services KM. Its novelty lies in its multidisciplinary and organic approach. The survey findings of the model’s application across a range of service companies provides useful insights on KM implications and raises valuable research questions for a future research agenda in services management.

Besides applying knowledge in own products and services, firms increasingly exploit their knowledge assets externally, e.g. by means of licensing out technology. The aim of this paper is to help firms achieve strategic fit in the keep‐or‐sell issue, which results from potential external knowledge exploitation.

The keep‐or‐sell decision refers to the issue whether to commercialize knowledge assets externally in addition to exploiting them inside the organization. Because of the high opportunities and risks of externally leveraging knowledge, the keep‐or‐sell decision constitutes a major area of conflict between strategies at different levels, particularly knowledge vs product strategies, corporate vs business unit strategies and R&D vs marketing strategies. After detailing the keep‐or‐sell decision, the paper conceptually explores how firms may respond to potential conflicts in the keep‐or‐sell decision by achieving strategic fit.

The paper identifies, in particular, three major characteristics of a firm's strategic approach, i.e. coordination, centralization, and collaboration, which may help firms achieve strategic fit in the keep‐or‐sell issue.

The keep‐or‐sell decision is a unique arena for studying hierarchical strategies and strategic fit. As a result, this paper has major implications for research into strategic fit, hierarchical strategies, knowledge management and open innovation. Achieving fit across a firm's different strategies in the keep‐or‐sell issue is essential for firm performance in a knowledge‐based economy.

The paper seeks to develop a list of operational knowledge assets as antecedents to a validated common taxonomy of intangible strategic value drivers.

Qualitative data from focus groups was collected to validate a theory‐based list. The list contains the value generation activities (i.e. performance focus areas) and their respective critical success factors emerging from the interaction of eight validated intangible value drivers. Two primary questions were addressed at the focus groups: What performance focus areas does the organization need to focus on?; and What knowledge do employees need to leverage within each focus area? Data were analyzed using template analysis. Structural equation modeling using PLS was performed to develop a theory about the impact of the list of operational knowledge assets on intellectual capital and business performance measures.

A validated list of knowledge assets called the list of operational knowledge assets (LOKA) was developed comprising 31 categories (i.e. critical success factors) grouped into seven value generating activities (i.e. performance focus areas). The thematic dimensions of each category surface internal views of a business that define the strategic and operational value drivers that are aligned with organizational performance.

The list is not an exhaustive one but rather a template that can be adapted based on the industry investigated. The scope of the study was focused on the high‐tech federal contractors in the USA. Therefore the results and related models of this study are generic in nature. Future research could focus applying the study on different environments (i.e. organizational, cultural, type of knowledge workers) and compare results.

The paper could improve managers' understanding of the human capital drivers on performance and thus facilitate better resource allocation on human capital management practices, technology investments, process improvements and business intelligence functions.

The list of operational knowledge assets presents a first attempt in addressing the lack of understanding of the knowledge assets that managers need to leverage at the lowest level of operational granularity.

Knowledge assets and performance improvement have recently emerged as important and interacting research areas in company business management. The purpose of this research is to highlight the role and relevance of knowledge assets as critical factors for improving the performances of a new product development (NPD) process.

Interpreting the NPD as a knowledge‐based process, the paper presents three case studies which provide empirical evidence of the impact on performance of the assessment and management of the knowledge assets at the basis of NPD process.

The outcomes of the research is a set of managerial implications, useful in order to drive managers towards the design and implementation of knowledge assets management initiatives aimed to support the improvement of the NPD performances.

Through an integration of the results of the inductive research, based on multiple case studies, with the main findings taken from a literature review, the paper addresses managerial implications for improving NPD process performances by developing knowledge asset value drivers.

The purpose of this paper is to show that separate sources of knowledge are identified, described and clearly defined as organizational intangible knowledge assets. These knowledge assets are referred to as knowledge capabilities (KCs). knowledge management (KM) is utilized to leverage these assets with a view to systematic improvement in the process of achieving increased firm performance.

In this paper knowledge capabilities are described in terms of their knowledge life cycle, tacit/implicit/explicit nature of knowledge, technology and organizational processes that encompass a firm's human capital identified as knowledge workers.

The paper finds that five knowledge capability are presented and described as expertise, lessons learned, policies and procedures, data and knowledge documents.

The paper shows that knowledge assets can be measured and improved in order to investigate causal relationships with identified measures of performance.

The paper shows that by explicitly describing these knowledge assets, the KM activities within organizations can more effectively leverage knowledge and improve performance.

The paper sees that by drawing from both resource based and organizational learning literature, a knowledge management framework is presented to describe distinctly separate sources of knowledge within organizations. These knowledge sources are constructed as knowledge capabilities that can allow the assessment of organizational knowledge assets.

Two main approaches to knowledge management (KM) have been followed by early adopters of the principle: the process‐centred approach, that mainly treats KM as a social communication process; and the product‐centred approach, that focuses on knowledge artefacts, their creation, storage and reuse in computer‐based corporate memories. This distinction is evident not only in KM implementations in companies, but also in supporting methodologies and tools. This paper presents the Know‐Net solution that aims to innovatively fuse the process‐centred approach with the product‐centred approach by developing a knowledge asset‐centric design. The Know‐Net solution includes a theoretical framework, a corporate transformation and measurement method and a software tool.

The importance of knowledge-based assets and the capability to leverage them has been the subject of scholarly interest in entrepreneurial orientation literature. The authors attempt to understand the dominant themes in the prior literature and propose directions for future research.

The authors performed a systematic review of 79 studies to answer the research questions: (1) What are the predominant themes in the literature on the role of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial orientation? (2) What are the potential fields of future research?

The findings suggest that current research engages the topics of intellectual capital, the capability to leverage knowledge assets and entrepreneurial orientation. The thematic analysis reveals the role of knowledge management, organizational learning, intellectual capital and absorptive capacity in entrepreneurial firms. The authors propose a theoretical model to explain how intellectual capital and its management influence firm-level entrepreneurial behavior.

Understanding the association between intellectual capital and the capability to leverage knowledge assets is crucial in a dynamic business environment. Effective deployment of knowledge is vital while searching for new entrepreneurial opportunities.

The Know‐Net knowledge management solution, that includes a theoretical framework, a consulting method and a software tool, is based on a knowledge asset‐centric design that innovatively fuses the process or human approach with the product or content approach of knowledge management. This paper describes how Know‐Net was applied in four companies of the software sector. It outlines how specific business areas such as an R&D unit, the bid management process and collaboration between geographically‐dispersed teams can benefit from knowledge management. It outlines the role specific Know‐Net components played within the transformation of existing business processes and structures, and provides key recommendations based on this experience.

This paper aims to tie together insights from the body of research on knowledge management (KM) and management accounting control systems to propose a conceptual model in which performance measurement systems (PMS) can play a role in translating knowledge resources into enhanced performance.

The underlying assumption of the “fit-as-mediation” approach signifies that knowledge features can play a role in the determination of the structure and implementation of particular managerial processes and this, in turn, may support information processing and lead to desirable results within organizations.

Synthesizing theory from performance measurement and the knowledge-based view of the firm, the paper’s analysis and discussions elucidate how the implementation of an overarching PMS, i.e. diversity of measurement, could translate the knowledge-related factors, i.e. knowledge resources and knowledge process capabilities, into enhanced performance. In particular, the proposed model shows that a comprehensive PMS plays an intervening role between KM and organizational performance.

The proposed model may inspire a new research agenda to show how knowledge initiatives are managed and measured in organizations and how they are properly aligned with specific managerial processes to deliver real value.

Drawing upon the conceptualized associations among KM, PMS and organizational performance, this paper recommends some practical guidelines by highlighting the importance of PMS whereby organizations may reap maximum benefit from their KM initiatives.

This paper sheds new light on the links between KM and organizational performance, and it appears to be the first study to propose an intervening effect of PMS between KM and organizational performance.