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Intellectual capital (IC) management includes various activities that focus on identifying, measuring, controlling and developing the intangible resources of business. As a concept IC management is still theoretical – the managerial problem is that managers do not know the most appropriate approach for them to operationalise IC management. The purpose of this research is to understand the situation in which a suitable approach to IC management is chosen and factors affecting the choice.

Factors that may affect choosing the approach to IC management are suggested in light of the literature. In addition, three cases in which a suitable approach to IC management is chosen in practice are examined. The main research method used in the cases is action research.

The results may provide support when operationalisation of IC management is relevant. The framework presented can be used as a guideline when deciding how to operationalise IC management in one's own organisation. In addition, three examples are given of how IC management can be initiated and why certain choices have been made. Using the framework researchers can improve their models to take better of account various situations.

This paper provides new knowledge about the situation in which a suitable approach to IC management is selected and the factors affecting the choice. The results contribute to the existing discussion on IC management by diminishing the gap between theory and practice.

This paper seeks to provide an empirical view of the present state of intellectual capital (IC) in Finnish companies. It also examines the relationship between the concepts value of IC and efficiency of IC.

Calculated Intangible Value (CIV), which measures the monetary value of IC, and Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC^TM), which describes how a company's IC adds value to the company, were applied to approximately 20,000 companies per year during the period 2001‐2003 and studied using correlation analysis.

Value and efficiency of IC are described in 11 industries in both SMEs and large companies. The theoretically unclear relationship between the value and efficiency of IC remains vague even after the empirical analysis. Calculating the value of IC in relative terms by dividing the value of a company's IC by the value of its tangible assets was found to be illustrative in comparing different industries.

The measures used are based on financial statement information and their validity is questionable. However, the large set of data examined has a positive effect on the reliability of the study.

The results in this paper highlight the absolute or relative value, and thus importance, of IC for a company, depending on the industry.

The industry level analysis of IC and the implementation of scarcely used CIV measure in a large set of companies enhance the existing knowledge of the measurement of IC. The analysis of the relationship between CIV and VAIC^TM measures has not previously been done.

The paper concerns the research problem of how to analyse the performance of a knowledge society as a whole, and in particular, of how to analyse national intellectual capital. The paper aims to build a conceptual foundation for national intellectual capital performance, and based on this, to construct a multidimensional measurement system for Finland and to investigate its usefulness.

The framework and measurement system of national intellectual capital performance is constructed on the basis of the intellectual capital and knowledge management research literature. The illustration of the measurement system is carried out using empirical data from various institutions.

The paper argues for the strategic, dialogic and societal measurement of national intellectual capital.

There was neither an exact purpose of measurement nor a detailed strategy for the knowledge society to aim at. Because of this, the measurement system serves as an illustrative example that provides a starting point for more in‐depth case studies on national intellectual capital.

This paper is targeted at policymakers and government officials concerned with questions related to national knowledge‐based development. The framework and measurement system constructed can serve as a basis for the strategic measurement of knowledge societies.

The paper shows how to apply the concept of national intellectual capital performance to analyse knowledge society. The approach proposed takes into account the strategic nature of national intellectual capital that has been ignored in earlier studies.

This paper aims to identify the specific problems faced by the Finnish public sector organizations in designing and implementing performance measurement systems (PMS).

An understanding of the problems is obtained by examining three case organizations in practice. In order to support the analysis of the empirical findings, a review of prior literature on the private and public sector PMSs is carried out.

The design and implementation processes in the Finnish public sector organizations differ significantly from the way they are realized in industrial private sector companies. The four underlying reasons for problems in public sector organizations are the following: there are many stakeholders with conflicting needs; the end products and goals are undefined; there is a lack of property ownership and lacking management skills.

By utilizing the results of the study, PMS design and implementation in the public sector can be carried out by taking into account and avoiding the evident pitfalls introduced in the study.

A large portion of the prior research on public sector PMSs consists of surveys and conceptual studies. This paper describes three case studies and reveals new insights into the specific challenges faced by public sector organizations, especially in designing and implementing PMSs.

The purpose of this research is to show how the variety of ways of performing through knowledge and intangible resources exploitation raises the question of how these kind of resources can be coherently and successfully declined into companies' processes and operations, what are the “right”, or appropriate approaches to manage intellectual capital (IC), and how these approaches can disentangle the mechanisms by which those resources contribute to improve companies' organizational performance. In this introduction to the special issue some conceptual interpretations are developed to investigate IC‐based approaches, methods, tools and factors of companies' performance improvement.

The approaches, evidences and insights discussed in this introduction are largely based on the discussion of the topics of the conference “International Forum on Knowledge Assets Dynamics” organized in June 2007 in Matera, Italy. At this conference, leading experts discussed the importance of IC for organizational performance improvement, the IC key‐value drivers of the performance management and measurement, and theoretical concepts of, and practical approaches towards, a high‐performing IC management.

The outcomes of this introduction and of all the contributions to the special issue reflect the current discussion about better operationalization of IC management constructs. This discussion is largely focused on the importance of space for IC management activities, on the main knowledge assets that drive companies' processes improvement, the diversity of the relative relevance of each knowledge asset and the necessity for strategic and managerial decision‐makers to learn to apply general approaches, methodologies and instruments in specific companies. In this context, managing IC was mostly dealt with as a means to reach performance targets.

This introduction as well as all the contributions to the special issue deal with different aspects, which are important in the discussion of needs for a better understanding of the relationships between IC management and companies' performance improvement as well as the approaches, tools, methods and techniques to better disentangle the mechanisms by which knowledge assets, separately or interdependently, contribute to improve companies' organizational performance.

The purpose of this paper is to design and test a model for analyzing organizational performance management (PM) practices.

This study follows the design science approach. Variables affecting the status of PM are reviewed and classified based on existing literature. These variables are analyzed and a compact set of critical variables are chosen to represent PM maturity. Designed model is implemented in practice as a survey receiving 271 responses, and tested by using both quantitative and qualitative approach.

The survey data are utilized in the development of four distinct PM maturity profiles. The empirical results provide understanding on the current PM maturity level and common development targets in Finnish organizations.

External validity of the research is compromised by the context and respondent group. More in-depth qualitative studies could provide more understanding on the causes of presented findings.

The proposed model offers best practices to develop PM and identifies variables crucial to create satisfaction toward PM. The presented profiles also help in evaluating the status of PM in the organization examined.

The originality of the new model relates to its balance between rigor and relevance. In addition, the study is one of the first attempts to widely apply PM maturity models in practice. A distinctive feature of this study is the maturity profiles which are built upon empirical data.

This paper aims to identify what productivity means in the public sector, how it is measured and how it should be measured and improved, according to municipal authorities in managerial positions.

The approach is both theoretical and empirical. The first part is a literature review of research concerning public sector productivity. The second part presents findings of empirical research that is based on interviews and workshops with municipal authorities representing: special healthcare services; basic healthcare and social services, and educational services. The research was carried out in the Päijät‐Häme region, Finland.

According to the results, there is a certain mismatch between perceptions concerning productivity and the potential that lies in this concept as a functional tool in the public sector's development efforts. Public sector productivity cannot be developed and discussed without taking into consideration the issue of effectiveness.

Deeper common understanding concerning productivity and effectiveness and their measurement are likely to facilitate municipal decision making and service processes in individual workplaces as well as within and among different spheres of authority – and thus facilitate mutual learning.

This paper contributes to development and application of productivity and effectiveness thinking in the public sector. It is linked to service excellence, performance measurement and management systems, creativity in process delivery and deployment of improvement techniques in the public sector. It is of interest both to researchers and practitioners.

The paper aims to identify what productivity means in the public sector, how it is measured and how it should be measured and improved, according to municipal authorities in managerial positions.

The approach is both theoretical and empirical. The first part is a literature review of research concerning public sector productivity. The second part presents findings of empirical research that is based on interviews and workshops with municipal authorities representing: special healthcare services; basic healthcare and social services; and educational services. The research has been carried out in the Päijät‐Häme region, Finland.

According to the results, there is a certain mismatch between perceptions concerning productivity and the potential that lies in this concept as a functional tool in the public sector's development efforts. Public sector productivity cannot be developed and discussed without taking into consideration the issue of effectiveness.

Deeper common understanding concerning productivity and effectiveness and their measurement is likely to facilitate municipal decision making and service processes in individual workplaces as well as within and among different spheres of authority – and thus facilitate mutual learning.

The paper contributes to development and application of productivity and effectiveness thinking in the public sector. It is linked to service excellence, performance measurement and management systems, creativity in process delivery and deployment of improvement techniques in the public sector. It is of interest both to researchers and to practitioners.