ALBERT

Notes: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a three-dimensional framework to facilitate future definitions of intellectual capital (IC). The concept of IC is often ill-defined and there is a multitude of different definitions for the construct of IC. The lack of a common platform for dialogue has negative implications for research and practice in the field as it has hinders cross-disciplinary learning. This paper aims to presents a flexible framework in order to make important differences explicit and therefore, if adopted, facilitates the creation of a cohesive body of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach - The paper utilises a systematic review process. This methodology was initially developed in the medical science to produce a replicable, scientific, and transparent analysis of evidence in the literature and has recently been broad into management science. A total of 938 papers were analysed to extract findings. The summary of the review protocol can be found in the Appendix. Findings - Analysing the literature allowed the necessary components of a definition together with a list of possible sub-components to be extracted. Definitions of IC need to be explicit about the: component parts of the construct; role IC will take in an organisation; and disciplinary perspective taken for the discussion. Research limitations/implications - This paper presents the necessary components of a definition of IC. If widely used, it would be able to facilitate cross-disciplinary understanding and hopefully inter-disciplinary research. It is seen as a starting point and open for future extension and development. A systematic review aims to limit bias and random error, however, it is limited by its scope on the basis of the defined research question and therefore delimited by factors outlined in the research protocol. Practical implications - The major implication for practitioners is the understanding that IC can mean very different things for different people. Insights outlined in this paper will enable anyone to understand better the important construct of IC from different perspectives, which in turn should facilitate dialogue and avoid many unnecessary misunderstandings. Originality/value - The paper is a first attempt to present a framework to facilitate future definitions of IC. If used, discussed, and extended in the future, it could present an important corner stone for better cross-disciplinary dialogue and the establishment of a research field of IC.

Notes: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a new and systematic approach towards strategic foresight by combining traditional external scenarios (market-based approach) with internal scenarios (resource-based approach) into a future scorecard, which can be used to describe alternative internal development paths for an organization. Design/methodology/approach - The paper builds on the existing literature as well as on multiple case examples to illustrate the application of the future scorecard. Findings - The findings of this paper are that it is possible to combine the external (market-based) and internal (resource-based) view to create a strategic early warning system. Practical implications - The implications for practitioners are twofold, first, the paper outlines the importance of integrating a future perspective into performance measurement systems, second, it demonstrates the applicability of scenario thinking for the internal resource-based view of the firm. Originality/value - The paper combines thinking of the market-based and the resource-based view of the firm in order to provide a new tool to supplement most static measurement approaches with a tool that monitors the future developments - externally and internally. Scenarios are traditionally used to describe possible alternative future developments in the external environment, which then inform current strategy assessment and future strategy development. However, with a shift in focus away from the market-based paradigm and towards a resource-based view of strategy, scenarios can also be used to describe alternative internal development paths for an organization. These two types of scenarios can then be systematically developed and combined to form a significant element of a strategic early warning system - the future scorecard.

Notes: Business performance measurement (BPM) is a fast evolving and diverse research field which features highly on the agenda of academics and practitioners from functions including general management, accounting, operations research, marketing, and human resources. Utilizing a citation analysis this paper identifies the following challenges for the field of BPM. The balanced scorecard seems to be the most influential and dominant concept in the field. Researchers are encouraged to further test and discuss its theoretical foundation and research methodology. The second challenge is to create a cohesive body of knowledge in the field of BPM.

Notes: Building on the complexities of organizational knowledge creation the paper explores the alignment of knowledge management practices with the epistemological beliefs of individuals or groups in organizations. A pan-European research project investigated individual's philosophy about truth, knowledge and the optimum approach of knowledge creation. These individual viewpoints and requirements are then contrasted with the knowledge management practices implemented in organizations. The results highlight significant misalignment between knowledge management requirements in epistemological terms and individual's perception of organizational knowledge management activities. The paper claims these differences lie at the heart of problems companies experience with extracting value from knowledge management initiatives. The paper suggests ways of identifying and evaluating resource transformations in organizations, in order better to understand and manage knowledge creation to grow the intellectual capital of organizations.

Notes: This paper takes a resource-based view of the R&D process. Based on the literature, we forward a theory that allows us to predict the dynamic interaction and transformation of five key resources, namely human, relational, organizational, monetary, and physical. Utilizing visualization tools allows us to test this theory on various levels in order to draw insights from the data. The output of the analysis improves the strategic understanding of an organization. In particular, it improves the understanding of how intangible resources drive the value creation in an R&D organization. Further analysis of the data allows us to identify resources that are either under utilized or over utilized, which might indicate inefficiencies in the organizational performance.

Notes: The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a management tool that helps to align behavior of all employees to the organization's strategy. Research suggests that about half of large US firms have already adopted the BSC and many more are considering implementation. Organization-wide implementation of a BSC requires IT support and numerous software vendors have taken the opportunity to build software solutions to support a BSC implementation. The problem executives face today is that there are over two-dozen application-providers to choose from, each of them claiming that their solution offers unique and important features. Selecting the wrong solution can undermine the entire BSC development effort and the credibility of the performance management system. This article addresses the issue of BSC software by (1) explaining why organizations might need software to support their implementation and (2) by developing a framework to assist organizations in this important decision process.

Notes: The business world has enthusiastically adopted the idea that knowledge has become the most strategic of corporate assets, the principal basis for competitive advantage. This enthusiasm has not, however, been matched by an understanding of how to operationalize knowledge. It seems we argue that knowledge is important largely because it is a different kind of asset. While this is perplexing and suggests that it is important to understand the strategic significance of the different kinds of organizational knowledge, it also raises operational issues for managers. How are they to identify knowledge assets, and measure them? We offer tentative proposals for a new approach to assets evaluation.

Notes: Intellectual capital is an important value driver in today's organizations. Traditional financial statements do not provide the relevant information for managers or investors to understand how their resources - many of which are intangible - create value in the future. Intellectual capital statements are designed to bridge this gap by providing information about how intellectual resources create future value. Intellectual capital statements can be used as tools to communicate the knowledge-based strategy externally but it can also be used as an internal management tool. In this article we outline the reasons for reporting intellectual capital, introduce the elements of such statements, and present a case example from a Danish mobile phone design company.

Notes: With their most recent publications on the balanced scorecard, Kaplan and Norton have focused on the learning and growth perspective in an attempt to clarify its constituent parts, as they acknowledge that many organizations struggle with what to include in this perspective. For that reason Kaplan and Norton introduce the concept of intangible assets as the content of the learning and growth perspective. They classify intangible assets into human capital, information capital, and organization capital. However, it is believed that this latest attempt to evolve the balanced scorecard might have an adverse effect. This article outlines how Kaplan and Norton failed to acknowledge the large body of literature on intangible assets and, therefore, produced an inconsistent, incomplete, and potentially very confusing classification of intangible assets.

Notes: This paper provides an overview of Fujitsu's sense and response approach towards performance management. It is demonstrated using a case example of call center performance as part of Fujitsu Services. Call centers (or contact centers) are often used as case examples of how not to measure and manage performance. An operational bias towards efficiency measures often fails to provide the customer focus needed and even has dysfunctional consequences. This case study demonstrates how Fujitsu moved away from the efficiency trap, and completely redesigned their performance management system to focus on their customer needs and the intangible drives of value creation. It will highlight the lessons learned, the pitfalls as well as the achievements.