A methodology to assess value creation in communities of innovation
| Date | 20 July 2012 |
| Published date | 20 July 2012 |
| Pages | 305-330 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691931211248882 |
| Author | Michele Grimaldi,Livio Cricelli,Francesco Rogo |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
A methodology to assess
value creation in communities
of innovation
Michele Grimaldi and Livio Cricelli
Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino,
Cassino (FR), Italy, and
Francesco Rogo
Department of Product Policy, Finmeccanica SpA, Rome, Italy
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to assess the capaci tyof communities
of innovation (CoI) to improve the value creation process. The methodology consists of a sequence of
successive steps, which aim at identifying the characteristics, the influence, and the relationships betwee n
the intellectual capital (IC) elements, and finally evaluating their performance.
Design/methodology/approach – The proposed methodology has been defined through the joined
activity of academic researchers, experienced consultants, and community managers and is grounded on
an interview-based approach. The methodology has been implemented into the CoI of Finmeccanica, the
Italian leading company in the industry of high technology for aerospace, defen ce and security.
Findings – The methodology has been shown to be suitable in singling out the factual contribution of
every IC element and its direct and indirect influence on the economic performance of the CoI.
Originality/value – The implementation of the methodology into the CoI of Finmeccanica has
encouragedthe development of a more distributed leadership which has supportedthe dissemination of
new knowledge. The buildingof a sort of “knowledge marketplace” has aimed tofoster a systemic open
innovation by exchanging continuous learning activities from inside and outside the organization and
attracting excellence into the network of CoIs.
Keywords Knowledge management, Intellectual capital, Value creation, Community of innovation,
Assessment, Intellectual capital management
Paper type Research p aper
1. Introduction
The rapid evolution of information and knowledge era has forced fir ms to ground their
value creation primarily on the intangible assets besides the traditional physical assets.
Although physical and financial assets remain important, intellectual capital (IC) has
been identified as one of the most significant key drivers of firm-level performance
(Teece, 1998).
IC and knowledge management theorizations share the same principles (Seleim
and Khalil, 2011) while a similar conceptual foundation binds the resource-based view
(RBV) of the firm, the dynamic capability of the firm, and the knowledge-based view (KBV)
of the firm. In fact, all these three frameworks agree in asserting that the only source of
sustainable competitive advantages depends on the firm’s ability to develop, use, and
benefit from its knowledge and intellect through learning (von Tunzelmann, 1995;
Spender, 1996; Lo
¨o
¨f and Heshmat, 2002). Another factor has shown to be decisive for
the firm’s competition in the global market: the innovation. Particularly, continuous
innovation is able to sustain the competitive edge in the market. The concept is not new
(Schumpeter, 1934) and throughout recent years literature about innovation has been
enriched with several contributions (Galanakis, 2006; Xu et al., 2010). Innovation can be
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol.13 No. 3, 2012
pp. 305-330
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691931211248882
305
Value creation
in CoI
regarded to as a tool of entrepreneurship (Drucker, 1993; Rothwell, 1994), or viewed as
a process or as the outcome of a process (Oslo, 2005; Trott, 2005). The process
perspective of innovation considers innovation as a series of interrelated activities,
where new knowledge is created and used through these activities (Kline and
Rosenberg, 1986). Undoubtedly, only a suitable knowledge management can help
promote knowledge creation and innovation (Chu et al., 2006).
Recently, some organizations have found it advantageous to put into action
particular entities where individuals/employees could generate, share, and utilize
knowledge, both internally and exter nally (McFadzean et al., 2005). Reference is made
to structures as communities of practice (CoPs), X-teams, and commu nities of
innovation (CoIs) (Fuller et al., 2006; Bergman et al., 2004) which constitute the major
building blocks in creating, transferring, and applying organizational knowledge in
order to create value (Dahlander and Wallin, 2006). The organizations in which CoPs
and CoIs are implemented can be labelled as learning organizations. CoPs and CoIs
are organizational forms able to anticipate, react, and lead change, complexity and
uncertainty (Teece, 2007). In a learning organization, value is generated by nurturing
informal relations and encouraging a free, horizontal flow of knowledge across
organizational boundaries by opening new channels of communication and sustaining
propagation of new ideas. A learning organization promotes native open innovation
approach, explores, and exploits knowledge acquired from external sources (competitors,
universities, partners), and retains the best talents. The ability to become a learning
organization is based on four strategic pillars (Cross et al., 2002; Cohen and Prusak,
2001): problem solving, creativity and risky behavior, knowledge sharing, learning from
experience.
In literature, the management and evaluation of IC in CoP and CoI in terms of
their ability to contribute to value creation have been recently analyzed by researchers
and practitioners (Kodama, 2002a; Lemon and Sahota, 2004; Coakes and Smith,
2007; Purani and Satish, 2007). Organizational tools and drivers of innovation of
organizations have determined the proposition of suitable management and
assessment of IC (van de Vrande et al., 2009). Moreover, another aspect, which has
not been sufficiently explored in the assessment of the strategic impact (SI) to the value
creation process, is the necessity of combining qualitative and quantitative methods
and taking into account managers’ opinions besides the specificity of the context
(Binder and Clegg, 2007). Thus, it resulted necessary to provide assessment of how
knowledge is produced and accumulated, how knowledge can be transformed into
innovation and how knowledge assets are added to the firm portfolio of intang ibles
(Zheng et al., 2001).
In the light of these considerations, this research is based on the issue of assessing
and managing the value creation process in CoIs. In particular, this paper aims at
providing an innovative managerial methodology designed and developed to assess
the performance of IC in the value creation process by singling out the real contribution
of IC elements.
The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a literature review about the
main building blocks of the methodology: the organizational model represented by the
CoI; the impact of IC on the value creation process; the difference between a stock and
a flow approach. Section 3 defines and analyses the methodology split into four
non-linear and related steps. Section 4 describes the application of the methodology on
MindSh@re by Finmeccanica, which is an organizational model based on eight CoIs.
Finally, Section 5 highlights and summarizes the application of the methodology.
306
JIC
13,3
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