A micro intellectual capital knowledge flow model: a critical account of IC inside the classroom
| Pages | 145-162 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691931311289066 |
| Published date | 11 January 2013 |
| Date | 11 January 2013 |
| Author | Gary R. Oliver |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
A micro intellectual capital
knowledge flow model: a critical
account of IC inside the classroom
Gary R. Oliver
Discipline of Accounting, The University of Sydney Business School,
Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the critical approach to management research
(Alvesson and Deetz), to examine intellectual capital (IC) with the twin perspectives of from inside the
classroom and as a bottom-up approach, and, in the process, develop a micro IC model of knowledge
flows.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper presentsa case study, based onthe author’s experience
in applying the concept of micro IC to the classroom and student learning.
Findings – IC is created without the students being formally aware of its extent. The focus moves
from a top-down evaluation of IC stocks such as student academic performance to a bottom-up view of
IC flows in which discipline knowledge is applied and generic attributes such as collaboration,
communication and critical evaluation are exercised with incremental improvement. These are not
normally noticed by the students. However, some skills which do not form part of the university skills
plan are acknowledged by students. These include high engagement in the classroom instead of
passive learning, more confident, flexible communication and persuasion, as well as the ability to
speak unprepared without resorting to reciting from the textbook or lecture slides.
Research limitations/implications – The model for micro IC is based on case study research
which has been conducted longitudinally for three years. The micro IC knowledge flow model has been
developed outside the business environment but with reference to it.
Practical implications – There is scope to compare and apply the insights from the micro IC model
to business performance without requiring an overarching interwoven set of indicators as is required
by approaches such as the balanced scorecard.
Social implications – A micro IC approach provides a bottom-up method for understanding the
often significant benefits of IC that are hidden by a top-down approach.
Originality/value – A micro IC approach has not been previously proposed. The paper both provides
a model drawn from the knowledge literature and then applies it to learning and teaching in
management accounting coursework which uses a team-learning approach.
Keywords Bottom-up, Collaboration, Intellectual capital, Knowledge flows,
Micro intellectual capital, Social learning theory, Team-based learning, Learning
Paper type Research p aper
1. Introduction
Universities are seen as a major contributor to the intellectual capital (IC) of both their
region and their nation (Sanchez and Elena, 2006). Broadly, IC is the collection of
intangibles which “allows an organisation to transfer a collection of material, financial
and human resources into a system capable of creating value for the stakeholders”
(European Commission, 2006, p. 4). This definition recognises that IC is found in all
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol.14 No. 1, 2013
pp. 145-162
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691931311289066
The author thanks the editor of the special issue for his guidance in highlighting the knowledge
flows and information about the relationship with the broader university level of IC analysis.
Grateful acknowledgement is given to the two anonymous reviewers for their carefully
considered reviews.
145
IC inside the
classroom
organisations. Previous studies have advocated that universities include their IC in
their accounting information system (e.g. Co
´rcoles et al., 2011) and focused on the
university as a whole for operational management (Secundo et al., 2010) and external
reporting of IC (Sanchez et al., 2009) as occurs in Austria. This is a top-down approach.
In other words, university central administration defines and controls IC in terms of
macro-accomplishments such as ranking or brand status. Understandably, this does
not consider the value creating activity of teaching which is a core function in most
universities. The objective of this paper is to give a bottom-up account by beginning
with the needs, expectations and experience of students in a particular unit of study
and de-emphasising aggregate outcomes. A micro-IC framework is proposed and
used which can be applied in other higher learning teaching institutions. The
connection between business and teaching is found in the observation from Ichijo and
Nonaka (2007, p. 3) that “The success of a company in the twenty-first century will be
determined by the extent to which its leaders can develop intellectual capital through
knowledge creation and knowledge sharing on a global basis”.
The micro-IC model proposed is the result of applying the “critical” approach to
management research (Alvesson and Deetz, 2000) to IC (Dumay, 2009). While this
paper presents the basis and an example of the framework, it will also undertake
the three tasks of critical approach to research (insight, critique and transformative
redefinition) which produced it and which has been successfully applied in this area
(Oliver and Coyte, 2010). The first task (insight) is that of appreciating the impact of IC
practices on the people and controlling organisation is accomplished by providing
a view from within the organisation. Universities as institutions of higher education are
characterised by a variety of teaching activities which differentially affect developing
IC in students. The second task (critique) examines goals, ideas, ideologies and
discourses the structures that affect students. The goal is one of dominance. The
teaching practices described in this paper are an attempt to promote IC rather than
control or reinforce traditional teaching approaches. The third task (transfor mative
redefinition) is concerned with enabling change and to provide skills for new
approaches. The paper concludes with sugg estions for micro-IC research as well as
the need for classroom methods to evolve to provide IC with the characteristics defined
above that business students will come to value after they have completed their studies
and have to exercise business judgement.
An immediate issue that confronts any micro-IC considerations of IC in the
classroom are the demands from professional groups and business organisations.
This amounts to recruiting “job-ready” candidates. Universities have in the past
resisted some of these pressures on the grounds that the knowledge that students take
with them has a half-life and therefore the task of the university is to provide exposure
and practice in critical thinking (Readings, 1996), moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1981)
and in equipping students to understand the changing nature of society and business
(Bok, 2003). This is a long standing view (e.g. Dewey, 1934; Ramsden, 2003).
Consequently it is difficult to claim that the IC possessed by students is solely
attributable to the knowledge gained from completion of the units of study that
comprise an award. However, a micro-IC view suggests that it is the particular
processes conducted in the classroom which develop IC. In particular, the processes
associated with a critical approach that provide new intellectual experiences,
more complex social interactions which the student cannot resolve in the ways to
which they are accustomed, and the removal of a single correct answer, foster micro-IC.
In this respect, the IC for students differs from IC for business. The commercial
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