a research agenda for the management of intellectual capital

ESRC SCOTTISH DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE INFORMATION SCIENCE PATHWAY TRAINING 2016 12th-13th April 20156- SLIDE 1 Kostagiolas , Lectures

Dr. Petros A. Kostagiolas Assistant Professor of Information Services Management Department of Archives, Library Science and Museology

School of Information Sciences and Informatics Ionian University, Email. [email protected]

ESRC SCOTTISH DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE INFORMATION SCIENCE PATHWAY TRAINING 2016

12th-13th April - Room 5.B.14 – Edinburgh Napier University Sighthill campus

A research agenda for the management of

intellectual capital

Ionian University

mailto:[email protected]�


In composing this talk, I have drawn material from a book I have recently

published on Intellectual Capital Management in Libraries

Kostagiolas, P. (2012) “Managing

Intellectual Capital in Libraries: beyond the balance sheet”, Chandos

Information Professional Series, Oxford, U.K.

Background – Main Source of Presentation

There is NO single way forward… but one can ARGUE that there is a

… CERTAINTY…???????


Lecture Overview

• Concepts & Implications

• Research


Need for Research: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD


Human Intellectual Capital by OECD


Key findings_1 of 2

• Business investment in KBC helps boost growth and productivity. Studies for the European Union and the United States show business investment in KBC contributing 20% to 34% of average labour productivity growth.

• KBC is transforming what makes firms competitive. For instance, in the automotive sector, software is increasingly prominent in the cost of developing new vehicles, with high-end vehicles relying on millions of lines of computer code.

• Countries that invest more in KBC are also more effective in reallocating resources to innovative firms. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), the United States and Sweden invest about twice as much in KBC as Italy and Spain, and patenting firms in the United States and Sweden attract four times as much capital as similar firms in Italy and Spain.


Key Findings_2 of 2

• Firms that are not part of a multinational group of companies – often small and young firms – may be placed at a competitive disadvantage, relative to MNEs, in undertaking and exploiting R&D.

• Across countries, there is a positive correlation between the market value of firms and investment in KBC.

• Corporate financial reports provide limited information on companies’ investments in KBC. This may hinder corporate finance and impair corporate governance.

• A fuller understanding of innovation and growth, and better policy, require better measurement of KBC and common measurement guidelines.

• Growing business investment in KBC amplifies the importance of getting human capital policies right. Human capital is the foundation of KBC: software, for example, is essentially an expression of human expertise translated into code.


“the decision-making mechanisms in libraries and other memory institutions should take into account

the value “hidden” into the intellectual capital resources held by those organizations.”

Intellect capital provides a new source of growth

Intellectual capital can be a source for creativity and innovation ... especially in a period of economic crisis

Departure Hypothesis


• Intellectual capital is fostering innovation and is an important value creator.

• New resources are constantly required since the library business environment is becoming more and more complicated and knowledge based.

• Investments in intellectual capital are either mis-measured or not measured at all.

• Society and Economy is changing rapidly...

Departure Assumptions


Our world is changing… we need a way to move forward…


Resources become scarce… • Global Economic Crisis creates a burning platform for our

socioeconomic structures… we need to learn and move forward!

• We need to depart from status quo… and endorse the process of CHANGE…

• We need new sources for growth: Intellectual Capital

The global economic crisis is changing our

lives and the management of

Information Services!


• The deeper is the economic crisis the fewer are the information services provided; but the demand for such services increases.

• Fiscal crisis dramatically reduces public funding, and reduces the

ability of the private sector to contribute...

• Competition for the scarce tangible resources is increasing.

• Non-for Profit initiatives increasing.

• The sustainability of libraries is judged solely upon economic criteria ... disregarding in many cases the social capital creation and role.

Intellectual Capital versus Economic Crisis


• Prosperity from mid-20th century and until the economic crisis of 2008 … • Expansion of existing libraries • Development of new libraries • Digitization and new library-programs • Number of users increased

• Library Science has been established as a university discipline.

• Over all these years libraries in Greece remained highly dependent upon the state funding and (unfortunately) the BUREAUCRACY INCREASED… • Economic crisis consequences are increasing year after year…

An example: The impact of the economic crisis on libraries in Greece


Intellectual capital management as a novel management philosophy …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jk6clmMycI Jason Clarke - Embracing Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPhM8lxibSU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jk6clmMycI�

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPhM8lxibSU�


The term Intellectual (or Knowledge) Capital has received different interpretations according to the

different academic disciplines, i.e. accounting, economics, law, management etc.

Three terms are widely used: Intangible Assets — in accounting literature, Knowledge Capital — by economists, Intellectual Capital — in management and law.

Equivalent interpretations of Intellectual Capital


An omnibus definition is the “totality of

intangible/knowledge assets/resources held

by an organization that are amassed

over time, not included in the

balance sheet and identified and

analyzed distinctively.”

A definition for Intellectual Capital

Intellectual capital has always been present in libraries ...


Infrastructure, processes and systems of a library that enable the work of the

human capital as well as the organizational philosophy and structure; management

systems and other information systems; patents;

copyrights etc;

Knowledge that remain within the library at the end

of the working day.

Resources linked to the external environment of the

library.

Library networks;

Library’s reputation – goodwill;

User loyalty

Human Capital Organizational Capital Relational Capital

Intellectual Capital Categories

Includes the knowledge, experiences, competencies and

creativity of the staff;

Knowledge that employees take with them when they

leave the library;

It is the knowledge in peoples’ minds, is a totally portable resource and an enormous

capital asset.


18

Categories of Intellectual

Capital

Indicative Intangible Assets/Resources

Human Capital Staff training / education Staff quality / competence / skills / experiences / talents

Attributes Learning culture Innovation culture

Structural or Organization Capital,

Contracts copyrights Digitized collections Access policies Quality and safety systems Accreditation/certifications Branding Knowledge based teams

Staff Information Remote services Repository Archive Systems for network development Website Security

Relational Capital

Relationship with stakeholders Networking and cooperation Participation in innovation networks; Personnel networks Professional Networks

Users’ Trust/ loyalty User training


Intellectual Capital Management (IC Management) is defined as the deployment and management of intellectual capital resources and their transformations (into intellectual

capital resources or into traditional capital resources) to maximize library’s value creation in the eyes of its stakeholders.

Defining Intellectual Capital Management in Libraries


• Users – Society • Other organizations – economy • Employees – Volunteers • Information material/ collections • Partners & competitors • Processes for library operations • Information Services • Information Technologies

Desired “Value(s)” and “Impact” need to be agreed among the stakeholders!

These concepts are often subjective, difficult to measure and often “lie in the eye of the

beholder”!

Inspiration drivers for investing on IC Value & Impact Drivers

http://www.jackson-pollock.org/number-18.jsp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle_with_a_Bust_of_Homer#/media/File:Rembrandt_Harm

ensz._van_Rijn_013.jpg


-2-Measurement

-1- Identification -3- Action

Intellectual Capital investment criteria: • Valuable • Durable • Scarce

• Inimitable • Unsubstitutable

The three steps of IC Management


• Capturing persons’ “talents” and skills for specialized services;

• Information distribution agreements;

• Insurance contracts;

• Service level agreements with suppliers and/or specific groups of users (user and subscription rights;);

• License rights for the protection of intellectual property;

• Branch contracts for services provision “outside” the main library infrastructure.

Examples of Intellectual Capital resources that are expressed through contracts


Valuation versus Measurements and Metrics


Human Capital • Team development • Motivation index • Flexibility index • Experience & training

Structural Capital • Usage of Library Systems & Usage of

WEB 2.0 Services • Value of Library Collection • Leadership index • Flexible practices • General culture of the library

• Management systems (business plans,

quality certification) • Information literacy

24

Indicative Intellectual Capital Metrics for Libraries

Relational Capital Loyalty and trust Agreements/ contracts with external

parties Reputation/ Fame Brand name

ESRC SCOTTISH DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE INFORMATION SCIENCE PATHWAY TRAINING 2016 12th-13th April 20156- SLIDE 25 Kostagiolas , Lectures 25

A Methodology for developing a hierarchy of Intellectual Capital Resources

Research Goal: A hierarchy among the three IC categories in terms of

their contributions in improving library

performance.


Developing a hierarchy of Intellectual Capital Resources in terms of their contributions

ESRC SCOTTISH DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE INFORMATION SCIENCE PATHWAY TRAINING 2016 12th-13th April 20156- SLIDE 27 Kostagiolas , Lectures 27

Developing a reporting model for Intellectual Capital Resources in Libraries


a. How influential is a given intangible resource upon the

library’s ability to create value?

b. What is the level of quality held by the intangible resource as compared to the ideal intangible resource quality?

c. What is the quantity of intangible resources that the library

should acquire, as compared to an ideal situation?

d. How the reliability/ durability of a specific intellectual capital resource can be measured and impact on future

utilization?

IC Management “questions” …!!


• Like every innovative concept, intellectual capital has created dilemmas and uncertainties, since we can only approximate the degree to which we gain advantage from any intellectual capital management activity.

• The prevailing library management paradigms do not appropriately handle the entire significance of knowledge assets/resources as value and impact creators; while professionals must be properly skilled for knowledge capital management techniques.

• Further research results of practical and theoretical nature are required allowing the decision making mechanisms of libraries to identify and manage its core intangible recourses.

Summary – Final Thoughts


Development of IC reporting scheme and an online IC dashboard & resource center


Thank you

[email protected]

“not everything worth knowing can be counted precisely and reduced to a rank, percentage or ratio; many aspects of information service are intangible, and

must be evaluated in other ways” (Hernon & Altman, 2010, 50)

mailto:[email protected]�

a research agenda for the management of intellectual capital

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