Design differences in intellectual capital models for small and medium sized enterprises
PDF (Italiano)

How to Cite

Aureli, S. (2007). Design differences in intellectual capital models for small and medium sized enterprises. Piccola Impresa Small Business, (3). https://doi.org/10.14596/pisb.109
Received 2013-07-21
Accepted 2013-07-21
Published 2007-12-29

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to evaluate the characteristics of Intellectual Capital tools and techniques proposed by international literature in relation to the specifics of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), in order to understand if it is necessary to build a different model for intangibles management in this type of firms. Compared to previous studies, this paper focuses on relational capital or external capital (which is one of intellectual capital’s three main dimensions in Stewart’s model of analysis) because it is a widely shared opinion that in the current competitive arena relationships sustain the survival of SMEs both reducing transaction costs and contributing to knowledge sharing and building. In particular, this paper proposes a more comprehensive concept of relational capital which includes relations with suppliers, partners, competitors, distributors, employees, trade associations, local institutions and the larger community besides traditional customer relationships. Moreover, it emphasizes the central role of the entrepreneur and his family in defining a small firm’s relational capital because of the strong influence of the entrepreneur on the company’s structure, strategy and network.  

https://doi.org/10.14596/pisb.109
PDF (Italiano)

References

Abeysekera I., “The project of intellectual capital disclosure: researching the research”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 1, 2006.

Agency for Trade and Industry, Developing Intellectual Capital Accounts, Experiences from 19 Companies, Ministry of Business and Industry, Copenhagen, 1999.

Ahuja G., “Collaboration networks, structural holes, and innovation: A longitudinal study”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 45, 2000.

Airoldi G., Brunetti G., Coda V., Economia Aziendale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1994.

Aldrich H.E., Dubini P., “Personal and extended networks are central to the entrepreneurial process”, Journal of Business
Venturing, vol. 6, 1991.

Aldrich H.E., Zimmer C., “Entrepreneurship through social networks”, in D.L. Sexton, R.W. Smilor (eds.), The Art & Science of Entrepreneurship, Ballinger Publishing, 1986.

Aldrich H., Auster, E., “Even dwarfs started small: Liabilities of age and size and their strategic implications”, Research in Organizational Behaviour, vol. 8, 1986.

Andersson S., “Internationalization of the Firm from an Entrepreneurial Perspective”, International Studies of Management Organizations, vol. 30, n. 1, 2000.

Andriessen D., “IC valuation and measurement: classifying the state of the art”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 5, n. 2, 2004.

Baker W., “Market networks and corporate behaviour”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 96, 1990.

Barbosa T., Fuller T., “Global business means global personal relationships”, Paper presented at the XIX Rent Conference ‘Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Local Development’,
Napoli, Italy, 2005.

Basu, A., “An Exploration of Entrepreneurial Activity among Asian Small Businesses in Britain”, Small Business Economics, vol. 10, n. 4, 1998.

Becker G., Human capital, National Bureau of Economic Research, Columbia University Press, 1964.

Beretta Zanoni A., Il valore delle risorse immateriali, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2005

Birley S., “The role of networks in the entrepreneurial process”, Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 1, 1985.

Bygåds A.L., Røyrvik E., Gjerde B., “Integrative visualisation and knowledge-enabler value creation. An activity based approach to intellectual capital”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 5, n. 4, 2004.

Bontis N., “There’s a price on your head: managing intellectual capital strategically”, Business Quarterly, Summer, 1996.

Bontis N., “Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models”, Management Decisions, vol. 36, n. 2, 1998.

Bontis, N., “Managing organizational knowledge by diagnosing intellectual capital: framing and advancing the state of the field”, International Journal of Technology Management, vol. 18, n. 5/6/7/8, 1999.

Bontis N., “Assessing knowledge assets: a review of the models used to measure intellectual models”, International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 3, n. 1, 2001.

Bourdieu P., “The forms of capital”, in J.G. Richardson (ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, New York, Greenwood, 1986.

Brunetti G., Corbetta G., “Alcune condizioni per lo sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese italiane”, Economia & Management, n. 5, 1996.

Bruni G., Campedelli B. “La determinazione, il controllo e la rappresentazione del valore delle risorse immateriali nell’economia dell’impresa”, Sinergie, n. 30, 1993.

Bueno E., Salmador M.P., Rodriguez O., “The role of social capital in today’s economy. Empirical evidence and proposal of a new model of intellectual capital”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 5, n. 4, 2004.

Burgman R., Roos G., “The importance of intellectual capital reporting: evidence and implications”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 8, n. 1, 2007.

Butler J.S., Kozmetsky G. (eds.), Immigrant and Minority Entrepreneurship, Praeger, Westport, 2004.

Buttignon F., “Le risorse immateriali: ruolo strategico e problematiche di rilevazione”, Sinergie, n. 30, 1993.

Caddy I., “Orphan Knowledge: the new challenge for knowledge management”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 2, n. 3, 2001.

Castogiovanni, J.T., “Environmental Mugnificence: a theorical assessment”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 16, 1991.

Cavalieri E., “Strutture e dinamiche delle relazioni interaziendali”, Rivista italiana di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale, gennaio-febbraio, 2000.

Chiucchi S., Sistemi di misurazione e reporting del capital intellettuale: criticità e prospettive, Giappichelli, Torino, 2004.

Christopher M., Payne A., Ballantyne D., Relationship Marketing: bringing quality, customer service, and marketing together, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991.

Ciambotti M., I sistemi di controllo nelle joint ventures internazionali, Lint, Trieste, 1995.

CIC, Model for the Measurement and Management of Intellectual Capital: “Intellectus Model”, Centro de Investigación sobre la Sociedad del Conocimiento, Madrid, 2003.

Claessen E., “Strategic use of IC reporting in small and medium-sized IT companies. A progress report from a Nordic project”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 6, n. 4, 2005.

Cohen W.M., Levinthal D.A., “Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 35, n. 1, 1990.

Coleman J.S., “Social capital in the creation of human capital”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 94, 1988.

Confindustria-Doxa (eds), Indagine sulle piccole imprese italiane, Centro Studi Confindustria, 2001.

Corno F., Patrimonio intangibile e governo dell’impresa, Egea, Milano, 1996.

De Jong1 J.P.J., Hulsink W., “Sources of success: Small firms’ use of networks to support the development of innovations”, Paper presented at the XIX Rent Conference ‘Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Local Development’, Napoli, Italy, 2005.

Diefenbach T., “Intangible resources: a categorial system of knowledge and other intangible assets”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 3, 2006.

Dubini P., “Il ruolo dei social network nei processi imprenditoriali”, in A. Lipparini, G. Lorenzoni (a cura di), Imprenditori e imprese. Idee, piani, processi, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2000.

Edvinsson L., “Developing intellectual capital at Skandia”, Long range planning, n. 30, vol. 3, 1997.

Edvinsson L., “Some perspectives on intangibles and intellectual capital 2000”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 1, n. 1, 2000.

Edvinsson L., Malone M.S., Intellectual capital. Realizing your company’s true value by finding the hidden brainpower, New York, Harper Collins, 1997.

Ferrero G. (ed.), Distretti, networks, rapporti interaziendali, Workshop on “I processi innovativi nella piccola impresa”, ASPI/INS-EDIT, Genova, 2001.

Ferraris Franceschi R., L’indagine metodologica in Economia Aziendale, Giuffrè, Milano, 1987.

Fontana F., Caroli M., Economia e gestione delle imprese, Milano, McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Fortezza F., “Importanza ed elementi di criticità del marketing strategico nelle PMI”, Paper presented at the 3rd SIM Annual Congresso ‘Il marketing delle imprese leader di mercato’, Parma, 24-24 novembre 2006.

Fukuyama F., “Social capital, civil society and development”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 22, n. 1, 2001.

Granovetter M., “The strength of weak ties”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 78, 1973.

Green A., Ryan J.J.C.H., “A framework of intangible valuation areas (FIVA). Aligningbusiness strategy and intangible assets”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 6, n. 1, 2005.

Greene P., Brush C., Brown T., “Resource configurations in new ventures: Relationships to owner and company characteristics”, Journal of Small Business Strategy, vol. 8, 1997.

Guatri L., “Il differenziale fantasma: i beni immateriali nella determinazione del reddito e nella valutazione delle imprese”, Finanza, Marketing e Produzione, n. 1, 1989.

Gupta O., Roos G., “Mergers and acquisitions through an intellectual capital perspective”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 2, n. 3, 2001.

Guthrie J., Petty R., Ricceri F., “The voluntary reporting of intellectual capital. Comparing evidence from Hong Kong and Australia”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 2, 2006.

Heng, “Mapping intellectual capital in a small manufacturing enterprise”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 2, n. 1, 2001.

Huggings R., Weir M., “Managing intellectual assets in SMEs”, paper presented at the 2 nd Workshop on Visualizing, Measuring and Managing Intangibles and Intellectual Capital, Maastricht, 25-27 th October, 2006.

Hurwitz J., Lines S., Montgomery B., Schmidt J., “The linkage between management practices, intangible performance and stock returns”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 3, n. 1, 2002.
Ingram P., Roberts P.W., “Friendship among competitors in the Sydney Hotel Industry”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 106, n. 2, 2000.

Itami H., Mobilizing Invisible Assets, Harvard University Press, Boston, MA, 1987.

Johanson U., Mårtensson M., Skoog M., ”Mobilizing change through teh management control of intangibles”, Accounting, Organization and Society, vol. 26, 2001.

Joia L.A., “Measuring intangible corporate assets: linking business strategies with intellectual capital”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 1, n. 1, 2000.

Julien P.A., Andriambeloson E., Ramangalahy C., “Réseaux, signaux faibles et innovation technologique dans les PME du secteur des équipements de transport terrestre”, Paper presented at the VI Congrès international francophone de la PME, HEC Montréal, 2002.

Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P. , “The balanced scorecard: measures that drive performance”, Harvard Business Review, vol. 70, n. 1, 1992.

Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., “Response to S. Voelpel et al. ‘The tyranny of the Balanced Scorecard in the innovation economy’”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 3, 2006.
Kets de Vries M.F.R , Family Business: Human Dilemmas in the Family Firm, International Thomson Business Press. London, 1996.

Kogut B., Zander U., “Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology”, Organization Science, vol. 3, 1992.

Larson A., “Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: A study of the governance of exchange relationships”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 37 n. 1, 1992.

Lazerson M., “A new phoenix: modern putting-out in the Modena knitwear industry”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 40, 1995.

Leliaert P.J.C., Candries W., Tilman R., “Identifying and managing IC: a new classification”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 4, n. 2, 2003.

Lorenzoni G., Lipparini A., "The leveraging of Interfirm Relationships as a Distinctive Organization Capability", Strategic Management Journal, vol.20, n. 4, 1999.

Madsen T. K., Servais P., “The internationalization of born globals: An evolutionary process?”, International Business Review, vol. 6, n. 6, 1997.

Mancino A., Passaro R., Thomas A., “Entrepreneurial profile in backward areas: first results from field research”, Paper presented at the XIX Rent Conference ‘Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Local Development’, Napoli, Italy, 2005.

Marchi L. (ed.), Introduzione all’economia aziendale. Il sistema delle operazioni e le condizioni di equilibrio aziendale, Giappichelli, Torino, 2003 (5° ed.).

Marchini I., Il Governo della Piccola Impresa. Vol. I – Le basi delle conoscenze, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Urbino, 1995.

Marchini I., Il Governo della Piccola Impresa. Vol. II – La gestione strategica, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Urbino, 1995.
Marr B., Gray D., Neely A. , “Why do firms measure their intellectual capital?”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 4, n. 4, 2003.

Marti C., “L’importance des liens faibles dans les enterprises artisanales: l’exemple d’Internet pur le partage et la réutilisation des connaissances”, Revue Internationale PME, vol. 10 , 2006.

Martin de Castro G., López Sàez P., Navas López J.E., "The role
of corporate reputation in developing relational capital", Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 5, n. 4, 2004.

Maskell P., “Social Capital, Innovation and Competitiveness”, in S. Baron, J. Field, T. Schuller (eds.), Social capital: critical perspectives, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Meritum, Guidelines for managing and reporting on intangibles (intellectual capital statemen-ts), Document for Discussion, March, 2001.

McElroy M.W., “Social innovation capital”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 3, n. 1, 2002.

Minguzzi A., Passaro R., “The Network of Relationship between the Economic Environment and the Entrepreneurial Culture in Small Firms”, Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 16, n. 2, 2001.

Morowery D.C., Oxley J.E., Silverman B.S., "Strategic Alliances and Interfirm Knowledge Transfer", Strategic Management Journal, vol. 17, 1996.

Mulholle K., “The Family, Enterprise and Business Strategies”, Work, Employment and Society, vol. 11, n. 4, 1997.

Nahapiet J., Ghoshal S., “Social capital, intellectual capital and the organization advantage”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 23, n. 2, 1998.

Nelson R.R., Winter S.G., An evolutionary theory of economic change, Cambridge, Belknap Press, 1982.

Nordika project, Intellectual capital. Managing and Reporting, Nordic Industrial Fund, October, 2001.

O’Donnel D., O’Regan P., Coates B., Dennedy T., Kerry B., Berkery G., “Human interaction: the critical source of intangible value”, Journal of Intellectual capital, vol. 4, n. 1, 2003.

Onida P., L’azienda. Primi principi di gestione e di organizzazione, Giuffrè, Milano, 1954.

Onida P., Economia d’azienda, Utet, Torino, 1971.

Ordanini A., Servizi alle imprese e vantaggio competitivo, Egea, Milano, 1999.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Business Services: Trends and Issues, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, 1999.

Paoloni M., Demartini P., “Small company financial reporting: users and information needs”, Quaderni di Economia Aziendale, Facoltà di Economia, Università di Urbino, 1998.

Parente R., Creazione e sviluppo dell’impresa innovativa, Giappichelli, 2004.

Pennings J.M., Lee K., van Witteloostuijin A., ”Human capital, social capital and firm dissolution”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 41, n. 4, 1998.

Penrose E., La teoria dell’espansione dell’impresa, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 1973 (original edition of 1959).

Petty R., Guthrie J., “Intellectual Capital literature review: measurement, reporting and management”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 1, n. 2, 2000.

Porter M., “Location, competition and economic development: local clusters in a global economy”, Economic Development Quarterly, vol. 14, n. 1, 2000.

Putnam R.D., “Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital”, Journal of Democracy, vol. 13, 1995.

Quagli A., Introduzione allo studio della conoscenza in Economia Aziendale, Giuffrè, Milano, 1995.

Roos J., Roos G., Dragonetti N., Edvinsson L., Intellectual capital: navigating in the new business landscape, MacMillan, London, 1997.

Rullani E., “Economia delle risorse immateriali: una introduzione”, Sinergie, n. 29, 1992.

Saint-Onge H., “Tacit knowledge: the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital”, Strategy and Leadership, April, 1996.

Salvato C., “Conoscenza e sviluppo. Il ruolo di risorse e competenze nelle strategie imprenditoriali delle piccole e medie imprese”, Liuc Papers, n. 66, Castellana, 1999.

Smedlund A., Toivonen M., “The role of KIBS in the IC development of regional clusters”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 8, n. 1, 2007.

Specht, P.H., “Munificence and carrying capacity of the environment and organizational carrying capacity”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 16, n. 2, 1993.

Stewart T.A., “Brainpower. How intellectual capital is becoming America’s most valuable asset”, Fortune, 3 rd June 1991.

Stewart T.A., “Your company’s most valuable asset: intellectual capital”, Fortune, 3 rd October, 1994.

Stewart T.A., Il capitale intellettuale. La nuova ricchezza, Ponte alle Grazie, 1999 (Intellectual capital. The New Wealth of Organization, Doubleday, New York, 1997).

Sveiby K.E., The new organizational wealth. Managing and measuring knowledge-based assets, Berret-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, 1997.

Sveiby K.E., Annel E., Axelsson S., Emilsson P.M., Karlsson H., Vikstroem C.J., Den Osynliga Balansraekningen, Affaersvaerlden Forlag AB, Stockholm, 1990.

Sveibly K.E., Riesling A., Kunskapsforetaget (The Knowledge Company), Liber, Malmo, 1986.

Sudarsanam S., Sorwar G., Marr B., ”Real options and the impact of intellectual capital on corporate value”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 3, 2006.

Swart J., “Intellectual capital: disentangling an enigmatic concept”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 2, 2006.
The Frame Project Nordic Industrial Fund, How to develop and monitor your company’s intellectual capital. Tools and actions for the competency-based organization, Nordic Industrial Fund, April, 2003.

Varaldo R., Dalli D., Resciniti R., “Marketing-non-marketing all’italiana: virtù, limiti e prospettive”, Paper presented at the Workshop ‘Le tendenze del marketing’, 20-21 gennaio 2006.

Vicari S., “Invisible asset e comportamento incrementale”, Finanza, Marketing e Produzione, n. 1, 1989.

Viedma Marti J.M., “Social Capital Benchmarking System. Profiting from social capital when building network organizations”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 5, n. 3, 2004.

Voelpel S.C., Leibold M., Eckhoff R.A. “The tyranny of the Balanced Scorecard in the innovation economy”, Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 7, n. 1, 2006.
Walker G., Kogut B., Shan W., “Social capital, structural holes and the formation of an industry network”, Organization Studies, vol. 8, 1997.

Webster Jr. F.E., “Il nuovo ruolo del marketing nell'impresa”, in Cozzi G., Ferrero G., Le frontiere del Marketing, Giappichelli, Torino, 1996 (extract from: Webster F.E., “The Changing Role of Marketing in the Corporation”, Journal of Marketing, October, 1992).

Werbner, P., “Renewing an industrial past: British Pakistani entrepreneurship in Manchester”, Migration, vol. 8, 1990.

Wernerfelt B., “A resource-based view of the firm”, Strategic Management Journal, n. 5, 1984.

Zappa G., Le produzioni nell’economia delle imprese. Tomo primo, Giuffrè, Milano, 1956.

Copyright and licensing:  The journal supports the principles contained in the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to scientific literature (2003), reiterated in the Italian CRUI Guidelines on Open Access journals. Copyright Notice: papers made open to the public are published under the CC BY--4.0 license. 

Archiving :  This journal uses the LOCKSS system to create an archiving system, which is distributed between participating libraries and enables them to search through the permanent archives of the journal for the purposes of conservation and restoration. All journal data and publications are also saved and stored directly on the platform