Functional Concept for a Web‑Based Knowledge Impact and IC Reporting Portal

Abstract

Knowledge and Intellectual Capital (IC) are key resources and crucial fields of investment in today's business organisations and the economy. Problems in strategically and effectively using those resources mainly consist in: (i) how to specify, summarize, visualize the current state of knowledge and IC; (ii) how to comfortably provide access to scattered and ill‑structured information on the current state of knowledge and IC; (iii) how to define, understand, visualize the impact of knowledge on organizational performance and of IC on the economy; (iv) how to assess and evaluate strategies and activities for purposefully intervening in organizations and economies by means of knowledge and IC. To overcome this, the paper presents methods, functionality and tools forming a web‑based infrastructure which provides user‑friendly access to information and understanding of knowledge impacts and IC market at company, sector, national and global levels. This infrastructure basically consists of two sections. The first section enables us to immediately benchmark a company's knowledge management maturity according to specific input data and information, provide tailored feedback and suggest changes in the company's strategy concerning knowledge‑related activities. With this, companies should be motivated to provide their data and support continuous testing, evaluation and improvement of all methods, models, measures and benchmarks following an experimental design. The second section consists of a "World Atlas on Intellectual Capital" comprising world‑wide data on the following constituents of the IC market: demand, supply, equilibrium, investment, need, stock, flow, and returns. With this, the web‑based knowledge impact and IC reporting portal will support decision makers at company and political levels to purposefully intervene on the attitude towards knowledge and IC through guidelines. Consequently, the paper contributes to research and development to measure and with this to develop a better understanding of the impact of knowledge (management) and IC on the delivery of effective business processes and high value services.