Anton Bradburn

Managing and leveraging knowledge for organisational advantage

This paper focuses on two elements of process knowledge that we call sticky and fluid knowledge. Process knowledge, we argue, differs from the more commonly described tacit or explicit knowledge due to its domain specificity. Process knowledge is a potential source of competitive advantage for an organisation and is key to the development of intellectual capital for an organisation. Knowledge management is the operational means of delivering this intellectual capital value. From empirical research conducted, two cases are presented that illustrate process knowledge and its value and exploitation for the development of intellectual capital. The findings emphasise the necessity for a multiplicity of means for process knowledge transfer in order to ensure the widest possible distribution. In particular, in order to ensure that sticky process knowledge is transformed into fluid process knowledge, it is recommended that, communities and face2face discussions supplement knowledge exchanges via electronic networks.

What is the value of intellectual capital

What are the best sources from which to draw evidence about intellectual capital (IC) and its value to organisations? This paper attempts to answer this question looking first to the literature for approaches to valuing intellectual capital, but finding that many methods have limitations. From reviewing the literature, the researchers turned to knowledge management practitioners in an attempt to reveal how organisations value their intellectual capital in practice and found that for the most part (in the organisations studied) that they did not. Drawing on the evidence from interviews with practitioners the paper highlights a gap between the IC accounting models elaborated in the literature and operational practices. The paper concludes that there is an absence of linking mechanisms between knowledge management and intellectual capital and that this may be located in the differences between valuing and measuring and the importance of these two processes to the discrete constituencies involved.

Managing tacit knowledge in knowledge-intensive firms: is there a role for technology?

This chapter looks at two international and multisite management consultancies and contrasts how knowledge management initiatives in two organisations were organised and developed.

Knowledge management practices in some UK service organisations

This paper addresses the relationship between Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital, and identifying and defining the three key components of the latter. The authors introduce the terms sticky and fluid as descriptors to differentiate forms of knowledge within organisations. Case research is analysed through a Scandinavian Intellectual Capital model and conclusions from this synthesis of data indicate different measurement and valuation practices in different economic sectors which may be aligned with differing cultural imperatives.

Knowledge management, learning and trust in e-business operations

It is argued that enterprise knowledge surfaces through organisational learning. Knowledge management is regarded as a critical system through which knowledge from separate core business functions can be integrated in order to create new business models that enable business to be conducted via e-commerce. Trust is identified as a key underpinning condition in enterprise cultures without which knowledge sharing may be constrained. Evidence from ongoing empirical research suggests that some UK enterprises my not yet be leveraging knowledge management effectively in order to become e-businesses.

Knowledge creation and sharing mechanisms: from Heads (of Departments) to Hands (of staff)

This paper discusses the issue of succession planning for the United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education (HE) sector where there is an impending crisis due to the age distribution of staff. This paper illustrates the consequences of knowledge loss with examples taken from other sectors. Intellectual Capital contains sticky knowledge which is identified as context- and process-specific knowledge that is typically difficult to capture and transfer. Sticky knowledge in the HE sector is held by senior and soon-to-retire staff and we describe our research project into means for harvesting this knowledge.