Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

José María Viedma Marti
All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> above-mentioned analyses have <strong>the</strong> ultimate purpose <strong>of</strong> discovering, in each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
flowchart steps or phases, <strong>the</strong> new core knowledge and new core technologies that are <strong>the</strong> prime
reason for sustainable competitive advantages.
In <strong>the</strong> same way <strong>the</strong> methodology makes it possible to compare each specific tree (project unit) with
<strong>the</strong> homologous tree <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> best <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> competition, thus facilitating <strong>the</strong> benchmarking <strong>of</strong> fruits (new
products and services), branches (new processes), roots (new core competencies and pr<strong>of</strong>essional
core competencies), and soil fertility (innovation infrastructure). The benchmarking process is shown
in Figures 10 and 11. In both figures <strong>the</strong> benchmarking gap gives <strong>the</strong> necessary information for taking
appropriate corrective action and for learning from past errors.
New Core
capabilities
Our Company Best in class
Results
New Core
competencies
Customer
emerging
needs
Figure 11: The process <strong>of</strong> benchmarking in IICBS
Competitive
business
segment
Customer
emerging
needs
Results
New Core
competencies
New Core
capabilities
Apart from using <strong>the</strong> tree metaphor, <strong>the</strong>re is an alternative explanation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> IICBS methodology and
framework. The IICBS framework can also be articulated in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> eight competitiveness factors
The that are included in <strong>the</strong> following The eight figure eight factors 12: factors framework
Company
innovation
infrastructure
6
New pr<strong>of</strong>essional
core capabilities
Financial
results
Figure 12: The eight-factor framework
7
8
5
New core
capabilities
Factors
1
Emerging
needs
4
New processes
2
Project
Objetives
3
New Products
and services
The eight factor framework that we have already noted is in fact a flexible framework that allows <strong>the</strong>
core capabilities or intellectual capital identification and evaluation within each particular factor. By <strong>the</strong>
same token <strong>the</strong> different components <strong>of</strong> intellectual capital (human capital, structural capital and
relational capital) can be assessed and appraised.
The eight factor framework explains how sustainable competitive advantages are achieved in <strong>the</strong> new
products and new services that come out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> processes and operations. Briefly, <strong>the</strong>y can be
achieved in <strong>the</strong> following way:
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