Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Germany – Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy
Kai Mertins, Sven Wuscher and Markus Will
Fraunh<strong>of</strong>er IPK, Berlin, Germany
Kai.mertins@ipk.fraunh<strong>of</strong>er.de
sven.wuscher@ipk.fraunh<strong>of</strong>er.de
markus.will@ipk.fraunh<strong>of</strong>er.de
Abstract: Due to changes in <strong>the</strong> value creation processes <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> Intellectual Capital (IC) is <strong>of</strong>
increasing importance for <strong>the</strong> industrialised nations. Previous research has indicated that material resources are
less important than intangible assets. We confirm that this is true and that it applies in particular to small and
medium-sized enterprises (SME). SMEs are <strong>the</strong> backbone <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German economy and <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> target
group for IC management. Unlike large scale enterprises, SMEs are incapable <strong>of</strong> facing <strong>the</strong> increasing cost
pressure by volume growth or relocation due to <strong>the</strong>ir specific characteristics. Against this background, <strong>the</strong>
purpose <strong>of</strong> this paper is to assess and describe Germany as a knowledge site. The paper shows <strong>the</strong> stage <strong>of</strong>
development <strong>of</strong> German enterprises on <strong>the</strong> way to a knowledge-based economy from a practitioner’s
perspective. The results <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> analysis are used to derive recommendations for <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> Intellectual
Capital. For this purpose, <strong>the</strong> research group “Arbeitskreis Wissensbilanz” has undertaken an empirical study.
The data for <strong>the</strong> survey was collected in <strong>the</strong> time period <strong>of</strong> July 2009 and August 2010 under <strong>the</strong> supervision <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> Fraunh<strong>of</strong>er Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) within <strong>the</strong> initiative “Wissensbilanz-
Made in Germany”. The initiative is funded by The Federal Ministry <strong>of</strong> Economics and Technology <strong>of</strong> germany
(BMWi). In <strong>the</strong> course <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> empirical study more than 2300 managers and decision makers <strong>of</strong> German
enterprises <strong>of</strong> various sizes in various branches were questioned. They were asked to which degree different
factors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Intellectual Capital influence <strong>the</strong>ir business success and how well <strong>the</strong>se different factors are
developed in <strong>the</strong>ir enterprise from <strong>the</strong>ir point <strong>of</strong> view. The most important factors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> IC <strong>of</strong> German enterprises
were identified for different sub-groups <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sample, e.g. enterprises <strong>of</strong> different size, from different sectors etc.
The sub-groups were compared and significant differences were analysed.
Keywords: Intellectual capital, intellectual capital statement, ic management, intangible assets, knowledge
society, sme
1. Introduction
Due to changes in <strong>the</strong> value creation processes <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> Intellectual Capital is <strong>of</strong>
increasing importance for <strong>the</strong> industrialised nations. The transition from <strong>the</strong> industrialised economy to
<strong>the</strong> knowledge-based economy manifests itself in two general trends: On <strong>the</strong> one hand, <strong>the</strong>
automation <strong>of</strong> classic industrial processes and/or <strong>the</strong>ir relocation to low-income countries. On <strong>the</strong>
o<strong>the</strong>r hand, changes <strong>of</strong> services and products with <strong>the</strong> aim to outweigh <strong>the</strong> advantages <strong>of</strong> German
locations with expensive though highly qualified personnel. This development particularly applies to
small and medium-sized enterprises which, unlike large-scale enterprises, are incapable <strong>of</strong> facing
increasing cost pressure by volume growth and <strong>the</strong>reby economies <strong>of</strong> scale or relocation to more
favourable locations.
Obvious potential for improvement like automation and rationalisation have been exhausted by most
enterprises. Additional improvement can in most cases only be achieved through <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong>
intangible success factors such as employees, team work, knowledge structures as well as
relationships to customers, suppliers and cooperation partners. As a result, <strong>the</strong> demand for
instruments to manage intangible assets is strongly increasing (Horváth 2004). In this context <strong>the</strong> IC
depicts all intangible factors that are essential for business operations and <strong>the</strong>ir network.
The purpose <strong>of</strong> this paper is to asses and describe Germany as a knowledge site and <strong>the</strong>
development <strong>of</strong> German enterprises on <strong>the</strong> way to <strong>the</strong> knowledge-based economy from a
practitioner’s perspective. The results presented here contribute to <strong>the</strong> scientific debate by delivering
answers to <strong>the</strong> following questions:
Where do German enterprises stand on <strong>the</strong> way to <strong>the</strong> knowledge based economy?
Which intangible resources are crucial to knowledge-based corporate management?
How do small and large enterprises, enterprises operated by owners and operated by managers,
service and production enterprises differ in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir strategies to streng<strong>the</strong>n knowledgebased
competitive advantages?
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