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

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Network Management as a way to Manage Intellectual<br />

Capital<br />

Eva Eckenh<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>er<br />

Tomas Bata University, Zlín, Czech Republic<br />

Eva_Eckenh<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>er@hotmail.com<br />

Abstract: In order to meet <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> informati<strong>on</strong> and knowledge demands <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> today’s society, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is a need for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

development <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> intellectual capital and most especially social capital. Intellectual assets are knowledge,<br />

informati<strong>on</strong>, intellectual property and experience, while social capital is embedded in social structures and can be<br />

accessed as well as mobilized in purposive acti<strong>on</strong>s. Social capital is based <strong>on</strong> shared norms, values and trust<br />

which provokes transparency and improves <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> flow <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> informati<strong>on</strong> whiles reducing transacti<strong>on</strong> costs. Social<br />

capital eventually leads to rati<strong>on</strong>alizati<strong>on</strong>; hence, it increases flexibility as well as performance and innovati<strong>on</strong>. As<br />

a result, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re are formal and informal social networks within firms which serve as leverage for sharing<br />

informati<strong>on</strong> and knowledge. Factors <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> influence beside norms and values are <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> social skills <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> employees or<br />

network members, which is called social maturity in holistic management. Social networks are a source <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

intellectual and social capital, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>refore, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is a need for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> development, fostering and c<strong>on</strong>trolling <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

networks within firms to achieve optimum results without losing c<strong>on</strong>trol <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> roles that are played by employees in<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> network. The aim <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> study is to propose a network management model which can be used for managing<br />

social networks within a firm with small additi<strong>on</strong>al expenses in order to achieve optimum effects from intellectual<br />

capital. In this study, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> author combines models <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> network management from literature review and results <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

an exploratory survey <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> nine Austrian experts in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> fields c<strong>on</strong>sulting, politics and management. This approach<br />

was aimed at designing a suitable model for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> management <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> both formal and informal networks within a<br />

company. A suitable network model is that which fulfils <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> criteria <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> practicality in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> development and fostering<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> intellectual capital within a firm. This paper introduces intellectual capital, social capital and fur<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r discusses<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> principles for working with and within social networks. The paper proceeds fur<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r by presenting comm<strong>on</strong><br />

network management and network governance models, after which <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> results <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> expert survey are<br />

explained. The paper c<strong>on</strong>cludes by presenting a practical model based <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>oretical and empirical analysis. This<br />

is followed by a proposal <strong>on</strong> how <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> model can be adapted in firms.<br />

Keywords: intellectual capital, social capital, organisati<strong>on</strong>al networks, cluster, network management<br />

1. Introducti<strong>on</strong><br />

Studies have shown that social capital c<strong>on</strong>tributes to knowledge sharing (Chow and Chan, 2008),<br />

which provides an opportunity for companies to gain value from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir networks. Social Capital is<br />

defined as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> outcomes for individuals from networks with shared norms, values, and understandings<br />

that facilitate co-operati<strong>on</strong> within and am<strong>on</strong>g groups (OECD, 2000). Social capital can be used to<br />

manage intellectual capital. A study by Castells (2000) indicates that, intellectual capital is a need in<br />

this current dispensati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> informati<strong>on</strong> and knowledge society and intellectual assets such as<br />

knowledge, informati<strong>on</strong>, intellectual property and experience are a strategic factor in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> value<br />

creati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a firm (Stewart, 1997; OECD, 2007).<br />

Moreover, this need lies in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> human capital, which is c<strong>on</strong>sidered as a part <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> intellectual capital<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ory. Human capital is described as all <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge, skills, talents and abilities <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> company’s<br />

employee (Edvinss<strong>on</strong> and Mal<strong>on</strong>e, 1997; Kaplan and Nort<strong>on</strong>, 2006). In <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> same c<strong>on</strong>text with<br />

intellectual capital is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>cept <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge management. <strong>Knowledge</strong> management is related to<br />

activities like creati<strong>on</strong>, coordinati<strong>on</strong> and usage <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> knowledge with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> aim <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> turning individual<br />

knowledge into organizati<strong>on</strong>al knowledge. This means that, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> tacit as well as explicit knowledge is<br />

important for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> company. However, nei<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> initiatives <strong>on</strong> knowledge databases or network<br />

systems nor initiatives to provoke knowledge sharing with incentive rewards have been really<br />

satisfactory. Therefore, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> author proposes a focus <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> management <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> social networks for<br />

initiating and pushing knowledge sharing in a company. This proposal emphasizes <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> role informal<br />

networks play as a powerful source <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> collaborati<strong>on</strong> within a company as well as with external<br />

stakeholders. The ad-hoc networks build a huge gateway for informati<strong>on</strong> and knowledge, hence<br />

should be c<strong>on</strong>sidered by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> company. However, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> management <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se networks is problematic<br />

because it is claimed that informal networks cannot be managed directly, but indirectly through <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

establishment <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> formal networks (Bryan et al., 2007).<br />

Clusters, a specific type <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> coherent network (Rosen, 2000) or groups <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> geographically c<strong>on</strong>centrated<br />

firms <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> different sizes, horiz<strong>on</strong>tally and/or vertically linked and operating in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> same line <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> business<br />

(OECD, 2000), occur or are established more <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ten <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se days. This is mainly because <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y are a<br />

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