PurposeThe purpose of this research is to show how the variety of ways of performing through knowledge and intangible resources exploitation raises the question of how these kind of resources can be coherently and successfully declined into companies' processes and operations, what are the “right”, or appropriate approaches to manage intellectual capital (IC), and how these approaches can disentangle the mechanisms by which those resources contribute to improve companies' organizational performance. In this introduction to the special issue some conceptual interpretations are developed to investigate IC‐based approaches, methods, tools and factors of companies' performance improvement.Design/methodology/approachThe approaches, evidences and insights discussed in this introduction are largely based on the discussion of the topics of the conference “International Forum on Knowledge Assets Dynamics” organized in June 2007 in Matera, Italy. At this conference, leading experts discussed the importance of IC for organizational performance improvement, the IC key‐value drivers of the performance management and measurement, and theoretical concepts of, and practical approaches towards, a high‐performing IC management.FindingsThe outcomes of this introduction and of all the contributions to the special issue reflect the current discussion about better operationalization of IC management constructs. This discussion is largely focused on the importance of space for IC management activities, on the main knowledge assets that drive companies' processes improvement, the diversity of the relative relevance of each knowledge asset and the necessity for strategic and managerial decision‐makers to learn to apply general approaches, methodologies and instruments in specific companies. In this context, managing IC was mostly dealt with as a means to reach performance targets.Originality/valueThis introduction as well as all the contributions to the special issue deal with different aspects, which are important in the discussion of needs for a better understanding of the relationships between IC management and companies' performance improvement as well as the approaches, tools, methods and techniques to better disentangle the mechanisms by which knowledge assets, separately or interdependently, contribute to improve companies' organizational performance.

Despite the growing awareness of the importance of researching core strategic resources and capabilities for supporting organisational change, the work that has been done to the date has rarely examined and taken into account the relevance of Intellectual Capital (IC) for the success of a company's strategic turnaround program. Moreover, little attention has been given on what encompasses IC and how it can be conceptualised and interpreted in a change management perspective. Through an extensive review of the literature on IC and along with a case study of the Ducati Motor Holding — one of the leading world brands in the sportive motorcycles manufacturing — this paper aims to bridge this gap first of all by identifying which are the key-knowledge assets involved in a turnaround program, and then focusing on the impact IC has on turnaround actions. Findings highlight important implications both for theory and practice, and reveal interesting relationships that suggest further effort should be placed on the development of a knowledge base-view of company's turnaround and on the analysis of the dynamics that links knowledge assets and successful change management programs.

Purpose – This introduction paper to the special issue on “Managing intellectual capital dimensions for organizational value creation” aims to focus on the relationships between intellectual capital (IC), innovation, performance improvement and competitive advantage in private and public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to review and underline some relevant theoretical pillars and contribute to the ongoing debate on how knowledge assets may impact organizational performance and innovation dynamics. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a deep analysis of the managerial literature addressing the nature, the role and the relevance of the IC dimensions for organizational value creation. The conceptual background sets the foundations for a better understanding of the strategic importance of knowledge-based value drivers for innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. Findings – This paper provides a framework summarizing the key assumptions at the basis of a better understanding the strategic relevance of the knowledge-based value drivers for competitiveness. Originality/value – The value of this paper is the definition of a conceptual framework outlining the relationships between IC management, innovation, performance improvement and value creation capacity.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and the relevance of knowledge‐based capital as a strategic resource and a source of regional innovation capacity. The paper identifies human, relational, structural and social capital as the four main knowledge‐based categories building the knowledge‐based capital of a region. The role of each knowledge‐based category in determining regional innovation capacity is analyzed. Specifically, the authors discuss the relationships among the knowledge‐based categories and a regional innovation capacity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an in‐depth literature review of the knowledge management and regional innovation research stream. The fundamental underlying research questions that have driven the research are: “What are the knowledge‐based capital categories affecting a region's innovation capacity?” and “How do knowledge‐based categories influence regional innovation capacity?”. The paper is conceptual in its nature and aims to delineate a theory‐based framework to drive further empirical research.FindingsThe paper first clarifies the concept of knowledge‐based capital and of regional innovation capacity. These are two key concepts for understanding the role and relevance of the knowledge assets bundles in the creation, development and management of innovation capabilities at regional level. Then the paper explores how knowledge‐based components affect the innovation capacity of a region. This is an issue of great relevance for both theory and practice. From the theory point of view it allows the identification of the main factors characterising the links between knowledge assets and innovation capacity, while from a practical point of view it can provide implications for policy makers for the definition of policies oriented towards the development of regional knowledge asset domains to develop regional innovation capacity.Originality/valueThe paper provides an answer to the need to develop a holistic view of the links between a region's knowledge‐based capital and its innovation capacity. Indeed, most of the studies in the literature have analysed the links between isolated knowledge asset categories and innovation capabilities. The paper, on the basis of a clear definition of knowledge‐based capital and innovation capacity, analyses why regional knowledge foundations make differences in the innovation capacity of regions.

Purpose – Companies coping with global business are called more and more to lead their transformation into intelligent organizations, i.e. organizations able to leverage their intellectual capital to achieve their business objectives and envision new development paths. This paper, assuming that the organizational intellectual capital corresponds to the knowledge assets attributed to a company, aims to discuss the organizational value, the processes, the approaches and the evaluation architectures of the knowledge asset assessment strategies.\ud \ud Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of a literature review, first the sub-processes of the assessment are discussed, highlighting the main features of the assessment of knowledge assets as well as the twofold nature of the knowledge asset assessment, distinguishing between stock and flow perspective of the evaluation. Second, the managerial reasons at the basis of the implementation of measurement systems for disclosing organizational knowledge resources are discussed. Finally, according to a distinction between the assessment approaches and the evaluation architectures, four main knowledge asset assessment strategies are defined.\ud \ud Findings – Despite a number of models to assess intellectual capital being proposed, they highlighted a need for clarification of their strategic focus. With the aim of filling this gap, the main finding of the paper is to clarify relevant issues providing an organic, literature review-based and coherent framework about the knowledge assets assessment strategies.\ud \ud Originality/value – The identification of these strategies not only contributes to advance the theory of knowledge asset assessment, but also provides insights to managers to better define and implement models and approaches for measuring organizational knowledge resources. Especially they support managers in choosing and arranging critical information for defining the most suitable decisions and actions concerning the effective management and development of a company's intellectual capital