Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an up-to-the-minute literature review of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) to: identify the major themes developed within this research stream; investigate the evolution of the theory; and derive insights to guide future research agendas for the benefit of researchers and ICD users. Design/methodology/approach Research articles from ten relevant journals for the 17-year period between 2000 and 2017 are categorised and analysed in a structured literature review (Massaro et al., 2016) to answer these three research questions. This study adds to a data set established by Guthrie et al. (2012) and presents the results in a consistent and comparable manner across the studies. Findings A lack of significant innovation in the evolution of ICD indicates that this research stream may have been a victim of its own success (Dumay and Guthrie, 2017). Stuck in overview mode, studies continue to fixate on general issues, largely drawing their analysis from the corporate reports of publicly listed companies in Europe. Very few studies examine ICD in the USA and beyond, nor do they drill down to organisational level to examine ICD in practice. Practical implications We academics need to leave our ivory towers and base future research on how organisations, in different contexts, using different languages, harness intangible assets to create value. Without discouraging content analysis from corporate reports, we need to be more innovative in searching for IC from the rich variety of media resources modern corporate communication channels offer, and recognise that, while we are all working towards the same thing, we may not be using the same language to get there. Originality/value Despite extending previous work, this study highlights some of the new insights revealed from ICD research, especially over the last two years. The findings regarding differing use of terminology across continents, a general decline in published research due to lack of interest or new ground to cover, and zero evidence for a “groundswell” of IC disclosures by listed companies should motivate further reading in many researchers.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been increasingly investigated assuming several perspectives. In this scenario, human resources and particularly employees are the most relevant groups of stakeholders playing a key role in all kind of organizations. Thus, this paper aims at investigating the profitable connection between CSR and human resource management (HRM). We investigate which factors determine responsible and sustainable practices in the management of the employees' typology contracts guaranteeing CSR and its principles. The employees' contract typology is recognized as a sustainable key factor in influencing corporate performance. Through an empirical analysis in the football industry, we investigate if the work contracts' average duration by football players affects the performance of their clubs. Our results demonstrate that organizations assuming stabilization and long timing in the employees' contract are going to achieve sustainable performance assuring socially responsible practices and CSR. The awareness of the existence of a correlation between the duration of the contract and the company performance could be exploited by managers of all organizations in identifying the optimal strategy and the effectiveness in the implementation of CSR. Thus, a new sustainable key factor in assuring CSR and HRM is proposed: the employees' contractual horizon/timing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneur in the knowledge transfer (KT) process of a start-up enterprise and the ways that role should change during the development phase to ensure mid-term business survival and growth. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth, qualitative case study of Birra Flea, an Italian Craft Brewery, is presented and analysed using Liyanage et al.’s (2009) framework to identify the key components of the KT process, including relevant knowledge, key actors, transfer steps and the criteria for assessing its effectiveness and success. Findings The entrepreneur played a fundamental and crucial role in the start-up process, acting as a selective and passionate broker for the KT process. As Birra Flea matures and moves into the development phase, the role of the entrepreneur as KT’s champion needs to be integrated and distributed throughout the organisation, with the entrepreneur serving as a performance controller. Research limitations/implications This study enriches the knowledge management literature by applying a framework designed to provide a general description of KT, with some modifications, to a single case study to demonstrate its effectiveness in differentiating types of knowledge and outlining how KT can be configured to support essential business functions in an SME. Practical implications The analysis systematises the KT mechanisms that govern the start-up phase of an award-winning SME, with suggestions for how to manage KT during the development phase. Seldom are practitioners given insight into the mechanics of a successful SME start-up; this analysis serves as a practical guide for those wishing to implement effective KT strategies to emulate Birra Flea’s success. Originality/value The world’s economy thrives on SMEs, yet many fail as start-ups before they even have a chance to reach the development phase, presenting a motivation to study the early stages of SMEs. This study addresses that gap with an in-depth theoretical analysis of successful, effective KT processes in an SME, along with practical implications to enhance the knowledge, experience and skills of the actors that sustain these vital economic enterprises.

No abstract

Purpose: The Internet of Things is the networked connection of people, processes, data and things, which together are able to achieve more relevant and valuable connections than ever before. In this framework, every aspect of economic and social life will be related via sensors and software to an Internet of Things platform, and the resulting data continuously flow into big data at every node. In order to provide a better understanding of this smart infrastructure, the aim of this paper is to investigate the Internet of Things through a revised theory of the topic, examining the period from 1985 to 2015, with the purpose of identifying the new opportunities offered by the Internet of Things to the economic-system and learn how to manage them. Design/methodology/approach: The Internet of Things was analysed by applying a qualitative method with a single method approach to the existing literature. We developed the research by studying national and international literature and, by running four key words (Internet of Things, Energy Internet, Communications Internet and Logistics Internet) through two databases (Google Scholar and EBSCO), we obtained a range of scientific contributions that could complement the literature review. The research sources are of a secondary nature.Originality/value: The Internet of Things can connect everything to everyone in an integrated global network. This network promises efficiency and social and individual benefits by quantifying and monitoring previously measureless qualities. The analysis of the literature review on the Internet of Things is, therefore, a way to fully appreciate the characteristics, opportunities, possible applications, risks and potential issues linked to the topic.Practical implications: Through our theory, our aim is to contribute towards identifying the main features, fields of application and corresponding potential applications for the Internet of Things, offering new ideas for further analysis.