Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a method for a structured literature review (SLR).\ud An SLR is a method for examining a corpus of scholarly literature, to develop insights, critical\ud reflections, future research paths and research questions. SLRs are common in scientific disciplines\ud dominated by quantitative approaches, but they can be adapted in accounting studies since\ud quantitative and qualitative approaches are commonly accepted.\ud Design/methodology/approach – A literature review, as a piece of academic writing, must have a\ud logical, planned structure. The authors also argue it requires tests based on qualitative and\ud quantitative methods. Therefore, the authors describe ten steps for developing an SLR.\ud Findings – The SLR method is a way that scholars can stand “on the shoulders of giants” and\ud provide insightful and impactful research that is different to the traditional authorship approaches to\ud literature reviews.\ud Research limitations/implications – Traditional literature reviews can have varied results\ud because of a lack of rigour. SLRs use a process that, through a set of rules, potentially offers less bias\ud and more transparency of the execution and measures and techniques of validation and reliability.\ud Practical implications – SLRs provide an approach that can help academics to discover underinvestigated\ud topics and methods, nurturing, therefore, the development of new knowledge areas and\ud research approaches.\ud Originality/value – The paper presents accounting researchers with an opportunity to develop\ud insightful and publishable studies, and also serves as a basis for developing future research agendas in\ud the accounting field. The authors advocate the SLR method especially to higher degree research\ud students and emerging scholars as a way of potentially developing robust and defensible research\ud agendas and questions.\ud Keywords Citation analysis, Validity, Reliability, Structured literature review, Critique,\ud Traditional authorship literature revie

Purpose – This paper aims to review and critique the public sector knowledge management (KM) literature, offers an overview of the state of public sector KM research and outlines a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach – Articles published in KM journals are analyzed using a structured literature review methodology. The paper analyzes 180 papers published within ten journals specializing in the field of KM. Findings – Public sector KM is a research area of growing importance. Findings show that few authors specialize in the field and there are several obstacles to developing a cohesive body of literature. Low levels of international cooperation among authors and international comparisons mean that the literature is fragmented. Some research topics and some geographical areas within the public sector theme are over-analyzed, while others are under-investigated. Additionally, academic researchers should re-think their methodological approach if they wish to make significant contributions to the literature and work toward developing research which impacts practice in conjunction with practitioners. Originality/value – The paper presents a comprehensive structured literature review of the articles published in KM journals. The paper’s findings can offer insights into future research needs.

Purpose – This paper aims to review and critique the knowledge management (KM) literature within\ud small and medium enterprises (SMEs), offers an overview of the state of research and outline a future\ud research agenda.\ud Design/methodology/approach – Papers published in KM journals are analysed using a structured\ud literature review methodology. The paper analyses 89 papers published in ten journals specialising in\ud the field of KM.\ud Findings – KM within SMEs is a research area of growing importance. Findings show that literature on\ud KM in SMEs is fragmented and dominated by unrelated research, with few comparative studies\ud between countries and several countries receiving little attention. Additionally, different definitions of\ud SMEs are used and different kinds of SMEs (e.g. micro, small and medium) are often treated as\ud equivalent, making comparison almost impossible. The results show a failure to address the\ud implications of findings for practitioners and policymakers, which risks relegating the KM research on\ud SMEs to irrelevance.\ud Originality/value – The paper presents a comprehensive structured literature review of the articles\ud published in KM journals. The paper’s findings can offer insights into future research avenues

Despite the great importance attributed to intellectual capital (IC) in the past two decades or so, its measurement and management have remained elusive, mainly because of inappropriate prior models of IC measurement. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to make adjustments to an existing model, the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC), and to present an adjusted‐VAIC model to measure IC. We tested our new model on data from 10 emerging and developed world markets and obtained more consistent results than prior studies. Our results indicate a significant positive relationship between IC and its components (human, innovation and physical capitals) and firm performance. Therefore, the adjusted‐VAIC model can be used with confidence to measure IC. Our study has important implications for both academia and industry concerning the measurement of IC.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a university that uses a collective intelligence approach for managing its intellectual capital (IC). Specifically, the authors investigate how one of Europe’s oldest business schools, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), manages IC through stakeholder engagement to achieve academia’s third mission so contributing to social and economic development. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and Ca’ Foscari University’s strategic plan. Secundo et al.’s (2016) collective intelligence framework is used to analyse the data. Alvesson and Deetz’s (2000, pp. 19-20) critical management tasks – insight, critique and transformative redefinition – are adopted to frame and discuss the results. Findings On the assumption that a university is a collective intelligence system, the findings demonstrate that IC management needs to change to incorporate an ecosystem perspective, reflecting the fourth stage of IC research. The IC management at the university incorporates its core goal (what), the collective involvement of internal and external stakeholders to achieve the goal (who), the motivations behind the achievement of the goal (why) and, finally, the processes activated inside the university (how) and indicators to assess value creation. Research limitations/implications A new perspective for managing IC in universities that adopts a collective intelligence approach is further developed. Contributions to the fourth stage of IC research – IC in an ecosystem – are highlighted that expand the concept of IC value creation beyond universities into wider society. Practical implications Two key consequences of this case study are that more stakeholders have become involved in IC management and that IC management requires critical rethinking, given the universities’ evolving role. Originality/value This paper brings together issues that are usually dealt with in separate domains of the literature: IC management and collective intelligence in the university setting.