ANP
Measuring the performance of knowledge resources using a value perspective:
integrating BSC and ANP
Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to provide insight into how knowledge resources in R&D organizations can be effectively and separately measured for knowledge sharing and transfer. Knowledge is recognized as a durable strategic resource to obtain sustainable competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes a theoretical framework integrating an analytic network process (ANP) with a balanced scorecard (BSC) to measure the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective. Four indicators and three knowledge value (KV) components including labor value, technology value and utilization value are discussed. The model construction, problem structuring and calculation procedure for measuring the performance of knowledge resources based on ANP and BSC are demonstrated. Findings – Despite a number of models to assess the performance of knowledge resources being proposed, they highlighted a need for separately measuring under value perspective. With the aim of filling this gap, the main finding of the paper is to clarify relevant issues, providing a better framework for assessment of the performance of knowledge resources. Research limitations/implications – To handle the dynamic nature of knowledge, the research should take into account more advanced methods to measure the performance of knowledge resources. Both qualitative and quantitative methods should be utilized in future research. Practical implications – The consequences of measuring the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective may help managers to organize and arrange the separate knowledge resources, improving the knowledge resources exchange between different institutions in R&D organizations. Originality/value – The main contribution of this paper lies in the development of a comprehensive model, which incorporates diversified issues for conducting the performance of knowledge resources under value perspective.
Keywords Balanced scorecard, ANP, BSC, Analytic network process, Knowledge resource, The performance of knowledge resources
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Knowledge is recognized as a durable and sustainable strategic resource that aids in the acquisition and maintenance of competitive advantages (Marr et al., 2004). It is one of the most vital resources for organizational competitiveness (Ahn and Chang, 2004; Hsieh et al., 2009; Witherspoon et al., 2013; van den Berg, 2013), particularly for R&D organizations, which focus on creating and utilizing knowledge to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. R&D organizations increasingly rely on knowledge management to complement and contribute to their own knowledge resources, which can be leveraged for competitive positioning. To gain and sustain competitive advantages in a global economy, R&D organizations need to effectively mobilize and manage their knowledge resources (Liebowitz et al., 2007; Wang and Chang, 2007). It is very important to measure knowledge resources to attain effective knowledge management. Knowledge resource evaluation is a key issue in knowledge management and sharing (Lee et al., 2005; Wong et al., 2014). Without valid and reliable measurement, it becomes very difficult to develop a comprehensive theory of knowledge or knowledge resources. However, the inherently intangible characteristic of knowledge makes its measurement difficult (Ahn and Chang, 2004; Chen et al., 2009). In fact, although significant research exists in areas such as knowledge sharing and knowledge resource measurement (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Wilkins et al., 1997; Dekker and De, 2000; Bontis, 2001; Kreng and Tsai, 2003; Carlucci and Schiuma, 2007; Chen, 2011; Schiuma et al., 2012; Calabrese et al., 2013; Witherspoon et al., 2013; and Wong et al., 2014), little is known about the applied approaches and tools available to assess the value of separate knowledge resources in R&D organizations.
