Exploring the effects of human capital loss on relationships with clients in knowledge-intensive service firms and the moderating effect of knowledge management

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishant Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

An Application of Knowledge Management and Human Capital Valuation

2016 ◽  
pp. 201-233
Author(s):  
Sarah Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Credit Unions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Credit Union ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of Knowledge Management (KM) and Human Capital Valuation (HCV) as it is applied in credit unions. Knowledge has been recognized as one of the most important assets, which if appropriately managed, provides a foundation for creating core competencies and competitive advantages for organizations. KM applications and strategies have become critical and significant in the credit union industry, as they operate in a highly competitive and knowledge-intensive financial marketplace. A few factors depict the level of KM maturity within an organization, the priority of implementation, and the availability and affordability of resources. HCV is the balance sheet metric from a development of systems and infrastructure, which can tie metrics of employee behavior of value offering back to the member owners (stakeholders). The case studies described in this chapter are based on the business experience of the author, a credit union CEO of 12 years and a business consultant to the Midwest-region of the United States, in the credit union industry for 6 years. A KM audit and an HCV were conducted in a mid-sized credit union. The appreciation of KM and HCV are developing in the credit union industry; however, it is found that organizations have not been able to capitalize on the expected benefits and leverage their performances with KM solutions and HC Strategies, unless it is priority and a planned event. This is a developing industry with signs of future improvement. There are examples siting various Midwest credit unions, where KM applications and HC Strategies are evident at various stages with opportunities for intellectual growth and learning.

CRM dimensions and performance of SMEs in Yemen: the moderating role of human capital

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nagwan Abdulwahab AlQershi ◽  
Sany Sanuri Mohd Mokhtar ◽  
Zakaria Bin Abas
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Customer Focus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Key Customer

PurposeThis paper examines the interaction of human capital and CRM on the performance of SMEs in Yemen.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a quantitative approach in investigating the interacting effect of human capital on the relationship between CRM and SMEs' performance in Yemen. The PLS-SEM analysis was performed to test the hypotheses.FindingsIt was observed that key customer focus, technology-based CRM and CRM knowledge management were effective drivers of SME performance, but not CRM organization tools. It was also ascertained that human capital has no moderating effect on the key customer focus and knowledge management relationships with performance, although it does moderate the relationships between performance and CRM organization and technology-based CRM respectively.Research limitations/implicationsBecause this study is limited to manufacturing SMEs in Yemen, the results cannot be generalized to other types of industry such as services, whose structure and vision differ from those of manufacturing SMEs. While the current results may be appropriate for SMEs in other developing countries, the researcher believes they are unsuitable for SMEs in advanced economies with different financial structures and employee and management cultures.Practical implicationsThe empirical insights of this study are valuable for the owners, managers and professionals in the SMEs manufacturing sector in developing countries, to enrich their organizational performance through CRM adoption, while considering the moderating effect of human capital.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical work to confirm way the main drivers of human capital, including in the analysis the impact of CRM dimensions and SME performance, in the context of the manufacturing sector. In support of an original conceptual model, the insights contribute to the literature on CRM, SMEs in the manufacturing sector, human capital and emerging economies.

Client-Related Factors and Collaboration Between Human Assets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Mawdsley ◽  
Philipp Meyer-Doyle ◽  
Olivier Chatain
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
The Individual

Collaborations between individuals in firms have important implications for the development of relational and human capital. In knowledge-intensive contexts where collaborations are formed to deliver services to clients, collaboration decisions can involve nontrivial tradeoffs between short-term and long-term benefits: individuals and firms must carefully manage the tradeoffs between leveraging existing relational and human capital for the reliable performance of repeat collaboration and creating new relational and human capital through new collaboration. Building from the premise that servicing clients is central to collaboration decisions in human asset–intensive firms, we examine how client-related factors shape collaboration decisions among lawyers (partners) in UK law firms providing M&A legal advisory services. We focus on three key client-related dimensions that we predict govern collaboration decisions: the depth of individual- and firm-level relationships with the focal client, key client attributes that reflect the client’s status and its use of different firms to undertake its outsourced work, and client-driven individual- and firm-level resource constraint. Our empirical findings support our proposition that client-related factors influence the pattern of collaborations between individuals in firms. We also reveal how client-related factors at the individual level can have opposite effects on collaboration decisions from those at the firm level. Overall, our findings contribute to research on relational capital, strategic human capital, team formation, professional service firms, and the microfoundations of strategy.

The Role of Social Media in Knowledge Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 230-248
Author(s):  
Syed Afzal Moshadi Shah ◽  
Shehla Amjad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The World ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of social media and theoretically link it with Knowledge Management (KM). A massive increase in social media usage around the world and its enhanced role in everyday life of employees offer enormous opportunities to businesses. One of the most important challenges that management faces in today's dynamic business environment is knowledge management. This becomes the key concern in professional service firms that are knowledge intensive in nature. The chapter discusses the association between social media and knowledge management. A theoretical model (SECI-SM) proposed by Shah, Khan, and Amjad (2013) is presented and discussed which is an extension of the seminal work of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). The model puts social media at the heart of knowledge management system and processes. It purports social media as an ideal vehicle for knowledge sharing and retaining. The chapter discusses the superiority of SECI-SM Model and lays out some useful suggestions for businesses.

scholarly journals The tensions of defining and developing thought leadership within knowledge-intensive firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Harvey ◽  
Vince-Wayne Mitchell ◽  
Alessandra Almeida Jones ◽  
Eric Knight
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Senior Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Leadership Strategy ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Thought Leadership

Purpose A major part of knowledge management for knowledge-intensive firms such as professional service firms is the increasing focus on thought leadership. Despite being a well-known term, it is poorly defined and analysed in the academic and practitioner literature. The aim of this article is to answer three questions. First, what is thought leadership? Second, what tensions exist when seeking to create thought leadership in knowledge-based organisations? Third, what further research is needed about thought leadership? The authors call for cross-disciplinary and academic–practitioner approaches to understanding the field of thought leadership. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the academic and practitioner literature on thought leadership to provide a rich oversight of how it is defined and can be understood by separating inputs, creation processes and outcomes. The authors also draw on qualitative data from 12 in-depth interviews with senior leaders of professional service firms. Findings Through analysing and building on previous understandings of the concept, the authors redefine thought leadership as follows: “Knowledge from a trusted, eminent and authoritative source that is actionable and provides valuable solutions for stakeholders”. The authors find and explore nine tensions that developing thought leadership creates and propose a framework for understanding how to engage with thought leadership at the industry/macro, organisational/meso and individual/micro levels. The authors propose a research agenda based on testing propositions derived from new theories to explain thought leadership, including leadership, reducing risk, signalling quality and managing social networks, as well as examining the suggested ways to resolve different tensions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, they are the first to separate out thought leadership from its inputs, creation processes and outcomes. The authors show new organisational paradoxes within thought leadership and show how they can play out at different levels of analysis when implementing a thought leadership strategy. This work on thought leadership is set in a relatively under-explored context for knowledge management researchers, namely, knowledge-intensive professional service firms.

scholarly journals Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement Systems for SMEs’ Economic Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Cardoni ◽  
Filippo Zanin ◽  
Giulio Corazza ◽  
Alessio Paradisi
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
The Impact

This paper aims to explore the relationships between knowledge management (KM), performance measurement systems (PMSs), and small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) economic sustainability in knowledge-intensive sectors. The literature demonstrates that SMEs are often characterized by unstructured KM approaches and limited PMS implementation, being at the same time affected by scarce profitability and financial issues. Adopting the knowledge-based view of the firm and the contingency theory of PMSs, we tested the impact of two alternative KM approaches (exploitation and exploration) on SMEs’ economic sustainability, measuring the moderating effect of PMS use (diagnostic and interactive). Through an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression of data collected for 219 Italian medium firms operating in knowledge-intensive sectors, this study provides evidence on how a specific KM approach supports the SME economic sustainability and how a consistent implementation and use of PMS amplify the relationship between KM and economic sustainability. Data analysis confirms the relevance of some key concepts of the knowledge-based view of the firm, especially the positive impact of the KM exploration approach on economic sustainability. Additionally, the paper extends empirical evidence for the PMS moderating effect on the KM–performance relationship. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a study provides evidence for the relationships among KM, PMSs, and economic sustainability in the SME setting. Moreover, our findings lead to some managerial implications, especially they encourage SME entrepreneurs and managers to design a coherent KM approach and to implement an adequate PMS in order to support economic sustainability.

Picking professionals: a client-centric knowledge assessment framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-345
Author(s):  
Tale Skjølsvik ◽  
Karl Joachim Breunig
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose This paper aims to explore how professional competences are defined and assessed by clients of professional service firms (PSFs). Extant research has studied the knowledge base of professionals, but limited research has been conducted to develop an understanding of how clients value this knowledge. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on in-depth qualitative research design, which is suitable for inductive theory building. The collected data consist of interviews with 80 clients and sellers of professional services. Findings The authors offer a framework detailing the interrelationships between knowledge, experience and references as assessed by clients. In particular, references are used to evaluate experience, which in turn function as a proxy for how clients assess knowledge. Also, the study shows how the clients’ assessment of professional knowledge assets involves multiple levels and factors. Research limitations/implications Limited research has been conducted to understand client preferences and PSF competitive advantage from a client perspective. This paper contributes to extant literature on knowledge management by integrating it with insights from recent developments within service marketing focusing on client centricity and the role of clients in value creation. This perspective complements and extends what is already known about knowledge management. Practical implications The paper suggests that while it is essential to manage knowledge as such, references and experience has a very central role in selling and commercializing knowledge-intensive services. Thus, to the degree that clients buy knowledge, sellers should think carefully about how experience and references are developed, captured and conveyed to clients. From a client point, the identified framework has value in offering a client-centric conceptualization of knowledge that can be used as a starting point in defining their knowledge needs and in structuring and professionalizing their purchasing efforts related to professional services. Originality/value Knowledge-intensive service organizations sell their knowledge and resources to clients directly as experts and indirectly through their services. It is therefore imperative for these organizations to understand how their knowledge is evaluated by buyers. The paper takes a unique client-centric perspective in understanding knowledge from a buyer’s point of view and as perceived by the buyer, which largely has been lacking in existing knowledge management research.

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