Abstract
M.A.
The competitive landscape in the retail sector in South Africa is changing, and new models of competitiveness are needed to deal with the challenges ahead. The responses that usually occur in relation to the above statement reveal a new competitive reality, demanding that the organisation’s capabilities will enable the retail company in South Africa to better serve their customers and to differentiate them from competitors.
This dissertation is about determining the status of the measurement and interpretation of intangible assets within a retail company in South Africa, and more specifically the JD Group as a furniture retailer. There are focused on the importance of the different aspects of intellectual capital i.e. human capital, structural capital and customer capital and the value that could be derived to aid the company in the retail industry. It is also intended to establish whether value can be added to investors, customers, line management, employees and the community, if the appropriate intellectual capital management tool is identified and implemented. It is viewed, both globally and in South Africa, as a core contributory factor in achieving business strategy.
It was established that knowledge processes and tools could be implemented and utilized to discover intellectual capital management as a valuable resource for the retail company. The spectrum of intellectual capital management tools is investigated and four methods of measuring intellectual capital are identified in the current literature: The Market capitalization method, the return on assets method, the direct intellectual capital method and the scorecard method. The scorecard models are identified as the most appropriate method to use in a retail company in South Africa based on the following characteristics: Monitoring of performance, reporting to stakeholders and uncovering of hidden value.
The retail industry in South Africa is very volatile and organizations should be geared to adapt to changes at a rapid pace. In order to achieve world-class status, it is important to understand that management and employees, together, need to champion the competitive organisation of the future. The future organisation will no longer be in business just for the sake of business, but with a clear intent to protect its most valuable asset, the future. 21st Century businesses will be in the business of the creation of future, sustainable businesses.
This dissertation explores the views as to the extent to which intangible assets contribute value, how this contribution can be measured through the use of intellectual capital management tools and what the status is of such measurement in the current retail company trading in South Africa.
Once the need for intellectual capital management in the retail company in South Africa is established, focus is also given to the resultant changes required in respect of specific practices and the introduction of an array of strategy focused interventions, all within the intangible assets arena. The selection of these interventions is very JD Group specific and focuses on those areas that will contribute to the strategic alignment of leadership, culture and technology within the Group’s strategy, which is quite simply but also articulately captured in the Group’s vision statement, i.e. “To become global leaders in our fields of expertise.”