Abstract
One of the basic assumptions associated with the theoretical model as described in this article is that an organisation (a system) can acquire capabilities through intentional strategic and operational initiatives. This intentional capability-building process also implies that the organisation intends to use these capabilities in a constructive way to increase competitive advantage for the firm.
The creation of conducive and attractive conditions for enhancing a firm’s capability-building process is central to the theoretical model as described in this article. The key building blocks that create favourable conditions for the development of organisational capabilities from an Intellectual Capital perspective are defined in the theoretical model and consist of the following five constructs:
- A Strategic Architecture that provides guidance on the strategic intent, focus and boundaries of the organisation.
- An Intellectual Capital Framework that creates a basis for a normative-, strategic- and operational view to stimulate ideas on how to make intellectual capital a practical reality and to utilise these insights in the development of the organisation’s core capabilities.
- A Core Capability Framework that reflects the content and processes related to the identification, description, evaluation and assumptions associated with the firm’s core capabilities. The Core Capability Framework also facilitates the integration of the concepts “core capabilities” and “intellectual capital”.
- An Operationalisation Framework to leverage core capabilities from an Intellectual Capital perspective in a pragmatic way to realise tangible competitive benefits not only from individual capabilities, but also through the conscious collective use of bundles of capabilities.
- A change enablement process that stimulates knowledge flows between the above key constructs of the conceptual model. This creates the basis for cognitive and emotional leverages to increase the potential of an organisation to successfully implement a strategic approach to the management of core capabilities from an Intellectual Capital perspective.
Raising the awareness and capacity of the organisation on the above five constructs creates the basis for an increase in the potential to make positive progress on this strategic journey of discovery to manage the growth of intellectual capital in a holistic way by focusing on core capabilities.
Prof. Koos Uys