Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik IPK

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  • Publication
    Germany towards a knowledge-based economy
    ( 2011)
    Mertins, Kai
    ;
    Will, Markus
    ;
    Wuscher, Sven
    Due to changes in the value creation processes the management of Intellectual Capital (IC) is of increasing importance for the industrialised nations. Previous research has indicated that material resources are less important than intangible assets. We confirm that this is true and that it applies in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). SMEs are the backbone of the German economy and therefore the target group for IC management. Unlike large scale enterprises, SMEs are incapable of facing the increasing cost pressure by volume growth or relocation due to their specific characteristics. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to assess and describe Germany as a knowledge site. The paper shows the stage of development of German enterprises on the way to a knowledge-based economy from a practitioner's perspective. The results of the analysis are used to derive recommendations for the management of Intellectual Capital. For this purpose, the research group "Arbeitskreis Wissensbilanz" has undertaken an empirical study. The data for the survey was collected in the time period of July 2009 and August 2010 under the supervision of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) within the initiative "Wissensbilanz-Made in Germany". The initiative is funded by The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of germany (BMWi). In the course of the empirical study more than 2300 managers and decision makers of German enterprises of various sizes in various branches were questioned. They were asked to which degree different factors of the Intellectual Capital influence their business success and how well these different factors are developed in their enterprise from their point of view. The most important factors of the IC of German enterprises were identified for different sub-groups of the sample, e.g. enterprises of different size, from different sectors etc. The sub-groups were compared and significant differences were analysed.
  • Publication
    Analysing and enhancing IC in business networks: Results from a recent study
    ( 2010)
    Mertins, K.
    ;
    Will, M.
    ;
    Meyer, C.
    Since the acknowledgement of intellectual capital (IC) as the major driver of a company's competitive and innovative performance numerous scientific models and practical approaches were developed to capture and display the IC elements of businesses in order to make them visible and accessible for management. But since the economy has gone global and businesses are acting within a global business landscape the view on IC needs to be expanded to these new structures. Especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) commitment in networks and clusters is crucial for sustainable competitiveness on international markets. Alike single companies, also business networks highly depend on IC in order to perform successfully and effectively. The way businesses cooperate, exchange and acq uire knowledge, find suitable partners, solve problems, develop and profit from the network has an impact on the company itself as well as on the network. Aiming at an IC-based assessment and support of SME networks, the methodology presented in this paper follows a bottom-up approach starting with the assessment of IC in the single company. Within the research projects InCaS: Intellectual Capital Statements Made in Europe and Wissensbilanz Made in Germany a methodology has been developed which has proved to be capable of collecting comparable qualitative IC data. Based on these results, a consolidated approach has been designed recently, collecting IC data from more than 600 companies in Germany. The results are comparable and individual at the same time, allowing to display IC se ttings of single companies as well as to aggregate IC information within an IC portfolio for a whole group of companies. The paper will present the methodology as well as some first results from the study taking a look at the German IC landscape based on more than 600 individual IC assessments. The paper will also discuss the possibilities of using the results for IC enhancement in networks and clusters from the view of the single company.