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In order to maintain a business competitive advantage managers have to make continuous efforts aimed at either introducing new or developing the existing products and processes. Many enterprises implement the so-called project-oriented approach. The enterprises following such an approach are referred to as project-oriented organizations. A project and an organization cannot exist without people. Human capital is developed in the process of HR function fulfillment (R&S, training, HR appraisal, remuneration and HR flow). In every enterprise, which implements the projectoriented approach and uses the matrix structure, HR function takes a two-way course: in an organization-wide perspective (general HR function) and within the framework of a particular project (HR function in projects). The objective of the article is to answer the following research questions: Q1: What kind of gaps occur in the area of HR function internal consistency within the analyzed organizations? Q2: What is the desired role of HR practitioners in project-oriented organizations? The article presents the results of empirical studies carried out in 2014 and 2015 in 100 project-oriented organizations. The surveyed organizations present higher general HR function consistency than the HR function in projects. Moreover, some gaps in consistency between both HR function courses were indicated. The obtained results of empirical studies provide knowledge about the specificity of project-oriented organizations and the desired role of HR practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this empirical research study is test the relationship between strategic intent (mission, vision and goals) intellectual capital (i.e. human capital, structural capital, relational capital), and business performance targeting the sample of CKOs of 30 technology firms in the United States. A research instrument was developed from prior research and used to survey 30 CKO, CIO and VP of Knowledge Management executives from a random sample by CKO, CIO and VP of Knowledge Management title. The research approach was a correlation/multiple regression. Strong statistical support was found for the hypothesized relationships. Research limitations/implications -The sampling was a convenience sample and may not represent all CKOs in all industries. Practical implications - Intellectual capital measurement is of primary interest for senior executives of a cross section of firms in the USA and this sample is a basis for a larger study. Originality/value - The research reported is the first to investigate the issue of intellectual capital from a cross section of CKOs and other knowledge titled executives in the USA and the first to study directly the intellectual capital issue from the CKO viewpoint which is from the strategic intent perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate intellectual capital (IC) drivers that may influence Italian consumers' decision to participate in value co-creation (VCC) activities with firms. Given the exploratory nature of the research, after a review of the relevant literature, we conducted a survey among Italian consumers to see if IC principal sub-dimensions (i.e. Relational Capital, Human Capital and Structural Capital) played a role in triggering VCC processes. Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we analyzed 270 usable questionnaires finding that, in order to decide to co-create value with firms, IC sub-dimensions actually play a critical role. Our findings showed that the motivations (i.e., IC components) that influence Italian consumers' decision to participate in value co-creation activities with firms are quite homogeneous and similar both for those who already participated in past in these activities as well for those who never participated. The study has several managerial implications as well as limitations. In fact, the survey has been conducted only among Italian consumers and therefore the research should be extended by a geographically standpoint. Moreover, the research analyzed only the demand-side, while it would be certainly useful to know the point of view of companies also adopting other research methods (e.g., in-depth interviews). This study provides to practitioners important suggestions and warnings about the importance of the development of IC sub-dimensions to (co-)create value with external actors and consequently suggests the importance of adopting a "open" approach towards consumers to establish an effective and interactive relationship with them. The study fills a gap in the literature, since there are not so many references in literature for a deep understanding of the concrete relationship between IC and VCC. In addition, to our best knowledge this paper is the first that explore IC-related issues from a marketing perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing theoretical perspectives regarding the effects of knowledge management (KM) on performance have underpinned past empirical studies. By explicitly surfacing and comparing three such perspectives, we contribute to the theoretical advancement of the KM field. We develop hypotheses consistent with the underlying logics of universalistic, complementarity and contingency theories and we empirically test these hypotheses to determine which is best supported. Data was collected from a sample of hospitality services firms operating in South Africa. Our results show that the universalistic perspective is less preferred. We find support for the complementarity perspective by revealing that codification and human capital KM capabilities interact to influence customer service outcomes. The contingency perspective also received support as the links between KM capabilities and performance were found to be contingent on the business strategy of the firm. Our results suggest that future researchers should explicitly acknowledge the theoretical perspective from which they are observing the performance impacts of KM and ensure that empirical tests are consistent with the logic of the selected perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]