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Article
Publication date: 21 June 2013

Kongkiti Phusavat, Narongsak Comepa, Agnieszka Sitko‐Lutek and Keng‐Boon Ooi

The intangible assets are important today as knowledge and innovation are the key drivers to long‐term business competitiveness. In other words, this competitiveness requires the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The intangible assets are important today as knowledge and innovation are the key drivers to long‐term business competitiveness. In other words, this competitiveness requires the productive use of the intangible assets. Thus, measuring productivity should underline their importance within an organization. Therefore, the study aims to examine whether the intellectual capital or IC can be used to support productivity measurement.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology consists of two stages, derived from the management process which deals with measurement and analysis. The first stage tests the interrelationships between productivity (namely value‐added labor productivity) and the IC. This test is based on a company's financial reports and the IC survey. The second stage focuses on better understanding on how IC can be analyzed. Altogether ten leading manufacturers, with 270 executives and managers, have participated in the survey. Important statistical techniques such as Pearson Correlation are integrated. Moreover, the consideration into the validity of the survey items (e.g. the non‐respondent bias analysis) is illustrated.

Findings

Because of the significant relationships between the IC and value‐added productivity, measuring the IC can strengthen ongoing productivity measurement efforts on a firm's intangible assets. In other words, the IC can become a surrogate for productivity measurement. To assist the IC analysis further, the IC is positively influenced by innovation, learning organization, knowledge management, and self‐directed learning, respectively. In other words, the innovation appears to have the highest impact on the IC level while the ability of an organization to learn and to apply knowledge also has considerable influences.

Originality/value

The emerging use of the term value‐added highlights the importance of IC within the context of productivity measurement. Past studies have focused on relating some the IC components such as innovation and quality of work life to the productivity level. This study attempts to look at the IC in a more comprehensive manner.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 113 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

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Article
Publication date: 22 June 2012

Kongkiti Phusavat, Narongsak Comepa, Agnieszka Sitko‐Lutek and Keng‐Boon Ooi

The paper is based on a project with the Department of Industrial Work (DIW) in Thailand for promoting intellectual capital (IC), which aims to boost the country's long‐term…

1524

Abstract

Purpose

The paper is based on a project with the Department of Industrial Work (DIW) in Thailand for promoting intellectual capital (IC), which aims to boost the country's long‐term industrial competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to focus on examining the interrelationships between IC and economic development (i.e. GDP per capita) in Thailand and other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. The second objective is to identify the IC targets to help enable the DIW to propose future policy initiatives relating to IC.

Design/methodology/approach

The key steps include a selection of IC indicator(s) to assess IC impacts on the country's economic development. There are five countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) to be examined for the IC impacts due to their economy sizes. The methodology involves statistical analysis for understanding the interrelationships and identifying the IC targets for Thailand and the future policy initiatives are derived through the review discussion with DIW administrators.

Findings

Initially, two IC indicators were selected. However, only National Intellectual Capital Indicator (NICI) was statistically significant to the GDP per capita. A further examination revealed that the NICI target for Thailand and a remaining three countries needs to reach 5.0, in order to move from the efficiency‐driven to the innovation‐driven stage. The economic development stages are outlined by the Global Competitiveness Report (published by World Economic Forum) which indicates a GDP per capita over $US 17,000.

Originality/value

The paper underlines the need for the DIW to continue a development of the IC‐related performance indicators for local firms, in both manufacturing and service sectors. In the past, the DIW has encouraged them to primarily measure quality and productivity (including Economic Value Added) as their key non‐financial area. The IC‐related indicators may emerge as one of several alternatives for productivity and quality measurement.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 112 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

Agnieszka Sitko‐Lutek, Supakij Chuancharoen, Arkhom Sukpitikul and Kongkiti Phusavat

The paper aims to examine existing information flows formally and informally within a customer complaint handling process, and to identify possible improvement areas to strengthen…

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine existing information flows formally and informally within a customer complaint handling process, and to identify possible improvement areas to strengthen the effectiveness of this process in the workplace. These objectives are derived from the fact more than 80 percent of complaints have taken longer than the targeted timeframe during the past two years at the plant under study. The study is part of the plant's overall efforts in improving quality and customer satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology involves document reviews (i.e. a customer complaint handling procedure), discussion groups and interviews, and the use of the UCInet software for the social network analysis or SNA formulation. Key features such as connection strength, point connectivity, and degree centrality are examined.

Findings

The SNA shows that everybody associated with this process is connected. For a potential downside, customer service and quality assurance engineers appear to be critical. Their roles and responsibilities imply that, in addition to becoming technical experts, they have to be responsive and active in disseminating information to other staffs. Furthermore, if an engineer in charge of process engineering is absent or does not pass along information, at least four staffs will be disconnected from the network. Process engineering leader is also viewed as critical. He should actively participate and constantly engage in resolving a customer complaint.

Research limitations/implications

The SNA can compliment process improvement by focusing on the roles and the importance of key persons within a process. The reason is that an improvement should focus on both a procedure (i.e. step‐by‐step activities and tasks) and persons (e.g. connectivity, interaction, and information bottleneck position). In other words, the paper underlines potential applications of the SNA on strengthening a quality management system (i.e. ISO 9001:2008). Therefore, the SNA, given its flexible applications, can emerge as an important management tool in the areas of quality management.

Practical implications

All top executives from the quality and reliability, and manufacturing functions view the SNA positively. The findings help them visualize the current practices at all levels when dealing with a customer complaint and identify the areas in which more attentions have to be made for a more effective process on complaint handling. For example, customer service engineer should be in the contact with all persons dealing with the complaint handling process. Process engineer leader needs to become more proactive in sharing a complaint and in checking its status more constantly.

Originality/value

The case study highlights the importance of the SNA when attempting to improve an operational process that requires two or more functions working together.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 110 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

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Article
Publication date: 28 June 2011

Kongkiti Phusavat, Narongsak Comepa, Agnieszka Sitko‐Lutek and Keng‐Boon Ooi

The aim of this paper is to raise an awareness of intangible assets among large manufacturing firms in Thailand. As a result, the research is to examine empirically the effects of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to raise an awareness of intangible assets among large manufacturing firms in Thailand. As a result, the research is to examine empirically the effects of intellectual capital (IC), and its key components (e.g. human capital, structural capital, and innovation capital) on a manufacturing firm's industrial operations and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The required data for this research are collected from leading manufacturing firms' annual reports. These firms are listed in stock exchange of Thailand 100. The value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) is adapted to measure IC. Then, the co‐relation analysis and multi‐regression model are applied to learn more about the roles of VAIC and its impacts on a manufacturing firm's performance.

Findings

IC positively and significantly affects a manufacturing firm's performance. It impacts all four performance indicators under study, i.e. return on equity, return on assets, revenue growth, and employee productivity. In addition, based on the relatively high adjusted R2, human capital exhibits the relationships with employee productivity.

Originality/value

The findings highlight the role of IC in strengthening a manufacturing firm's long‐term competitiveness advantage. The results from the paper have helped develop policy initiatives for Department of Industrial Work in Thailand such as tax scheme and incentives for R&D spending, promotion of university partnerships for R&D, and training for more effective knowledge management practices.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 111 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

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