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The paper aims to present the concept, the layout design and the evaluation performed of a flexible field factory for construction industry. Both the concept and layout are focused on flexibility and mobility factors, providing a versatile system for manufacturing and assembly that can be transported to construction sites without need of special permissions.

The design is based on the design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) principles, lean manufacturing, and construction industry experts' knowledge.

The developed factory layout is dimensioned to fit in a standard 20‐feet‐long container. Simulation processes have been run to verify the viability of the system. The time estimates calculated in the simulations are compared with traditional in and off‐site construction method estimates, providing quantified cost and time benefits.

This paper presents the concept of the robotized field factory designed for on‐site prefabrication, the design of which began during the EU 6FP ManuBuild Project. This reconfigurable and flexible system is oriented to the production of small and medium size modular systems. The viability of the field factory has been evaluated thanks to the application of a modular system for building installations called Service Core. Its design has been based on DFMA and lean principles as well as the expertise from construction partners from the ManuBuild Project.

The increasing of mechanization levels used in tasks execution in construction, as a way to increase productivity, requires its rationalization, the adoption of new assembly‐ready materials and methods, and the application of robotics capabilities. In this way, using concepts as design for manufacture and assembly and lean construction, modular products can be developed for their assembly by robotics systems onsite. This paper aims to review developments.

A brief review of a different approach to the practical introduction of robotics technologies in the modular building process is presented.

A higher automation level is desirable in order to achieve the productivity levels of other industries. This discussion shows how concepts related to lean production are applied to the design of new materials and products with different levels of finishing that make modular assembly possible. Also a discussion of where and when the automation of assembly tasks is affordable is presented from a logistic point of view.

An analysis of onsite and mobile manufacturing facilities is considered, based on the authors' experiences in two European Union projects focused on modular assembly applied to the building industry: FutureHome and ManuBuild. Re the first, the robotized assembly of the modular structural 3D elements shows how careful design of modules and automatic cranes permits unmanned precision assembly. Re the second, a small modular piping system (service core) is designed for proving the viability of an onsite mobile factory.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test intellectual capital (IC) as a mediator in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance (FP) relationship.

The empirical research was conducted on 345 European firms listed in the STOXX Europe 600 index. To evaluate the mediating effect of IC, we applied the four-step Baron and Kenny model, tested through an ordinary least squares regression analysis.

The findings highlighted a partial mediation of IC on the CSR–FP relationship, suggesting that the implementation of CSR strategies has a positive effect on the development of firms' IC, which in turn enhances firms' competitive advantage and superior long-term FPs.

We found a new mediator in the CSR–FP relationship and we contribute to a new line of research that aims to study environmental and sustainability aspects strictly interrelated with IC and performances (sustainable intellectual capital).

This paper aims to study the competitiveness of subsistence small businesses (SSBs) and the use of the place to get competitive advantages. Complementarily the paper analyzes the intellectual capital as a possible mediator for the competitiveness of SSBs.

Data were obtained by conducting surveys with owners and managers of wood-processing companies located in Misiones (Argentina), during 2015. The research uses principal component analysis and path analysis to study the relationships. The study introduces tangible resources and size as control variables.

The results show the importance of place as source of competitive advantages in SSBs. The SSBs present competitive advantages that generate better results. The place affects competitive advantages directly and indirectly through intellectual capital.

The data used refer to a certain period, so the use of the panel data enables generalizing findings over time. Sample is in a particular region and sector, and generalizations should be done carefully.

SSBs should raise the strategy integrating short and long term, which requires a strengthening of intellectual capital, especially in cooperation, professionalism and training.

The findings suggest specific support local policies to these businesses to improve their performance in developing countries.

SSBs are very important in developing countries, but they are not sufficiently studied. This paper examines place-based competitiveness of SSBs and the moderation effect of dimensions of intellectual capital.

This paper aims to analyse the location as root of the specificity of the sources of competitiveness in subsistence small businesses (SSBs) of wood industry to improve the situation of poverty and the different behaviour of subsistence entrepreneurs.

The research uses an exploratory analysis based on principal components in two phases and confirmatory analysis based on partial least square techniques applied to a sample of 113 small and medium enterprises of wood industry in Oberá, a region of Argentina.

The analysis evidences the use of competitiveness sources of SSBs and a double behaviour in SSBs according to subsistence threshold. Satisfactory SSBs use competitiveness sources to improve organizational and economic performance. Unsatisfactory SSBs find economic performance without relation to organizational performance.

Data are cross-sectional, and in a conjuncture of economy expansion, future research should monitor the sample of firms using panel data to assess the development of relations. Sample is in a particular region and sector, and generalizations should be done carefully.

SSBs should raise the strategy integrating short and long term, which requires a strengthening of intellectual capital, especially in cooperation, professionalism and training. They could integrate and share a business community to develop competitive advantages of collective systemic.

The research shows the importance of the location for the competitiveness of SSBs and provides a classification of SSBs according to their performance.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which main objective is to satisfy the basic needs of the entrepreneur, when geographically concentrated make up subsistence clusters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze collective efficiency in subsistence clusters as growth strategy and how is the process through which the relational capital and territorial proximity altogether improve performance of firms.

The research uses partial least squares techniques applied to a sample of 113 SMEs of wood industry in Oberá, Argentina.

SMEs in subsistence clusters can use relational capital and territory as resources to generate competitive advantages. These competitive advantages foster performance. In consequence, collective efficiency appears as growth strategy in subsistence SMEs.

Data are cross-sectional and in a conjuncture of economy expansion, future research should monitor the sample of firms using panel data to assess the development of relations. Sample is in a particular region and sector and generalizations should be done carefully.

SMEs probably should integrate and share industrial and business structures to develop systemic competitive advantages with a collective character. SMEs should leverage their spatial interaction to build trust and establish networks of cooperation that will be the source of their collective efficiency. These collaboration networks should base in the local knowledge.

Subsistence SMEs have strong impact on the most disadvantaged areas in developing countries. Growth strategies to professionalize these SMEs will have a major impact on the endogenous development of those territories.

The research provides a mechanism through which collective efficiency leads to better performance for subsistence SMEs.

Knowledge management effects on business performances are of great importance for companies. Yet, they are still overlooked by current literature. Moreover, the use of methods for bibliometric reviews and content analysis reinforces the need for relevant work on the current state of knowledge management application. To this end, this study aims to identify the main barriers for the application of knowledge management in small and medium-sized enterprises. A research agenda is then proposed.

A systematic literature review was performed using data collection, bibliometric analysis and content analysis' steps. The sample used in this study contained 45 papers. For the bibliometric analysis, the authors used the bibliometrix (in RStudio). The content analysis was then performed to infer barriers, factors of relevance and an agenda of questions for future research.

The authors found that using knowledge management techniques to optimize business performance results in competitive advantages for small and medium-sized companies. This study contributes to both practitioners and academics by providing a list of 19 barriers, 12 factors and 36 research questions related to knowledge management in small and medium-sized companies to develop future theoretical and practical studies.

This study demonstrates the propensity and interest of small and medium-sized companies in using knowledge management. However, some barriers might make it difficult to implement this approach.

The Journal of Intellectual Capital (JIC) celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. Therefore, the present study aims to provide a general overview of the history and key trends in this journal during 2000–2019.

Two types of citation and textual data during a 20-year journal period were retrieved from the Scopus database. The citation structures and contents were explored based on a combination of bibliometric analysis, altmetric analysis and text mining. The journal themes and trends of their changes were analyzed through citation bursts, mapping and topic modeling. To make a better comparison, the text mining process for the topic modeling of the IC field was performed in addition to the topic modeling of JIC.

Bibliometric analysis indicated that JIC has experienced a remarkable growth in terms of the number of publications and citations over the last 20 years. The results indicated that JIC plays a significant role among IC researchers. Additionally, a large number of researchers, institutes and countries have made contributions to this journal and cited its research papers. Altmetric analysis showed that JIC has been shared in different social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, Mendeley, Citeulike, news and blogs. Text mining abstract of JIC articles indicated that “measurement,” “financial performance” and “IC reporting” have the relative prevalence with increasing trends over the past 20 years. In addition, “research trends” and “national and international studies” had a stable trend with low thematic share.

The findings have important implications for the JIC editorial team in order to make informed decisions about the further development of JIC as well as for IC researchers and practitioners to make more valuable contributions to the journal.

Using bibliometric analysis, altmetric analysis and text mining, this study provided a systematic and comprehensive analysis of JIC. The simultaneous use of these methods provides an interesting, unique and suitable capacity to analyze the journals by considering their various aspects.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model to disclose, report, and manage intellectual capital (IC) in a network of companies. To this end, it provides a monetary evaluation of core competencies (CCs), which may be defined as a bundle of various types of intangibles, aggregating their value into a network statement, called a network competence report (NCR).

The paper utilises the interventionist approach. The intervention was conducted by the authors and studied through joint reflections on documentation from meetings and individual, semi-structured interviews.

The NCR makes IC more transparent, thereby allowing companies and network managers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of CCs with a consequent potential insight into their potential earnings.

This method is labour-intensive, especially in its first application, and the data collection requires considerable company involvement. The interventionist approach may have influenced the empirical results, which may be affected by subjectivity. As the paper involves a single network, care should be taken in generalising its empirical evidence.

In making IC management more effective, the NCR is valuable for academics, management, political authorities and, more generally, for a network’s stakeholders. The NCR is a tool for internal and external communication purposes, creating the conditions to mobilise IC. The proposed model supports the diagnosis of networks by providing CC maps and assessments relevant to their governance and competitiveness. The NCR depicts company and network CCs, allowing intertemporal comparisons that facilitate understanding of the effectiveness of the network’s actions and the importance of belonging to it.

This paper represents a first attempt to evaluate, in monetary terms, CCs in a network. Its value lies in its practical implications. Moreover, the paper investigates IC in applied terms, contributing to reducing the gap between theory and practice.