Knowledge can be identified, created, stored, shared, transferred and used. It can be treated as property and in many cases rights may be imposed on such property. Accumulation of knowledge in industries can be treated as stock of knowledge, which can be appreciated or depreciated over time. The investments made on knowledge management can transfer value. In the paper, “Taking ‘Stock’ of Knowledge: An Inquiry into the Market to Book Value Puzzle – A Study on Indian Electronics Industry”, the authors, N Sivakoumar and R Kasilingam, have attempted to assess recognition and treatment of intellectual assets and the appropriate amortization/depreciation rates for constructing stock of knowledge. They have taken a case study of Indian electronics industry, and to test whether intangibles are really capital assets, they have used an econometric model by choosing the variables of market value, book value of the equity stock, estimated values of R&D and organizational capitals and average industry price earnings ratio. The authors report that the supply of stock of knowledge by a firm induces its price positively in the stock market and the intellectual assets are recognized by the stock market even if the accounting standards are reluctant to recognize them.

According to Kim and Courtney (1988), Knowledge Acquisition (KA) is the process of gathering knowledge about a domain, usually from an expert, and incorporating it into a computer program. It is a phase in the building of knowledge-based systems and is the most expensive phase. Most KA techniques make the task manageable by identifying the problem-solving method to be applied by the knowledge-based system. In the paper, “Knowledge Acquisition Techniques Selection: A Comparative Study”, the authors, Peyman Akhavan and Maryam Dehghani, have examined eleven real case studies in three different fields (critical issues, science and services) to identify circumstances wherein KA techniques achieved better results. They reported that interview technique is used more than others, laddering technique is the best one in four studies, and mapping technique is used in two studies and found to be the best one. It is also reported that in most studies, contrived techniques are better than natural techniques. Based on the results, the authors have presented a conceptual model to show which KA techniques are used in each field and which ones are better.

According to Fombrun (1996), corporate reputation is a perceptual representation of a firm’s past actions and future prospects that describe the firm’s appeal to all of its key constituents. Davies and Miles (1998) dealt with three key elements of corporate reputation—identity, desired identity and image. The authors, Nuno Sequeira, Rui Vinhas da Silva, Madalena Ramos and Sharifah Faridah Syed Alwi, in their paper, “Measuring Corporate Reputation in B2B Markets: The Corporate Personality Adapted Scale”, have attempted to assess corporate reputation from the perspective of both internal stakeholders and key external constituencies. They conducted their investigation at a Portuguese company operating in an open innovation network environment. Considering credibility, experience and ability to innovate as key elements in the building of B2B relationships, a set of indicators was introduced to measure commitment, a new dimension introduced. It is reported that the various issues related to the firm’s performance, its reliability, customer concerns, quality management and ability to attract employees are strongly related to the perceived personality of the firm. The three dimensions of competence, commitment and enterprise show the greater intensity of relationship with satisfaction towards the firm. The authors conclude that the satisfaction of employees and partners is influenced by the way the personality of the corporate brand is perceived.

-- Nasina Jigeesh
Consulting Editor