Volume 7 - Issue 1

EJKM
Volume 7 Issue 1
April 2009

InCaS: Intellectual Capital Management in European SMEs: its Strategic Relevance and the Importance of its Certification
Kai Mertins, Wen-Huan Wang and Markus Will
Fraunhofer IPK Berlin, Germany

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were targeted in the German pilot project "Wissensbilanz – Made in Germany" and the European pilot project “InCaS: Intellectual Capital Statement – Made in Europe” to develop the methodology Intellectual Capital Statement (ICS). Being the driving force of Europe’s economy, they are especially affected by the plan of the Lisbon Agenda aiming for the European Union to become the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based market in the world before 2010. To obtain their competitive advantage, it is crucial for SMEs to utilise knowledge efficiently and to enhance their innovation potential. Thus, managing their specific Intellectual Capital (IC) becomes more and more important for future-oriented organisations. With the instrument ICS to assess, develop and report the IC of an organisation and to monitor critical success factors systematically, it was possible to support the participating companies in identifying, evaluating and developing their strategically relevant knowledge. To ensure the quality of ICS in a sustainable way, we have developed an approach of ICS certification based on the methods of quality management system certification, financial audit and the assessment for European Excellence Award. The challenge is to determine the smallest possible amount of requirements that will enable the ICS to meet the acknowledged quality criteria. In the end, only the ICS fulfilling the quality requirements will be awarded a certificate. Furthermore, this paper summarises how the InCaS method supports companies developing a knowledge-based strategy by describing research results gained from the German and European project about the strategic relevance of particular IC factors in general and their relevance depending on the business sector.

Keywords: intellectual capital statement audit, knowledge management, innovation, SME, quality requirements, certification

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