ISSN 0798 1015

Vol. 40 (Number 35) Year 2019. Page 30

The management of intellectual capital in an enterprise that operates in an innovative environment

La gestión del capital intelectual en una empresa que opera en un entorno innovador

AIMUKHANBETOVA, Guldana 1; AMIRBEKULY, Yerzhan 2; KALYKOV, Abay 3; AKYBAYEVA, Gulvira 4 & ZHANSEITOV, Azamat 5

Received: 19/06/2019 • Approved: 11/10/2019 • Published 14/10/2019

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

3. Discussion

4. Conclusion

Reference List

1. Introduction

Organizations interested in managing the intellectual capital have a tendency to create an innovative environment to encourage staff members to develop new ideas. The department of operation management is important in ensuring that managerial channels encourage employees to develop products that will increase company profitability and its market share. These organizations usually prioritize elements of quality management, process management and product design in ensuring that an elaborate management structure is created (Kianto et al. 2014, p.364). The positions of the management are carefully implemented through coordinated efforts to ensure that product design and development is done in a manner that integrates intellectual capital within the organization. Some of the important elements in organizations that prioritize intellectual capital and innovation include the design of services, quality management, the process of capacity design and the location strategy (Mariano & Walter, 2015, p.389). It is important for enterprises that base their growth on innovation to develop effective management structures to manage their intellectual capital.

2. Materials and Methods

Qualitative research methods were used in this research. The review of secondary sources of data was done to gather information on the operational environment of organizations which effectively manage their intellectual property. In the search for information about intellectual property management, the research process focused on materials that explored how different organizations have used innovativeness to promote effective intellectual property management. Peer reviewed journals and books were used as sources of information to explore the role of structured management in enhancing intellectual property management to produce superior and quality products.

3. Discussion

3.1. The management of intellectual capital in an enterprise that operates in an innovative environment

The management of intellectual capital in an enterprise that operates in an innovative environment is made possible by focusing on the design of products. These organizations design their products by considering different organizational components to ensure that they meet client needs (Kalkan et al. 2014, p.703). The research department coordinates with the operation department to ensure that the quality of products that are generated as superior. Quality management is also considered to be a critical decision for organizations that have a focus on intellectual property management (Díaz-Fernández et al. 2015, p.326). This is mainly because quality standards and control ensure that an organization is able to comply with pre-established standards to produce products that are considered to be innovative. In this regard, elements of product development and product design are integrated to ensure that a holistic approach is implemented in creating quality products within an organization.

Alternatively, the management of enterprises that seek to effectively manage human capital seek to improve the capacity and the process design. The strategies used by the management of these organizations are meant to maximize the productivity of work force to ensure that the product design and development is efficient and that adequate capacity is created to develop commodities. These organizations have innovation facilities that seek to optimize the process efficiency and the capacity of all employees (Dumay, J., 2016, p.173). In this manner, the companies are able to use an integrative and a comprehensive approach to enhance decision making and to ensure that employees have more leeway to implement their innovative ideas. The location strategy of organizations is also critical as it allows them to access suppliers who have quality products and recruit employees with innovative skills (Donate & de Pablo, 2015, p.367). Organizations with a focus on intellectual property management and innovativeness have also been known to limit seller authorization to ensure they are able to control their operations management.

The republic of Kazakhstan has created an enabling environment to encourage innovation in the country. This is a function that has been made possible as the country seeks to undertake new kinds of economic reforms. The government has introduced systems that encourage innovativeness in the national economy to ensure sustained economic growth (Yessengeldin et al. 2016, p. 1021). The introduction of scientific solutions to facilitate national innovation has been made possible by setting aside money to facilitate research processes.

 The layout design and strategy of the management of organizations that seek to be innovative are also meant to meet customer expectations. The focus of this organization is on its products to ensure that their office layouts are created in an innovative manner to encourage operation between employees and enhance the efficiency of workflows. It is mainly because creativity is considered to be an important factor among employees who are involved in implementing product design (Melloni, 2015, p.675). The proper management of intellectual capital ensures that the human resources function of organizations with a focus of innovativeness and intellectual capital is intended to ensure that the emphasis is on excellence.

The intention is to create an environment which is considered to be sociable and focuses on product quality to ensure that productivity levels are enhanced (Inkinen, 2015, p.526). Supply chain management is also important for the management which seeks to improve innovativeness within the organization. Efficiency is achieved by integrating automotive processes and regular monitoring of supplies to evaluate productivity levels and to ensure that there is a compliance with their client requirements. By automating organizational processes the management is able to improve the quality of products that are generated.

Economic development in the republic of Kazakhstan is considered to be important through the accelerated development of innovative spheres. The government has created programs for innovative development and industry expansions. Science and education is considered to be a significant investment in facilitating innovative development within the country (Yessengeldin et al. 2015, p.217). Lately, the generation of technology and knowledge acquisition has been viewed as an important element of innovative development of the country. Companies in the country are required to make human resource investments as a way of encouraging innovativeness.

Inventory management is also considered to be a point of focus for managers who seek to encourage innovativeness and the optimization of intellectual capital. This is mainly because companies tend to use different methods of managing inventory such as a serialized method to effectively control their products (Wang et al. 2014, p.241). Store managers handle the inventory of their stores to ensure that innovative methods are used in product distribution. Scheduling is equally considered to be an important strategy in ensuring that manual and automated processes are used together to maximize the ability of employees to use their human resources, the facilities and equipment that is available (Lerro et al. 2014, p.359). To ensure that Staff within the organization operates at optimum capacity organizations usually have a maintenance department that is responsible for keeping the organizations equipment in pristine condition to ensure that staff are able to access the equipment whenever they needed.

 By the same token, organizations which have a focus on innovativeness and intellectual property development have been known to put focus on hiring the most talented employees. This is a major feature of managerial teams in companies which hire and retain talented staff to ensure that products are successfully developed. When developing a product, it is important for the management to ensure that a high degree of secrecy is maintained as a way of ensuring that the newly generated products are not imitated in the market (Obeidat et al. 2017, p.283). This ensures that the organization is able to optimize and to increase its market share once the product is launched. The management of organizations which seek to improve effectiveness must constantly focus on the details in production of commodities to ensure that the design of every element of a product is appealing to the target clientele.

The implementation of projects in the republic of Kazakhstan has caused the government to review contemporary issues that affect economic development. The government is focused on different sectors of the economy to increase competent professionals by encouraging companies to invest in human resource development (Yessengeldin et al. 2018, p.35). In effect, the government has invested in the quality of education to improve human resource capacity and expand the number of scientific personnel in the country. The state has also created efficient systems of economic organization to encourage the production of competitive products and the use of resource saving technologies.

Inadvertently, organizations which have a focus on intellectual property management and innovation must focus on building innovative products that have not been seen in the market. This is an objective that is attained by focusing on generating new products and not necessarily those that are the existing in the market. Managers who seek to ensure that they manage intellectual capital effectively must constantly look at customer needs and the trends in the market to create new products that meet client needs (Chiucchi & Dumay, 2015, p.321). This implies that the focus of the organization must not be on their competitors but upon the users of their products.

The focus of building products should also be put upon the most creative staff to ensure that they are not overburdened with so many tasks to an extent that they are unable to achieve high levels of productivity (Delgado-Verde et al. 2016, p.41). Ultimately, it is important for their managers to hold individuals responsible for the successes or the failures of every product. This will ensure that there is no room for excuses and that errors are identified within the shortest time possible.

 Focusing on product design is an important element of intellectual capital management and the creation of an innovative environment. This is because it is important for organizations to design a product and to ensure that it meets the needs of clients before going to the market to inform clients that there is a new product that intends to be introduced (Chahal & Bakshi, 2015, p.389). This is an objective that can be achieved if an organization is able to improve its focus on the customers. Typically, manager’s focus on improving the experience of the customers since this will guarantee that products that are generated within the organizations are sold.

The structure of an organization in highly competitive environments is necessary to promote innovativeness and effective intellectual capital management. It is important for managers to focus on motivating the workforce and encouraging them to be creative. This should be done while implementing stringent guidelines to ensure that organization efficiency and cost control is managed (Han & Li, 2015, p.52). Facilitating creativity is possible in an organization as the management can achieve their goals through product innovation to ensure that individual employee contribution is encouraged. The management must ensure that the boundaries that are implemented do not hinder creativity and instead boost employee morale and creativity to ensure that all employees are goal oriented.

Compensation and bonuses are also major characteristics of organizations that need to incentivize their employees and to ensure that exceptional performance is maintained to encourage the creation of innovative products. This is an objective that should be achieved by ensuring that the bonuses that are offered are aligned with the long-term goals of the organization (Martín-de Castro, 2015, p.145). Departments within organizations that seek to be innovative and to focus on intellectual capital management should determine employee bonuses to ensure that staff members are constantly motivated. This is because linking employee bonuses on their job will ensure that they have an incentive to examine their duties within the organization.

To ensure that the organization motivates employees, it is important for them to create a system where staff members are promoted from within. This is mainly because it is a system that will allow employees to seriously consider their responsibilities and their obligations as they feel like they are part of the organization. It is therefore necessary for a strong culture to be created to create a sense of ownership within the company (Visnjic et al. 2016, p.45). Ultimately, grievances should be handled by creating a clear structure of communication through which employees are able to express their grievances and to get solutions within the shortest time possible.

The established structures of management should also allow employees to provide recommendations and ideas to those in senior management. For proper coordination, the management of an organization which seeks to manage intellectual capital and to enhance an innovative environment needs to adopt effective leadership and implementation of its policies (O’Cass & Sok, 2014, p.1012). This implies that these organizations should focus on hiring managers with proper qualifications to ensure that they are able to communicate company ideas and the direction that the organization intends to take.

Managers in enterprises which want to effectively manage intellectual property must ensure that they create a strategy of success. This can be effectively achieved by creating a strategic plan. The focus should be on meeting customer needs to ensure that the market share is increased and their profitability levels are enhanced. The strategic plan of an organization should be created by analyzing the vision and the mission of the organization. This implies that the organization must constantly strive to hire creative professionals and to promote an environment of innovativeness (Costa et al. 2014, p.331). It is also necessary for the company to have a clear vision that states that it is interested in designing and producing groundbreaking products. This ensures that employees are motivated to be innovative and that the constant focus of the organization is designing and developing new products. The management of a company must constantly seek to acquire new technologies to ensure that it enhances and expands its operations by coordinating with a research and development department. Such a kind of coordination is important to ensure that market information is used to enhance product quality.

The creation of a strategic capacity plan is also necessary to ensure the resources used in the organization facilitate product manufacturing. As a matter of fact, the management must ensure that they encourage employees to attain a certain level of excellence and perfection in the production processes. This will ensure that the direction given is a critical element in product development and in mobilizing resources in an efficient manner to produce superior products (Murray et al. 2016, p.349). The management must also ensure that they seek for quality supplies of products to ensure that are their suppliers provide quality components that can be used in designing superior products. Organizations also need to come up with a superior product management plan to ensure that projects are carefully monitored to enhance quality and to ensure that every step is monitored to reduce manufacturing defects (Prajogo & Oke, 2016, p.991). Staff members should be encouraged to integrate customer experiences and complaints before they design products to ensure that errors of previous products are corrected.

4. Conclusion

Innovativeness and effective management of intellectual capital is considered to be an important component of modern organizations. This is mainly because companies are normally structured in a way that ensures that the management that is a hired clearly understands the vision of the organization. The intention is to ensure that they hire employees that are innovative and also seek to improve product quality by looking at the needs of their clients. The management of an organization can attain these objectives if it puts its focus on product design and quality as a way of improving the environment and ensuring that the focus is on the delivery of superior products. Alternatively, an organization needs to ensure that clear communication structures are established to resolve the grievances that may exist and to ensure employee contributions are valued. It is necessary for there to be a clear system of communication to ensure employees receives instructions from managers and that they are able to produce innovative products.

Reference List

Chahal, H. and Bakshi, P., 2015. Examining intellectual capital and competitive advantage relationship: Role of innovation and organizational learning. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 33(3), pp.376-399.

Chiucchi, M.S. and Dumay, J., 2015. Unlocking intellectual capital. Journal of intellectual capital, 16(2), pp.305-330.

Costa, R.V., Fernández-Jardon Fernández, C. and Figueroa Dorrego, P., 2014. Critical elements for product innovation at Portuguese innovative SMEs: an intellectual capital perspective. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 12(3), pp.322-338.

Delgado-verde, M., Martín-de Castro, G. and Amores-Salvadó, J., 2016. Intellectual capital and radical innovation: Exploring the quadratic effects in technology-based manufacturing firms. Technovation, 54, pp.35-47.

Díaz-Fernández, M.C., González-Rodríguez, M.R. and Simonetti, B., 2015. Top management team’s intellectual capital and firm performance. European Management Journal, 33(5), pp.322-331.

Donate, M.J. and De Pablo, J.D.S., 2015. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), pp.360-370.

Dumay, J., 2016. A critical reflection on the future of intellectual capital: from reporting to disclosure. Journal of Intellectual capital, 17(1), pp.168-184.

Han, Y. and Li, D., 2015. Effects of intellectual capital on innovative performance: The role of knowledge-based dynamic capability. Management Decision, 53(1), pp.40-56.

Inkinen, H., 2015. Review of empirical research on intellectual capital and firm performance. Journal of Intellectual capital, 16(3), pp.518-565.

Kalkan, A., Bozkurt, Ö.Ç. and Arman, M., 2014. The impacts of intellectual capital, innovation and organizational strategy on firm performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, pp.700-707.

Kianto, A., Ritala, P., Spender, J.C. and Vanhala, M., 2014. The interaction of intellectual capital assets and knowledge management practices in organizational value creation. Journal of Intellectual capital, 15(3), pp.362-375.

Lerro, A., Linzalone, R. and Schiuma, G., 2014. Managing intellectual capital dimensions for organizational value creation. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 15(3), pp.350-361.

Mariano, S. and Walter, C., 2015. The construct of absorptive capacity in knowledge management and intellectual capital research: content and text analyses. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(2), pp.372-400.

Martín-de Castro, G., 2015. Knowledge management and innovation in knowledge-based and high-tech industrial markets: The role of openness and absorptive capacity. Industrial Marketing Management, 47, pp.143-146.

Melloni, G., 2015. Intellectual capital disclosure in integrated reporting: an impression management analysis. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 16(3), pp.661-680.

Murray, A., Papa, A., Cuozzo, B. and Russo, G., 2016. Evaluating the innovation of the Internet of Things: Empirical evidence from the intellectual capital assessment. Business Process Management Journal, 22(2), pp.341-356.

O’Cass, A. and Sok, P., 2014. The role of intellectual resources, product innovation capability, reputational resources and marketing capability combinations in firm growth. International Small Business Journal, 32(8), pp.996-1018.

Obeidat, B.Y., Tarhini, A., Masa'deh, R.E. and Aqqad, N.O., 2017. The impact of intellectual capital on innovation via the mediating role of knowledge management: a structural equation modelling approach. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 8(3-4), pp.273-298.

Prajogo, D.I. and Oke, A., 2016. Human capital, service innovation advantage, and business performance: The moderating roles of dynamic and competitive environments. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36(9), pp.974-994.

Visnjic, I., Wiengarten, F. and Neely, A., 2016. Only the brave: Product innovation, service business model innovation, and their impact on performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(1), pp.36-52.

Wang, Z., Wang, N. and Liang, H., 2014. Knowledge sharing, intellectual capital and firm performance. Management decision, 52(2), pp.230-258.

Yessengeldin, B., Katyshev, D. and Aimukhanbetova, G., 2018. Contemporary issues of implementation of project management in the Republic of Kazakhstan. International Journal of Economics and Project Management, 1(1), pp.32-41.

Yessengeldin, B., Sitenko, D. and Ramashova, A., 2015. Development of human potential in the innovation economy of Kazakhstan. Public Policy and Administration, 14(2), pp.209-220.

Yessengeldin, B., Sitenko, D., Murzatayeva, G. and Yessengeldina, A., 2016. Scientific Potential as the Basis of Innovation Development of Kazakhstan. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 6(3), pp.1019-1024.

1. DBA-student, International Business School (Switzerland)

2. Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Kazakh University of Economics, Finance and International Trade, Astana, Kazakhstan

3. Candidate of Economic Sciences, Academician Ye.A. Buketov Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan

4. Associate Professor, Academician Ye.A. Buketov Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan

5. Master of sciences, Academician Ye.A. Buketov Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan, azamat.zhanseitov@icloud.com