Assessing the links between knowledge assets and value creation in organisations

Purpose – There is an increasing academic and practitioner interest in more actionable approaches and tools explaining how knowledge assets take place in organizational value creation mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology aimed both at identifying companies' knowledge assets that significantly contribute to creating value and at analysing how these assets activate value creation dynamics. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed methodology draws on cognitive mapping principles and the use of the strategy and success maps. Additionally the methodology involves the application of two multi‐criteria decision support methods, i.e. the analytic hierarchy process and the analytic network process. The methodology has been applied in three companies. Findings – The suggested methodology makes managers able to take better informed decisions with regard to knowledge assets allocation and management. In the examined case studies the mapping methodology was efficient and proved to be comprehensible by the actors involved in the evaluation and decision‐making processes, who felt comfortable with the method and its results. Originality/value – The proposed methodology combines the advantages connected to the use of mapping as a descriptive and thinking tool, with the rigorous evaluation procedures characterising multi‐criteria decision‐making methods. From a theory perspective, it enriches the perspectives of analysis about the relations between knowledge assets and companies' strategic outcomes, while from a practitioner perspective it can support managers in designing and assessing effective knowledge assets management initiatives.