Value creation model-based approach to investment in intellectual capital of a manufacturing company

Abstract

Alongside with physical and fi nancial components a signifi cant role in a company’s resource pack belongs to the elements of intellectual capital: employees’ competence, formalized sources of knowledge and relations with the key stakeholders. However, numerous studies reveal that in manufacturing and service companies the elements of intellectual capital are distributed unevenly and the process of investment in those components is organized differently. The article is aimed at developing a theoretical approach according to which such differences appear at the stage of value creation models. These are considered as the fundamental organizational variables determining the essence and structure of the business models implemented. The research is focused on manufacturing product-oriented companies which can maintain several value creation models simultaneously. The novelty of the study lies in using differentiated strategies of investment in intellectual capital through value chains, workshops and networks, which raise the level of management reflection towards the differences in determining the role and priority of certain resources in maintaining a manufacturing company’s competitiveness. The approach suggested is of high practical significance as it contributes to methodological support for managing the set of a manufacturing company’s investment projects on developing human, structure and relation capital.