Faculty
Dr Patricia Plackett and guest lecturers

Course Coordinator
Dr Jan Mouritsen

Students should have had prior courses in one or more of the following: economics, management, strategy, marketing, finance, international business, or human resource management.

Why was Lou Gerstner so successful at transformational leadership when he was at the helm of IBM while many other leaders have failed miserably? And why was Carly Fiorina forced out of her CEO position at HP, yet Steve Jobs was able to make a successful return to Apple after being squeezed out 11 years earlier? The answer, in part, lies in the role of intangibles. In the case of companies, intangible assets – factors not normally listed in financial statements that help companies to achieve their full potential, e.g., brands, leadership and processes – are an increasing part of market capitalization. In the case of individuals, there are many examples in which their intangible assets have contributed significantly to successful outcomes. In fact, during interviews some recruiters try to uncover evidence of specific intangible traits of potential value to organizations. However, despite the rising significance of intangibles at all levels, we still do not have a comprehensive understanding of how they actually function as value-drivers. As a consequence, we do not manage them as well as we might in order to create value. Empirical evidence confirms that intangibles are fundamentally changing the way in which organizations are managed. Various theoretical lenses will be introduced to reveal features of intangibles that would otherwise remain invisible.

This course is structured into 10 topics, each of which addresses a question related to the strategic management of an individual’s stock of intangible assets. It will explore a range of managerial contexts in which individuals make choices about which intangibles to invest in and whether to increase, decrease, or terminate these investments over time. Selected cases and examples will be examined to identify specific ways in which intangible resources can help in resolving problems and in responding to opportunities. For example, we will study the implications of intangibles for leadership and communication in the face of moral adversity, for relationship management under the constraints posed by virtual teams and for cross-cultural business operations in which mindsets are dramatically different. Classes will include mini-lectures, group case analyses, and group discussions. Students will be encouraged to actively share their viewpoints by drawing on their own experiences and information from other courses as well as the materials for this course.The quality of the sessions will be monitored through feedback at the conclusion of each session.

The aim of this course is to allow students to gain exposure to, and build expertise in, developing and deploying intangible resources to create value at the personal level. Students can expect to learn the basic concepts and theories as well as to gain insights about best practices in the real world with significant implications for developing leadership potential.

At the end of the course the student should be able to manage competently the following objectives:

Learning Objective 1: To explain clearly how intangible resources can be used to create value by drawing on a wide range of international examples. [Understand empirical work on the subject]

Learning Objective 2: To discuss knowledgably all key concepts, theories, models and frameworks that can be used in the analysis of intangible resources. [Understand theoretical foundations to the subject]

Learning Objective 3: To design and implement practical strategies for creating value through investments in intangible resources based on rigorous and systematic analysis of a variety of examples. [Understand practical approaches to strategy design and implementation related to the subject]

To obtain a score of 12 in this course a student must master the three learning objectives to an exceptional level with lower scores awarded in accordance with reductions in the levels of mastery.

Individual oral examination.

The course readings will include selected papers and cases as well as articles from the business press.

DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) (2001), Creating value from your intangible assets: Unlocking your true potential.

Lev, Baruch (2001), Intangibles: Management, measurement and reporting. Washington, DC: Brookings

Allee, Verna (2008b), “Value network analysis and value conversion of tangibles and intangible assets,” Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 5-24.

Solitander, Maria and Tidstrøm Annika (2010), “Competitive flows of intellectual capital in value creating networks,” Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 23-38.

Bart, Chris, Baetz, Mark C. and Pancer, S. Mark (2009), “Leveraging human capital through an employee volunteer program,” Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 121-134.

Haskins, Mark E., Liedtka, Jeanne and Rosenblum, John (1998), “Beyond teams: Toward an ethic of collaboration,” Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 34-50.

Nonaka, Ikujiro, Peltokorpi, Vesa, and Tomae, Hisao (2005), “Strategic knowledge creation,” International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 30, Nos. 3-4, pp. 248-264.

Millar, Carla C.J.M. and Choi, Chong Ju (2003) Advertising and knowledge intermediaries: Managing the ethical challenges of intangibles, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 48, pp. 267-277.

Egan, Toby Marshall (2005), ), “Factors influencing individual creativity in the workplace: An examination of quantitative empirical research, Advances in Developing Human Resources, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 160-181.

Case studies:

Creating a culture of innovation in AXA Ireland. Case Study prepared by Cranfield University School of Management].

Managing virtual teams. [Darden Business Publishing, University of Virginia, 2009]

A confrontation of mindsets: French retailers operating in Poland. [The CASE Association, 2009]