Analysing intangible resources and managing knowledge in a supply chain context.

Abstract

This paper reports the initial empirical work (and related findings) which has been carried out in a UK Government funded project titled ‘The Development of Partnership Strategies and the Management of Knowledge which Underpins Capabilities'. The companies collaborating in the research were Cellnet plc, Flymo Ltd and four of their strategic suppliers. This paper describes the validation of a technique for analysing the role of intangible resources in the development of partnership strategies. The technique codifies the tacit knowledge which a company's managers have of their company's strengths thereby enabling this understanding to be communicated to partners and used as a basis for joint strategic development. The paper goes on to outline a technique which is currently being tested for managing the knowledge associated with inter-organisational innovation.