Knowledge assets value creation map - Assessing knowledge assets value drivers using AHP

The paper presents an application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology to support the complex decision making process concerning with the development of causal models showing how organisational knowledge assets contribute to create company's value. The research is grounded in the resource-based view of the firm, which argues that organisational resources are bundled together. This involves difficulties in understanding which are the most important knowledge assets and how they contribute to company's performance improvements. The application of the AHP allows to assess the weights for setting the priorities among knowledge assets against the company's performance targets. Adopting the AHP, the knowledge assets value creation map (KAVCM) is proposed as an approach to visualise and analyse the cause-and-effect relationships linking knowledge assets with company's performance. This allows to understand how to lever and drive knowledge assets in order to sustain company's value creation dynamics. The application of the KAVCM is, finally, tested by its application to the identification of the knowledge assets value drivers at the basis of NPD performance improvements within an Italian leader company operating in sofa industry. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.