Analysing intangible resources and managing knowledge in a supply chain context

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.     

Business angel post-investment activities: a multi-level review

In this article, empirical research on post-investment activities of business angels is reviewed and conceptualized as five distinct governance processes: boundary spanning, structuring, leadership, doing, and monitoring. These processes have the potential to reduce the exposure of business angels to relational risk and market risk. The identification of these governance processes also contributes towards understanding the social aspect of business angels’ post investment involvement. In particular, it is shown how the recognition of the cognitive/institutional dimension opens up for new questions about post-investment involvement. Finally, it is proposed that venture performance can be enhanced in practice if business angels and venture members develop skills that are connected to the governance processes.