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Knowledge worker productivity: is it really impossible to measure it?

Knowledge worker productivity: is it really impossible to measure it? The purpose of this paper is to propose and discuss, from both a theoretical and empirical point of view, a methodology for measuring the productivity of knowledge workers, then giving a contribution to the question launched by P. Drucker at the end of last millennium. An application of the method on a real case of a knowledge-based firm is shown.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is both theoretical and empirical. At first, building also on Pulic’s theory of human capital efficiency (HCE) and on previous works by the same authors of this paper, a deep theoretical analysis is proposed. After, the explicit calculation of the knowledge worker productivity in a real case of a knowledge-based young firm has been carried out.FindingsFrom a theoretical point of view, an inter-theory relationship between Drucker’s approach of sustainable strategies based on knowledge and the theory of HCE, mostly attributable to Pulic, has been constructed. From results of the application on the case study, it emerges that the calculation of the productivity of knowledge workers can be achieved and furthermore the result of the calculation can be the basis for the policy of rewarding within the firm.Practical implicationsThe proposed methodology can support the s.c. knowledge-based firms to calculate the productivity of employees, a very practical problem for such kind of firms. Furthermore, the calculation of knowledge worker productivity is the basis for implementing a policy of rewarding employees.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper is to provide a practical methodology useful to calculate knowledge worker productivity. To do so, the link between Drucker’s and Pulic’s theories has been deeply analyzed and an inter-theory relationship has been constructed. The existence of such a relation, in the authors’ opinion, is necessary to provide a theoretical foundation for the methodology proposed. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Measuring Business Excellence Emerald Publishing

Knowledge worker productivity: is it really impossible to measure it?

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References (41)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1368-3047
DOI
10.1108/mbe-06-2018-0035
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose and discuss, from both a theoretical and empirical point of view, a methodology for measuring the productivity of knowledge workers, then giving a contribution to the question launched by P. Drucker at the end of last millennium. An application of the method on a real case of a knowledge-based firm is shown.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is both theoretical and empirical. At first, building also on Pulic’s theory of human capital efficiency (HCE) and on previous works by the same authors of this paper, a deep theoretical analysis is proposed. After, the explicit calculation of the knowledge worker productivity in a real case of a knowledge-based young firm has been carried out.FindingsFrom a theoretical point of view, an inter-theory relationship between Drucker’s approach of sustainable strategies based on knowledge and the theory of HCE, mostly attributable to Pulic, has been constructed. From results of the application on the case study, it emerges that the calculation of the productivity of knowledge workers can be achieved and furthermore the result of the calculation can be the basis for the policy of rewarding within the firm.Practical implicationsThe proposed methodology can support the s.c. knowledge-based firms to calculate the productivity of employees, a very practical problem for such kind of firms. Furthermore, the calculation of knowledge worker productivity is the basis for implementing a policy of rewarding employees.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper is to provide a practical methodology useful to calculate knowledge worker productivity. To do so, the link between Drucker’s and Pulic’s theories has been deeply analyzed and an inter-theory relationship has been constructed. The existence of such a relation, in the authors’ opinion, is necessary to provide a theoretical foundation for the methodology proposed.

Journal

Measuring Business ExcellenceEmerald Publishing

Published: Nov 14, 2018

Keywords: Performance measurement; Human capital; Value added; Knowledge worker productivity; Knowledge based firms; Rewarding policy

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