Libraries' Worlds of Production and intellectual capital utilization

Abstract:

Chapter 1 introduced the fundamental concepts and issues of library intellectual capital. Furthermore, the level of libraries' intellectual capital management awareness is being linked to their survival within a competitive economic environment, where the core product is knowledge itself. On the other hand, the development of this intellectual capital consciousness may promote libraries as key organizations for the creation of a valuable network of information and knowledge creators/distributors. In this chapter, the utilization of intangible assets is explored by analyzing their role within the framework proposed by Stopper and Salais (1997) for the analysis of different economic models, referred to as the Worlds of Production. This framework includes four Worlds of Production: industrial, market, interpersonal, and intellectual. Each "World" is a conventional socioeconomic construct, appearing as a set of rules and norms, coordination and operation practices among organizations and enterprises that develop specific information services.

Key words

intellectual capital utilization

Worlds of Production

industrial world

market world

interpersonal world

intellectual world

The worlds of intellectual capital utilization

Intellectual capital assets have been part of human activities ever since the origins of our civilization (Baruch, 2001; Lev, 2001). Although one may safely assume that some intangible assets were somehow always present within human economies (for example, the experience and competences of the workforce), their conscious utilization within the production process has only been observed during the past few decades. In fact, as Hand and Lev (2003) point out, in the United States of America, investments in intangible assets, including Research and Development (R&D) and software development, have impressively increased over the past 20 years. As opposed to intangible assets, investments in tangible assets (such as plant facilities and equipment) during the 1990s remain largely unchanged as compared to those made during the 1950s and 1960s. The shift towards investments in intellectual capital can be attributed to the unprecedented advances of ICTs, the Internet, and the fearsome competition caused by market globalization. In the modern era, value is not only associated with the allocation of capital or tangible assets, but also with innovation and knowledge, which seem to be the main wealth-producing resources (Andriessen, 2004).

The existing intense competition calls for the utilization of intellectual capital, accumulating it through a cooperation of distinct organizations as well as users, suppliers, or even competitors. This competition also promotes creativity and innovation, through the utilization of human resources and new management techniques. Globalization and the advances in information technologies are the main causes of an enormous increase in the utilization of intangible assets over the past decades. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the current globalization process was supported by the status quo of three worldwide dominant currencies (dollar, euro, and yen) and the liberation of capital circulation (OECD, 2005).Libraries in both their tangible forms (for example,infrastructure, equipment, and traditional collections) and their intangible forms (for example, digital collections,automation systems, and networking synergies) are becoming very important for businesses and enterprises. Harris (2002) recognizes that within this process of globalization the development of innovation, entrepreneurship, and synergies among employees, customers, suppliers, or even competitors, the utilization of physical and human resources, as well as innovative marketing strategies, are considered to be essential. With the exception of physical resources, all other factors identified by Harris (2002) are intangible in nature. Libraries have the opportunity, if not the responsibility, to participate actively in the establishment of a new economic reality that relies heavily upon information and knowledge. It is an undisputed fact that within the new intellectual economy, driven by ICTs, libraries can actually coach the business community, which is currently in a discovery process, by using well-established library practices (Kostagiolas and Bohoris, 2010).

Intellectual capital has been historically related to libraries, in terms of their services, administration, and culture. Libraries traditionally use and/or produce intellectual assets. Koenig (1997) characteristically stated that a librarian's first response to the management of intellectual capital is likely to be: "Hold on. We have been in the knowledge management business, the intellectual capital business for years. What do these people think a library is, anyway?" In this chapter, the framework of Stopper and Salais (1997) based on the four Worlds of Production (industrial, market, interpersonal, and intellectual) is employed for analyzing the utilization of intellectual capital investments over the years (Kostagiolas and Asonitis, 2009). The Worlds of Production framework is employed for studying intangible asset utilization in library production models. The analysis includes all three intangible asset categories: human, structural, and relational capital.

The "Worlds of Production" framework analyzed for libraries

As stated before, the main aim of this chapter is to examine the use of intangible assets in the light of the diversity and complexity of the ever-changing library environment. Before proceeding any further, it might be useful to present briefly the Worlds of Production framework, as introduced by Stopper and Salais (1997). The Worlds of Production can be seen as a theoretical discussion method for classifying new realities and proposing an analytical framework that explicitly tackles changes in the economy. Stopper and Salais (1997) introduced the four "Worlds of Production" in an effort to categorize different eras in the economy. In that sense, each "World of Production" comprises a distinct and complete framework, not necessarily in time order, within which specific rules, conventions, organizational logic, and requirements are being developed. According to the terminology used to describe the Worlds of Production as presented by Stopper and Salais (1997), the different categories are: the Industrial World, the Market World, the Interpersonal World, and the World of Intellectual Resources. Within the Industrial World framework, products and services are examined on the basis of the relations created between stakeholders. Therefore, products and services are categorized under the four Worlds of Production based on whom they are produced for and not according to their material substance, conventional or digital.

The Industrial Library World for libraries includes the following characteristics.

1. Library services are impersonal, substitutable, generic, and serve undifferentiated needs of specific groups of scholars.

2. Libraries compete in the field of physical status improvements and collection richness.

3. Library operations and services are based solely on tangible material objects (printed collections,conventional cataloging methods, etc.).

4. The library's printed material is substitutable, which means that the various items can be replaced or transferred from one person or place to another, while library collections have no individual character.

5. Library operations and services are static in the sense that the librarian's contribution has very small impact on stable bureaucratic organizational structures.

The Market Library World includes libraries with the following characteristics.

1. Library building location and status are important and library operations and services are hybrid, that is, they encompass printed and electronic material mainly originating from the physical and administrative bounds of the library.

2. Library operations and services are targeted towards specific market segments.

3. Standards and guidelines for organizing library collections are operationally incorporated.

4. Libraries compete in the fields of production cost and direct response to demand, while organizational innovations are encouraged in order to reduce the time required to handle large collections and respond to user demand.

5. Libraries build networks for conventional collection, experience, and technology sharing (for example,interlibrary loan services).

The Interpersonal Library World includes libraries with the following characteristics.

1. Library operations and services are hybrid or digital, so they encompass conventional and digital material within and outside of the library's physical and administrative bounds.

2. Libraries become personalized and are designed to satisfy specific needs of particular communities widely dispersed throughout the...