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This paper aims to develop a model for assessing and valuing the intellectual capital of an organization by gathering data from individual employees. Also, the paper empirically investigates the relationship between intellectual capital and a specific dimension of employees' performance. Two surveys were conducted on employees of a leading company in the Italian food product market. The sample analysed comprises 1117 observations. A structural equation modelling ( SEM) methodology was used to define the measurement model and to determine the relations between intellectual capital and employees' performance. The model for intellectual capital assessment developed in this paper may integrate already existing intellectual capital frameworks. The three dimensions of intellectual capital identified mutually affect and have a positive effect on employees' performance. Our findings contribute to the discussion in the promising research stream of intellectual capital management. As limitations, this study focuses on a single company, and it exclusively adopts individual-level perceptual indicators. These elements make it difficult for any inter-company comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the main results of a benchmarking project involving eight Italian hospitals. The project sought to examine and compare the organisational processes adopted in different operating blocks, i.e. complex organisational units comprising many different actors whose performance often has a significant influence on the level of work of the overall structure. The organisational survey was carried out by means of interviews with head nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists. In order to identify the managerial significance of activities and processes, a theoretical model of the operating block was developed, together with an appropriate performance measurement system. On the basis of this model and using analytic hierarchy process, we together with experts from the sector were able both "to measure" the strategic importance of the activities and to identify the best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]