Identifying tangible costs, benefits and risks of an investment in intellectual capital

Purpose – The use of contingent knowledge workers may be an efficient means of investing in an organization's intellectual capital. However, exposing contingent workers to private, key competitive knowledge is considered risky. A study was undertaken to collect the costs, benefits and losses experienced by organizations that had contracted contingent knowledge workers to develop intellectual capital.Design/methodology/approach – A purposive cross‐section of senior managers of knowledge‐intensive organizations were interviewed regarding the tangible benefits, costs, perceived risks, and experienced losses from contingent knowledge worker arrangements. The constant comparison method of analysis was used.Findings – The data revealed perceived increases in flexibility, expertise, creative stimuli, and knowledge bank development. These benefits were believed to have bottom‐line impact through product and process improvements and innovations, and operational efficiencies. The managers did not perceive much risk...