Measuring Inter-Organizational Knowledge Flows: The Case of a Joint Venture

This chapter develops the discussions about knowledge measurements in an inter-organizational context. More in depths, the role of knowledge measurements is investigated not regarding a single organization but within a Joint Venture (JV) development process. The main findings of this study are the following. First, it emerges that a JV can be a value-conversion device, i.e. a way of transforming knowledge into financial capital in a visible way. Second, within a JV development process, knowledge measurements assume different purposes and arise different accounting challenges in dependence of the phase in which the JV is (find, design or manage). Moreover, it emerges that the implementation of specific indicators allows better controlling of the knowledge inflows and outflows.