Fuzzy intellectual capital index for construction firms

Abstract

Construction firms are now operating in a new era. Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in this era primarily depends on effective and efficient management of knowledge assets. This paper proposes a performance evaluation model called fuzzy intellectual capital index (FICI) that can guide construction business executives to effectively and efficiently manage their knowledge assets. FICI incorporates an intellectual capital performance measurement model with fuzzy set theory to adequately handle imprecision, vagueness, and uncertainty that prevail in this process. FICI uses the fuzzy-weighted average algorithm to compute the intellectual capital performance of architectural/engineering/construction (A/E/C) firms. It is an internal reporting model that can guide executives of A/E/C firms to evaluate their firm's ability to achieve their strategic objectives and to pinpoint their firm's strengths and weaknesses in order to neutralize threats and to exploit opportunities presented by today's construction business environment. A real-world case study is presented to illustrate the implementation and utility of the proposed model. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.