Intellectual capital management and power mobilisation in a seaport

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the management of collective intellectual capital (CIC) occurs in a seaport through the actions of the network coordinator.

A case study was conducted in a seaport, focusing on the actions taken by a network coordinator – a port authority – to develop the seaport’s CIC. The seaport is conceptualised as a meta-organisation, composed by interdependent actors which may possess different interests and different levels of power.

Evidence suggests that the mobilisation of different dimensions of power, in both coercive and non-coercive ways, is needed to promote a higher level of collaboration. Indeed, by mobilising non-coercive dimensions of power, the network coordinator can foster a sense of community within the meta-organisation, grounded in a trust-based collective culture that can potentiate collaboration, and thus allow the attainment of a more “sustainable” type of CIC.

Despite the validity of the interpretations provided by the case study, generalisation of this study should only be conducted in a theoretically framed manner.

The findings can provide network coordinators with a better understanding of the consequences of using different dimensions of power to leverage its intangible assets and enhance the meta-organisation’s performance.

The paper focus on the IC management of a specific type of meso-level unit, which possess some particular characteristics of its own: a seaport. Also, the paper aims to fill a gap in literature regarding the management of different dimensions of power and its effects over IC creation.