Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative,
Software-developing SMEs
Tomasz Sierotowicz
a
Department of Economics and Innovation, Institute of Economics, Finance and Management, Faculty of Management and
Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, Prof. Lojasiewicza 4, 30-348, Krakow, Poland
Keywords: Open Intellectual Capital, Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital, Intellectual Capital, Empirical Analysis.
Abstract: The existing studies into intellectual capital (IC) focus on its utilisation and effect on selected business
performance indicators, mostly achieved by large enterprises. IC is subject to single-stream analyses and
understood as an internal enterprise resource. Since IC is used in the business operations of enterprises, it
must also be acquired. The aim of this study is to present the results of research conducted in a field of IC
acquisition that has not yet been explored. The described research focused on innovative small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) that develop software in Poland (2007–2019). Empirical data were obtained in time series
form through the use of dedicated statistical tools including the dynamic rate of change. The main conclusion
states that IC acquisition in the SMEs covered by the research should be described as a process taking place
simultaneously, systematically and continually in two streams: an internal and an external stream of
acquisition. Thus, considering the IC acquisition, the concept of Open IC (OIC), which consists of two streams
of acquisition: internal and external, was introduced. Future research in this field allow focus on comparative
analyses of different branches, which can extend our knowledge of the importance of OIC in businesses.
1 INTRODUCTION
The evaluation of research and development (R&D)
In a knowledge-intensive economy, the division into
property and plant equipment on the one hand and
intangible assets on the other hand is commonly used.
Intangible assets are indicated with increasing
frequency as the factor that is more important for
sustained growth, success and increased enterprise
market value (Barney and Hesterly, 2019). Intangible
resources, particularly intellectual capital (IC), are
perceived and treated by large enterprises as strategic
for sustained growth and success (Edvinsson, 1997;
Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1998; Sveiby,
2001; Steenhuis et al. 2012; Rothaermel, 2016; Santis
et al. 2019; Schiavone et al. 2022). Therefore, the use
of various IC components and their constituent parts
is dictated principally by the needs of enterprises’
operating activities. The analyses and evaluations
found in the existing literature on the subject address
mainly large enterprises and questions relating to the
transfer of knowledge both inside and outside these
enterprises (Van Wijk et al. 2008; Chen et al. 2009;
Matricano et al. 2020; Ahmed et al. 2022). They focus
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1462-8267
on such topics as IC value measurement (Pulic, 2004;
Wiederhold, 2014), value added creation in an
enterprise (Pike and Roos, 2000; Abeysekera, 2021),
the share of IC in the market value of an enterprise
(Dimitrios et al. 2011; Yovita et al. 2018;
Mačerinskienė and Survilaitė, 2019), and other
selected outputs and indicators achieved by that group
of enterprises (Pulic, 2000; Nazari, 2015; Roos and
Pike, 2018; Santis et al. 2019). These studies lead to
the conclusion that specific IC components are used
in line with the types and in-depth knowledge of the
individual conditions of enterprises’ business
operations. Hence, the vast corpus of literature on the
subject is focused on research into IC use in the
business operations of large enterprises. The results
of these research projects are widely used in
developing IC models and in planning strategies that
are implemented by the management of large
enterprises. Particular attention is paid to the models
that aim to describe the effect of IC use on selected
indices and performance indicators of enterprises
(Bontis, 2001; Bonfour, 2003; Hejase at al., 2016;
Lee at al., 2019). However, management practice
indicates that IC, considered a key resource for
52
Sierotowicz, T.
Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative, Software-developing SMEs.
DOI: 10.5220/0011033600003179
In Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Enterpr ise Information Systems (ICEIS 2022) - Volume 2, pages 52-61
ISBN: 978-989-758-569-2; ISSN: 2184-4992
Copyright
c
 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

enterprise growth, is subject to limitations, like other
types of resources. First, IC in an enterprise is not a
self-renewable resource. It must be actively acquired
and developed. Consequently, the utilisation and the
acquisition of IC must be considered equally
important and key processes in the operating
activities not only of large enterprises but also of
SMEs. To be used, IC must firstly be acquired to the
extent that is necessary to ensure the continuity of an
enterprise’s operating activities. Since IC must be
acquired before it is used in an enterprise’s
operations, it can be assumed that IC acquisition also
represents a systematic and continual process related
to the enterprise’s operating activities. Moreover,
management practice indicates that IC is acquired by
enterprises both internally and externally. Also, it can
be expected that the IC utilisation level and the level
of acquisition of that capital will be higher in
innovative SMEs that operate in the knowledge-
intensive sector. This inherent characteristic
distinguishes business operations of enterprises in the
knowledge-intensive sector from those in other
sectors and types of business. The above reasons
underlie the choice of innovative SMEs that develop
software in Poland. However, studies presented in the
subject literature did not focus on IC acquisition and
these types of SMEs. Up-to-date research took into
account the utilisation of IC as a single stream of
internal resource. Since IC acquisition and use are
equally important, the absence of research into the
field of IC acquisition represents a major gap in our
knowledge. Another gap in the literature on the
subject is the absence of research projects covering
relatively long periods. Most analyses are limited to
one year, which provides only a snapshot of the
results. The research project described in this paper
aimed to fill above-mentioned gaps.
The aim of this study is to present and discuss the
results of research on the acquisition of OIC, which
occurs as a continuous process in two mutually
symmetric, internal and external streams, as observed
over the long term in innovative, software-
development Polish SMEs.
2 CHARACTERISTICS OF
SOFTWARE-DEVELOPMENT
POLISH SMES
The existing models and concepts of IC lead, among
other ideas, to the conclusion that IC utilisation is
related to the operating activities of an enterprise.
Since the operating activities of an enterprise are
carried out continually and systematically, IC
utilisation and thus IC acquisition also represent a
continual and systematic process that is related to the
operating activities of the enterprise. The knowledge-
intensive sector includes innovative, software-
development SMEs. Business operations of these
enterprises consist of developing and improving
software, based on two business models. The first is
implemented when an enterprise carries out IT
projects individually commissioned by enterprises
that conduct business in other economic sectors. The
second is used when an enterprise that develops
software introduces into the market its IT products
that are systematically extended, improved and
distributed. The range of products developed by
enterprises that are engaged in developing and
improving their own computer programs is frequently
designed for enterprises that conduct business in other
economic sectors. In both cases described, SMEs
keep and continually expand their catalogues of
regular business customers, including foreign ones,
whose opinions and suggestions are used in
subsequent projects and program versions. The
relations with regular customers form one of the
streams of acquiring IC. Generally, it can be
concluded that the business operations of innovative,
software-development SMEs consist of the
developments and improvements of their own
computer programs as part of their IT projects, and of
carrying out IT projects individually commissioned
by enterprises that conduct business operations in
other economic sectors, not only in domestic but also
in foreign markets. Thus, the operating activities of
the enterprises covered by the research project
described in this study consist of carrying out IT
projects. These operating activities are undertaken in
the enterprises continually and systematically and
include the development and improvement of
software, wherein the writing of source code is
accompanied by a number of repeated tests of the
program under development, performed using
dedicated electronic (computer) equipment. When
managing the development and improvement
processes, usually dedicated techniques based on the
Agile Manifesto are employed (Schwaber, 2005;
Brencher, 2015). Two distinctive characteristics are
evident in the IT project implementation process:
iteration and the teamwork of programmers (software
developers). This teamwork of program developers is
repeated many times as part of the software
development and improvement processes (sprints)
(Highsmith, 2009; Brencher, 2015). Each sprint aims
to implement specific parts of the functionalities to be
offered by the developed or improved software.
Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative, Software-developing SMEs
53

Sprints are systematically repeated during each IT
project. This means that each sprint aims to achieve
specific and varied values that are added to the
developed or improved software. Sprint repetitions
are accompanied by other regularly recurring events
included in the software development and
improvement process, such as (Schwaber and
Sutherland, 2012; McConnell, 2019): Product
backlog; Sprint planning; Sprint backlog; Sprint
interaction; Daily scrum; Sprint review; Sprint
retrospective and Software tests.
Sprints and other events are repeated a number of
times in each individual IT project, and each time they
refer to different content related to software
development and improvement. Hence, the above
events form an iterative mechanism of cooperation in
a programmer team that creates added value. The
iterative work of the programmer team is based on the
systematic and continual use of IC that is transformed,
by way of the written source code, into added value,
represented by functionalities offered by the developed
software. Since the value that is added in innovative
SMEs that develop software is created systematically
and continually as part of the IT projects that constitute
their principal operating activity, these enterprises are
characterised by the highest level of iterative and
systematic use of IC. These operating characteristics of
the innovative SMEs that develop software provided
the reasons this group of enterprises was chosen as the
subject of this research.
3 MATERIALS AND METHOD
This study into open IC (OIC) acquisition by
innovative, software-development Polish SMEs
aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. Is OIC acquired in two entire streams (internal and
external) simultaneously over the entire research
period?
2. Does OIC acquisition in both streams form a
systematic and continual process?
3. Which OIC acquisition stream is more important
for the surveyed enterprises, considering the level
of acquisition of that capital?
4. Which OIC acquisition stream is more important
for the surveyed enterprises, considering the
dynamic rate of change in the OIC acquisition
level?
5. Which acquired OIC component is more
important for the surveyed enterprises,
considering the dynamic rate of change in the
levels of component acquisition?
An analysis, including description of the OIC
concept, were conducted in the three stages described
below to answer the above-mentioned research
questions.
3.1 Description of OIC Concepts: The
First Stage of Empirical Analysis
Since there is no universal concept of IC in the
literature, an IC concept including as many
components as possible had to be developed for the
purposes of this study. Various IC concepts proposed
in the literature on the subject contain various sets of
components. The IC concept proposed here is as broad
as possible and includes numerous components,
facilitating a more detailed analysis and evaluation of
the OIC acquisition process. It was also useful because
only the selected components and their constituent
parts, which create the structure of IC, are utilised in
enterprises’ operations. Moreover, enterprises differ in
their utilisation of IC. It depends on such factors as the
conditions of the social and economic environment, the
economic sector, the industry and individual enterprise
conditions, e.g. its size and the employees’ educational
background and occupational experience.
The above concept was formulated in line with the
rule of uniqueness of IC components. Considering the
most comprehensive IC concepts in terms of their
components and constituent parts, concepts that are
also popular in the literature, and following the above
rule, an IC concept consisting of the following
components was developed and used in this research
project:
• Human Capital;
• Organisational Capital;
• Relational Capital;
• Project Capital;
• Innovation Capital;
• Information Capital;
• Technological Capital.
A survey was conducted with the division of
simultaneous IC acquisition into two streams: internal
and external. The internal stream describes IC
generation internally within the surveyed enterprises,
based on their own resources. The external stream
describes the IC acquisition process from the external
environment of the surveyed enterprises. For
methodological reasons, comparative analyses
required the same IC component structure in both
(symmetric) streams. Hence, the formulated concept
is termed Open IC (OIC).
The second stage of this research project was
aimed at analysing and evaluating the dynamics of
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OIC acquisition in two symmetric and internal and
external streams in the SMEs covered by the research.
The third stage of this research project was aimed at
analysing and evaluating the dynamics of OIC
acquisition at the component level independently for
the internal and external streams in the SMEs covered
by the research.
Seeking answers to the research questions,
comparative analyses of the streams were made, at the
level of the streams, and at the level of the individual
OIC components that constitute the internal and
external streams of IC acquisition.
3.2 Empirical Data, Research Period
and SMEs Covered by the
Research Project
The catalogue of variables describing individual OIC
components, symmetric in the internal and external
streams, was compiled based on a form used in a
regular survey for innovative entities, i.e. SMEs that
develop software in Poland and belong to the
knowledge-intensive sector. The original empirical
data set, in the form of a time series, was obtained
from a regular survey conducted by Statistics Poland.
The time series contained 13 annual observations,
covering the adopted research period of 2007–2019
and describing each component constituting OIC
separately in the internal and external streams (Table
1).
Table 1: Time series of the variables obtained during the
research project for all of the OIC components used in the
performed analysis.
OIC
component
of strea
m
Description of variables characterising the
acquiring of OIC
Streams of components forming the internal stream of
acquired OI
C
V
1
Stream of Human Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
2
Stream of Or
g
anisational Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
3
Stream of Relational Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
4
Stream of Technological Capital component
V
5
Stream of Information Capital component
V
6
Stream of Pro
j
ect Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
7
Stream of Innovation Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
Streams of components forming the external stream of
acquired OI
C
V
8
Stream of Human Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
9
Stream of Or
g
anisational Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
10
Stream of Relational Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
V
11
Stream of Technological Capital component
V
12
Stream of Information Capital component
V
13
Stream of Project Capital component
V
14
Stream of Innovation Ca
p
ital com
p
onent
The different variables characterise topics that are
directly related to the acquisition of OIC and that are
indispensable to the iterative process of software
development and improvement.
The survey included a group of innovative SMEs
that develop software in Poland over the entire
research period. The enterprises were characterised
by a headcount varying from 10 to 249 employees,
and their businesses were included in NACE classes
62.01 and 62.02 (European Communities, 2008). The
population of the surveyed group is given in Table 2.
Table 2: Number of SMEs covered by the research project.
Yea
r
Number of SMEs
2007 192
2008 246
2009 261
2010 293
2011 247
2012 282
2013 305
2014 349
2015 363
2016 345
2017 357
2018 372
2019 391
The comparative analysis and evaluation of OIC
acquisition conducted as part of this research project
required purposefully selected computational tools
and the division into internal and external streams of
capital acquisition, both at the component level and at
the level of the stream.
3.3 Statistical Tools Used in the Second
Stage of Empirical Analysis
The calculations in the second stage of analysis and
evaluation, which considers the level of OIC
acquisition in the internal and external streams over
the entire research period, are based on variables
forming time series of annual numbers of the acquired
constituent parts that form each of the structural
components of OIC. The level of OIC acquisition in
the internal stream was calculated using the variables
marked in Table 1 as V
1
– V
7
. Similarly, the level of
OIC acquisition in the external stream was calculated
using the variables marked in Table 1 as V
8
– V
14
.
Consequently, both streams consist of similar groups
of seven components and their constituent parts,
which form the OIC structure in each year of the
research period. Thus, unit streams of individual OIC
component acquisition levels could be used to build
Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative, Software-developing SMEs
55

an index of the overall level of OIC acquisition,
calculated according to Equation 1.
()
7
it
i=1 int
at
14
ext
jt
j=8
V
V
Cs = = , t = 2007,...,2019
V
V
∀


(1)
where:
t – the subsequent year in the time series;
i – the index of each variable from V
1
to V
7
(Table 1),
describing the subsequent component of OIC in the
internal stream;
V
it
– the level of the acquired subsequent component
i, of OIC in the internal stream in subsequent year t;
V
int
– the level of the OIC acquired in internal stream,
calculated in subsequent year t;
j – the variable from V
8
to V
14
(Table 1), describing
the subsequent component of OIC in the external
stream;
V
jt
– the level of the acquired subsequent component
j, of OIC in the external stream in subsequent year t;
V
ext
– the level of the OIC acquired in external stream,
calculated in subsequent year t;
Cs
at
– indices of the overall OIC acquisition by the
SMEs covered by the research project, calculated in
subsequent year t.
The calculated value of indices of the overall OIC
acquisition Cs
at
provides information as to whether
OIC is acquired in both streams simultaneously,
continually and systematically, and indicates which
stream of OIC acquisition reached a higher level in
the surveyed SMEs in each year of the research
period. The calculated indices provide answers to the
first, second and third research questions.
The obtained values of variables V
int
, V
ext
and Cs
at
,
which take the form of time series, were used to
analyse the dynamic rate of change in OIC acquisition
in the surveyed SMEs over the entire research period
(Sharpe et al. 2014; Hatcher, 2013). Equation 2 was
used to calculate the dynamic rate of change in the
described time series.
()
N
z(t)
N1
Z
t=2
z(t 1)
n
T = 1 ×100%, z = 1,...,3
n
−
−



−∀





∏
(2)
where:
t – the subsequent year in the time series;
N – the number of annual observations in a time series
of the subsequent variable calculated in that stage of
research in the adopted research period;
z – an index ranging from one to three and denoting a
subsequent variable;
n
z
– another of the three calculated variables denoting,
respectively, n
1
– V
int
, n
2
– V
ext
, n
3
– Cs
at
;
z
(t)
z
(t 1)
n
n
−
– next chain index value of another variable n
z
;
Z
T
– the value of the dynamic rate of change in each
variable:
1Vint
TT−
,
2Vext
TT−
,
3Csat
TT−
.
An interpretation of the dynamic rate of change
Z
T
provides an answer to the fourth research question.
As the dynamic rate of change exceeds one, the level
of OIC acquisition in particular stream rises, which
means that OIC acquired in this stream becomes
increasingly important for the processes of software
development and improvement that take place in the
surveyed SMEs, because OIC is acquired in line with
the demand created by these processes. This tool is
also useful in determining the dynamic rate of change
in the acquisition level separately for the internal and
external streams of OIC over the entire research
period.
3.4 Statistical Tools Used in the Third
Stage of Empirical Analysis
The third stage of analysis and evaluation is aimed at
analysing dynamic rates of change in the level of OIC
acquisition, considering the components constituting
the internal and external streams. Stage 3 consists of
the two sections described below that address
different aspects of the analysis and evaluation of the
diversified acquisition of OIC components. Section 1
of Stage 3 of the research project was aimed at
analysing and evaluating the share of the levels of
individual OIC component acquisition in the internal
and external streams over the entire research period.
Equation 3 was used to calculate the share of levels
of the individual OIC component acquisition in the
internal stream over the entire research period.
()
2019
it
t=2007
i
2019
it jt
t=2007
in
Ic = ×100%, t = 2007,...,2019; i = 1,...,7; j = 8,...,14
in +ex


∀





(3)
where:
t – the subsequent year in the time series;
i – the index of each variable from V
1
to V
7
(Table 1),
describing the subsequent component of OIC in the
internal stream;
j – the index of each variable from V
8
to V
14
(Table
1), describing the subsequent components of OIC in
the external stream;
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56

in
it
– the acquisition level of subsequent component i,
included in the internal stream of OCI acquisition by
the surveyed SMEs in subsequent year t of the
research period;
ex
jt
– the acquisition level of subsequent component
j, included in the external stream of OCI acquisition
by the surveyed SMEs in subsequent year t of the
research period;
Ic
i
– the share of the acquisition level of subsequent
component i, included in the internal stream of OIC
acquired by the surveyed SMEs over the entire
research period.
Equation 4 was used to calculate the share of the
levels of individual OIC component acquisition in the
external stream over the entire research period.
()
2019
jt
t=2007
j
2019
it jt
t=2007
ex
Ex = ×100, t = 2007,...,2019; i = 1,...,7; j = 8,...,14
in + ex


∀





(4)
where:
t – the subsequent year in the time series;
i – the index of each variable from V
1
to V
7
(Table 1),
describing the subsequent component of OIC in the
internal stream;
j – the index of each variable from V
8
to V
14
(Table
1), describing the subsequent components of OIC in
the external stream;
in
it
– the acquisition level of subsequent component i,
included in the internal stream of OCI acquisition by
the surveyed SMEs in subsequent year t of the
research period;
ex
jt
– the acquisition level of subsequent component
j, included in the external stream of OCI acquisition
by the surveyed SMEs in subsequent year t of the
research period;
Ex
j
– the share of the acquisition level of subsequent
component j, included in the external stream of OIC
acquired by the surveyed SMEs over the entire
research period.
Section 2 of Stage 3 is aimed at analysing the
dynamic rate of change in each component of the
acquired OIC (Sharpe et al. 2014; Hatcher, 2013).
Equation 5 was used for the calculations.
1, 2
N
ks(t)
N1
ks
t=2
ks(t 1)
v
T = 1 ×100%, k = 1,...,7; s
v
−
−




−∀=







∏
(5)
where:
t – the subsequent year in the time series;
N – the number of annual observations in the time
series of the subsequent components included in the
OIC acquired by the surveyed SMEs over the adopted
research period;
k – an index ranging from one to seven, denoting
subsequent components included in the OIC acquired
by the surveyed SMEs over the adopted research
period;
s – index one or two, indicating respectively the
internal or external stream of OIC acquisition by
SMEs covered by the research;
ks(t)
ks(t 1)
v
v
−
– another value of a chain index in the time
series of the acquisition level of subsequent
component k, included in the OIC acquired by the
surveyed SMEs in subsequent year t of the research
period;
ks
T
– the dynamic rate of change in the acquisition
level of component k, included in the OIC acquired
by the surveyed SMEs over the entire research period,
separately in the internal and external stream s.
An interpretation of the dynamic rate of change
ks
T
at the level of OIC components provides an
answer to the fifth research question. As the dynamic
rate of change exceeds one, the level of acquisition of
an OIC component rises, which means that OIC of
this component becomes increasingly important for
the processes of software development and
improvement that take place in the surveyed SMEs,
because OIC is acquired in line with the demand
created by these processes.
4 RESEARCH RESULTS
The results shown in Table 3 were obtained from
Equation 1. In particular, annual indices of the overall
OIC acquisition level Cs
at
were calculated.
Table 3: Calculated results of the annual indices of overall
OCI acquisition level by the surveyed SMEs.
Year/ Designation
[unit]
V
int
[number]
V
ext
[number]
Cs
at
2007 451 304 1.485
2008 626 435 1.439
2009 700 512 1.368
2010 749 526 1.424
2011 610 415 1.470
2012 671 442 1.517
2013 708 467 1.515
2014 808 567 1.424
2015 847 598 1.417
2016 812 577 1.408
2017 847 631 1.341
2018 993 761 1.305
2019 1067 849 1.258
Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative, Software-developing SMEs
57

The obtained calculation results indicate that the
values of indices C
sat
are greater than one in each year
of the research period, and thus the surveyed SMEs
acquire OIC simultaneously, continually and
systematically in the two internal and external
streams because both variables V
int
and V
ext
assume
positive values (Table 1). The value of the indices of
the overall OIC acquisition level exceeding one
indicates that:
• an analysis and evaluation of OIC acquisition
should be done by dividing it into two streams
of OIC acquisition: an internal stream and an
external stream;
• considering the level of OIC acquisition, the
internal stream is more important for the
processes of software development and
improvement taking place in the surveyed SMEs
because its OIC acquisition level is greater than
the acquisition level of OIC in the external
stream (variable V
int
is greater than V
ext
).
Table 4 contains the results obtained using Equation
2 to determine the dynamic rate of change in OIC
acquisition in the internal stream, external stream and
in the indices of overall OIC acquisition.
Table 4: Calculated dynamic rates of change in OIC
acquisition over the entire research period.
Designation
Vint
T
Vext
T
Csat
T
Calculated value 7.44% 8.93% -1.37%
The obtained calculation results indicate that the level
of OIC acquisition in the internal and external streams
rose year over year by 7.44% and 8.93%,
respectively, on average over the entire research
period. Thus, the levels of OIC acquisition rose in
both of the analysed and evaluated streams, with the
level of OIC acquisition rising faster in the external
stream. The indices of the overall OIC level decreased
year over year by 1.37% on average over the entire
research period. Thus, the level of OIC acquisition
expressed as the ratio of the internal stream to the
external stream decreased in the entire research
period. The calculated dynamic rate of change in the
indices of the overall level of OIC acquisition T
Csat
(showed in table 3), in conjunction with its calculated
value, shown in Table 3, indicates that although the
level of OIC in the internal stream is greater than in
the external stream, the difference decreases over the
entire research period. It may be concluded that the
importance of the OIC acquired in the external stream
rose over the entire research period.
Table 5 contains the calculation results of the
share of the individual OIC component acquisition
levels in the internal stream and external stream
separately, and it also contains the values of the share
of component-level OIC acquisition over the entire
research period. Calculations were done using
Equations 3 and 4.
Table 5: Calculated values of component share in OIC
acquisition, in the internal and external streams, over the
entire research period.
OIC component/
Share in strea
m
Share in whole
internal strea
m
Share in whole
external strea
m
Innovation Ca
p
ital 83.5% 16.5%
Pro
j
ect Ca
p
ital 82.4% 17.6%
Information Capital 74.0% 26.0%
Human Capital 44.6% 55.4%
Organisational
Ca
p
ital
33.8% 66.2%
Relational Capital 26.6% 73.4%
Technological
Ca
p
ital
0.0% 100.0%
The results obtained indicate that the surveyed SMEs
acquire project capital principally through the internal
stream. The project capital consists of knowledge
about IT projects management techniques. The basic
knowledge about these techniques is acquired in
external stream. After that, they are adapted to the
individual conditions in each enterprise so that the
processes of software development and improvement
are managed with the aim of creating the maximum
added value represented by an innovative product. As
described in chapter 2, added value is generated in the
processes of software development and improvement
that take place inside the surveyed enterprises by the
direct involvement of programmers in iterative
teamwork. Due to the direct, iterative involvement of
programmers in the process of creating added value,
the share of human capital in OIC acquisition was
similar in both streams: 44.6% in the internal stream
and 55.4% in the external stream. The human capital
component includes such constituents as knowledge,
competences, learning abilities and cooperation. The
obtained calculation results indicate that human
capital, like other components (except for
technological capital), are acquired simultaneously in
both streams: internal and external. This again
confirms the need to conduct analyses and
evaluations of OIC acquisition in these two (internal
and external) streams.
The calculation results given above demonstrate
that OIC acquisition on the component level clearly
varies in both streams. This conclusion is confirmed
by the graphic representation of the internal and
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external streams of OIC acquisition at the component
level, seen in Figure 1, where the intersection of
acquisition is insignificant, and larger areas are
clearly different. Thus, the components acquired in
the internal and external OIC streams are
complementary.
Figure 1: Diversified acquisition of OIC components over
the entire research period.
Attention should be drawn to the technological capital
component (indicated above) that is entirely acquired
in the external stream. This component includes
computer technologies and equipment. This result
leads to the conclusion that in the surveyed SMEs, the
computer programming environment, consisting of
suitable software, IT technologies and computer
equipment, does not result from the software
development and improvement processes, but is
acquired from external sources. The constituent parts
of the technological component are used in the
software development and improvement process
rather than produced in that process. This result
confirms the fact that the surveyed SMEs develop and
improve software as ordered by individual external
entities or as their own product designed for market
distribution. Relational capital provides another
example of diversified OIC acquisition. This
component consists of a list of regular customers, the
partners, image, trust, reputation and external
relations. The results confirms that these constituent
parts are strictly related to the external socio-
economic environment of the surveyed SMEs.
Individual orders for computer programs are
conditional on great trust and the reputation and
capability of establishing and maintaining stable
relations with customers.
Table 6 shows calculation results of the dynamic
rate of change in the level of acquiring individual OIC
components separately in the internal and external
streams over the entire research period. The
calculations were done using Equation 5.
Table 6: Calculated dynamic rates of change in the level of
OIC component acquisition over the entire research period.
OIC components
Dynamic rate of
change in the
acquisition level
in the whole
internal stream
Dynamic rate of
change in the
acquisition level
in the whole
external stream
Human Ca
p
ital 10.78% 15.47%
Relational Capital 8.83% 4.38%
Innovation Capital 7.34% 7.93%
Information Ca
p
ital 7.22% 12.82%
Pro
j
ect Ca
p
ital 6.93% 10.36%
Or
g
anisational Ca
p
ital 3.16% 6.37%
Technological Capital 0.00% 6.22%
The obtained calculation results lead to the
conclusion that human capital grew in importance
more than other components in the software
development and improvement processes in the
surveyed SMEs. This importance results particularly
from the added value that was created in the processes
completed by iteration and teamwork with the daily
participation of the program developers who
exemplify human capital. In other words, added value
is created in the surveyed SMEs due to the
implementation by programmers of new solutions in
the source code of developed or improved software.
On average, year over year, in the internal stream of
OIC acquisition, the smallest increase was observed
(excluding technological capital) in organisational
capital (3.16%), while in the external stream, the
smallest increase was observed in technological
capital (6.22%). Thus, technological capital,
including computer equipment, is acquired from
external sources only if the IT project environment
used to develop source code requires updating. For
similar reasons, organisational capital, including
computer networks and management methods, is
provided by the internal environment to the smallest
extent, as it is a capital resource acquired principally
from external sources. That capital resource is
acquired principally when computer equipment
requires maintenance, the configuration of computer
networks must be modified or knowledge of new IT
project management techniques must be obtained.
Acquisition of Open Intellectual Capital: A Case Study of Innovative, Software-developing SMEs
59

5 DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSIONS
A review of the literature indicated that the studies
therein have focused on IC use in businesses.
Research was also conducted into the effects of IC use
on selected business indices and enterprise
performance indicators. Research additionally
focused on large enterprises, considering one-stream
models of IC, understood as an internal enterprise
resource. Acquisition of OIC was not covered by past
research. Thus, IC acquisition seems to be a new field
of research that has not been explored to date.
Business operations of today’s enterprises suggest
that IC is acquired not only internally, but also from
the external business environment. That hypothesis
triggered research into a new field of IC acquisition
that has not previously been explored. This study
discusses research results obtained in that field. This
research covered the group of innovative, software-
development SMEs in Poland. The research results
discussed above clearly demonstrate that the
surveyed enterprises acquire IC continually and
systematically from their external environment and
simultaneously from internal sources: this answers
the first and second research questions.
Consequently, considering IC acquisition, this type of
capital should be understood as OIC and analysed and
evaluated in two simultaneous acquisition streams:
internal and external, relative to the surveyed
enterprises. Additionally, the calculated values of
indices of overall OIC acquisition indicate that the
internal stream is more important for the processes of
software development and acquisition taking place in
the surveyed SMEs: this is the answer to the third
research question.
Considering the dynamic rate of change in the
OIC acquisition level, the results obtained indicate
that in the processes of software development and
improvement in the surveyed SMEs over the entire
research period, the importance of OIC acquisition in
the internal stream decreased, while the importance of
OIC acquisition in the external stream increased: this
is the answer to the fourth research question.
A significant differentiation in OIC acquisition is
observed at the component level both in the internal
and the external streams. The results indicate (Figure
1) that OIC acquisition in the internal and external
streams is diversified and complementary,
considering the components of that capital in the
surveyed SMEs. This shift between OIC areas
acquired in both streams, with a small intersection,
demonstrates the high efficiency of capital
acquisition in the surveyed SMEs. No OIC is acquired
that is not needed to conduct business and to develop
the enterprise. The intersection of both streams of
OIC acquisition indicates that certain aspects of
business operations and of innovative product
development have common content that requires OIC
acquisition in both streams. In answer to the fifth
research question: human capital was the most
important component for the surveyed enterprises
over the research period because this component had
the greatest dynamic rate of increase in acquisition.
6 FUTURE RESEARCH
This research conducted in a new field of study
undoubtedly extends the knowledge of OIC
acquisition by enterprises. The research project and
its results provide the opportunity and indicate the
need to continue research into more detailed topics in
the field of OIC acquisition in enterprises from other
industries. The continued development of research
will allow comparative analyses of enterprise groups
from various industries in terms of OIC acquisition.
This can contribute to the development of knowledge
of diversified OIC acquisition by enterprises that are
characterised by various sizes and that conduct
business in various industries. Continued research
will also improve the methods of analysis and
evaluation of OIC acquisition, with the aim of
building an OIC acquisition model.
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