Investigating and ranking the factors affecting the valuation of technical knowledge in the strategic industries of J.A. (with AHP-based approach)

Dissertation for receiving Master's degree (M.A.)

In the field of industrial management, production orientation

Abstract

This research is an attempt to identify and rank the factors affecting scientific valuation in strategic industries of the country. Considering the technology-oriented nature of these industries, technical knowledge as one of the intangible factors of technology is considered one of the most important and strategic types of intangible resources and assets. In line with the goals of the research to identify and rank the effective factors on scientific valuation, first of all, it was tried to extract the appropriate factors and criteria for its valuation from the subject literature by explaining and scientific conceptualization. Further, in order to realize the goals and examine the hypotheses of the research, two industrial organizations were selected from the scope of the research through the multi-stage sampling method. Then, the desired data were collected by designing appropriate questionnaires with the objectives of the research. Then, by analyzing the research data, nineteen factors were determined as effective factors in valuation, and based on these factors, three research hypotheses were examined through chi-square test. In the end, according to the acceptance of all three hypotheses, the relative importance of each of the factors affecting the valuation of technical knowledge was determined through the implementation of the hierarchical technique.

Introduction

Due to the growing importance and role of intangible assets in value creation, the management and valuation of intangible assets has gained great importance in current organizations; In this regard, the valuation of intangible assets has become very important in the country's strategic industries. Accordingly, many efforts have been made to value these assets. But since these assets have an intangible nature, it is difficult to value them. Also, another problem that exists in the field of their valuation is the diversity and multiplicity of types and examples of these assets in organizations.

Therefore, in the valuation of intangible assets, what is to be valued must first be determined. Accordingly, considering the technology-oriented nature of the strategic industries in question, technical knowledge is known as one of the most important and strategic types of these assets. In this regard, in order to value technical knowledge, this research aims to take a step towards valuing technical knowledge in these industries by identifying and ranking factors affecting the valuation of this knowledge.

In order to achieve the desired goals, the research first deals with the conceptualization of technical knowledge and by using the reviewed materials, its nature and dimensions are determined. Then, by examining the methods of valuing this knowledge, appropriate factors and criteria are selected for scientific evaluation. In the following, by conducting field studies and analyzing the collected data, the effectiveness of these factors will be investigated from the respondents' point of view, and finally, the relative importance and weight of each of these factors in the evaluation of technical knowledge will be determined.

1-1.  Statement of the problem

The rapid global developments on the rapid and tremendous advances in science and technology have made it very difficult for all countries to compete and be effective on the stage (Malkifar, 2012). Currently, in the business and economic environment of countries, we are witnessing the growing importance of intangible assets (Owens, 2010). Currently, the competitive advantage of organizations is no longer based on their tangible assets; And what makes organizations competitive today in the current economic scene is their intangible assets (Alamtabriz et al., 2018). According to Kendrick's research[1], in 1929, the ratio of intangible assets to tangible assets was 30 to 70, and in 1990, this ratio reached 63 to 37 (Alam Tabriz et al., 2018). On the other hand, Lu [2] believes that only about 10-15% of the total market value of companies is physical tangible assets, and intangible assets make up about 85% of the total market value of companies (Alamtabriz et al., 2018). Due to the high share of these assets in the market value of organizations, now the management and valuation of intangible assets, as the main drivers of value creation in the organization, has received much attention. Based on this, we are witnessing a new approach in the country's strategic industries.This approach, which is based on the movement of this industry to become knowledge-based industries as opposed to factory-oriented strategic industries, and to create and use the maximum capacity of intangible assets, has been formed. One of the most important strategies for realizing this movement is the formation and use of the capacity of industrial and research partner networks, and the outsourcing of some non-strategic activities. One of the challenges ahead in advancing this movement is the uncertainty of the value and importance of these assets in the organization; which has made the valuation of intangible assets in the country's strategic industries an important issue. Based on this, since science is considered as one of the most important organizational assets, its valuation is of special importance and priority. Based on this, identifying and determining criteria for valuing this knowledge is a fundamental challenge for those involved in the strategic industries of the country.

1-2.  Research objectives

In conducting research, in order to gain knowledge, a set of research objectives must be developed. Based on this, the main objectives of this research are:

The first objective: identifying and determining the effective factors in determining the value of technical knowledge in the country's strategic industries

The second objective: determining the relative importance and prioritization of each of these effective factors on the scientific valuation in the country's strategic industries

1-3.  The importance of the research topic and the motivation for choosing it

In the current changing world, the main economic source is no longer capital, natural resources and labor, but the main economic source in this society is intellectual property and knowledge. The emergence of this phenomenon has led to a change in the economic paradigm from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy (Alam Tabriz et al., 2008). The result of this paradigm is that in today's era, products and organizations live and die based on knowledge. The most successful organizations in this economy are those that use these intangible assets in a better and faster way (Alamtabriz et al., 2018). One of these types of assets is technical knowledge. Technical knowledge as a body of technical knowledge that enables the production of products (Dareshiri and Shakri, 2013) is considered as one of the most important sources of value creation in the country's strategic industries. Therefore, valuing this asset in these organizations, while determining its importance, leads to the creation of a suitable capacity to control and manage these assets. In the field of valuing technical knowledge, due to its many complexities, it has forced many organizations to adopt non-scientific and ineffective methods. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with the issue of technical knowledge valuation and to examine the factors affecting its value.

1-4.  Research Hypotheses

A hypothesis is a conditional proposition or hypothesis that must be verified or rejected based on the consistency of its concepts and based on empirical evidence and knowledge. In simpler terms, a hypothesis is a sentence that expresses the researcher's expectations regarding the relationship between variables. Based on this, the hypotheses of this research are:

Hypothesis 1. Intrinsic and technical factors are effective on scientific valuation in the country's strategic industries.

Hypothesis 2. Competitive factors are effective on scientific valuation in the country's strategic industries.

Hypothesis 3. Functional factors are effective on scientific valuation in the country's strategic industries.

1-5.  Research model

Research model is a model that the researcher compiles and presents to express the phenomena and the relationships between them in a way that can be analyzed based on the information and data of the research (Ezzati, 2019). The model of this research is presented according to Figure (1-1).

Functional factors

Competitive factors

Intrinsic and technical factors

Scientific evaluation

H1

H2

H3

Figure (1-1) research model

According to the research model, the main variables in this research are:

Dependent variable: scientific valuation

Independent variables: inherent and technical factors, competitive factors, functional factors

1-6-1. Scientific valuation: It is measuring the value of technical knowledge through criteria with a quantitative scale [3] in order to represent the usefulness and desirability of this knowledge in the organization.

1-6-2. Intrinsic and technical factors: There are factors that are related to the nature of technical knowledge itself. These factors include: the degree of scientific indigenization, the degree of scientific novelty, the degree of scientific validity, the degree of scientific infrastructure, the reduction of dependence and the level of documentation.

1-6-3