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Purpose-New Ways of Working (NewWoW) refers to a novel approach for improving the performance of knowledge work. The idea is to seek innovative solutions concerning facilities, information technology tools and work practices in order to be able to "work smarter, not harder". In order to develop work practices towards the NewWoW mode there is a need for an analytical management tool that would help assess the status of the organization's current work practices and demonstrate the impacts of development initiatives. This paper introduces such a tool. Design/methodology/approach-Constructive research approach was chosen to guide the development of the SmartWoW tool. The tool was designed on the basis of previous knowledge work performance literature as well as on interviews in two knowledge-intensive organizations. The usefulness of the tool was verified by applying it in four organizations. Findings-SmartWoW is a compact questionnaire tool for analyzing and measuring knowledge work at the individual level. The questionnaire consists of four areas: work environment, personal work practices, well-being at work and productivity. As SmartWoW is a standardized tool its results are comparable between organizations. Research limitations/implications-SmartWoW was designed a pragmatic managerial tool. It is considered possible that it can be valuable as a research instrument as well but the current limited amount of collected data does not yet facilitate determining its usefulness from that perspective. Originality/value-This paper makes a contribution to the existing literature on knowledge work measurement and management by introducing an analytical tool which takes into account the NewWoW perspective.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/ authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The potential of information and communication technology (ICT) in improving knowledge work productivity is well-documented in the existing literature. However, prior research fails to provide means for analyzing whether the potential can be realized in a specific organizational context. Thus, this paper aims to focus on the context-specific analysis of the impacts of ICT services on knowledge work.Design/methodology/approach -This paper uses a literature review and a case study conducted in a medium-sized European teleoperator company. The case study examines the measurement process for capturing the knowledge work productivity impacts produced by a new ICT service used by the company.Findings -ICT can be used to eliminate non-value-adding tasks or to make them more efficient. ICT can also improve employee welfare, for example, through transforming the content of work by deleting unimportant activities. The empirical study showed that, contrary to the view presented in the prior literature, it does not seem that difficult to measure the impacts of ICT on knowledge work productivity. A key point in the measurement is identification of case-specific impact factors by examining the characteristics of the ICT service and the organisational setting. Practical implications -The results of the paper will be useful for managers studying the impacts of ICT investments in their organizations.Originality/value -This paper contributes to the prior literature on ICT and knowledge work productivity by explaining how the impacts of ICT can be analysed in a given empirical context. The specific novelty value of the study lies in the new knowledge concerning the identification of the impact factors.Information and communication technology (ICT) provides potential means for improving knowledge work productivity, for example, through helping knowledge workers perform certain routine (i.e. non-value-adding) tasks faster and through supporting knowledge sharing among professionals (Ahuja and Shankar, 2009;Norton, 1995;Rodríguez Casal et al., 2005;Sigala, 2003). Thus, companies are eager to purchase various ICT services in order to improve the productivity of their knowledge workers.

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PurposeThis paper aims to examine the measurement of intangible aspects of research and development (R&D) projects, particularly from the funding organization's point‐of‐view.Design/methodology/approachA literature review on R&D measurement is carried out in order to identify the intangible factors to be measured as well as potential indicators. The practical applicability of the measures is discussed in light of an exploratory case study.FindingsLists of intangible inputs and outputs of R&D projects are presented along with some potential measures. The assessment of the intangible aspects of R&D projects is considered important for the funding organization. However, the current measurement practices are inadequate.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide a summary of the current status of the topic and a basis for further research.Originality/valueThe knowledge about the intangible aspects of R&D projects summarized in this paper has been scattered before in a wide set of previous research literature. The evaluation of the existing measures provides valuable information for understanding the development stage of this academic and managerial discipline.