PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how Knowledge Management (KM) and Intellectual Capital (IC) can increase the organizational performance of ambulatory healthcare providers and how such performance can be assessed.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the PRISMA guidelines, a structured review of peer-reviewed English-speaking articles up to 31st December 2019 was conducted. A search of ACM Digital Library, Cochrane Library, DARE, EBSCOHost, Medline, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Web of Science produced 8,391 results. All studies that did not examine the impact of KM initiatives on organizational performance in an ambulatory healthcare provider setting were eliminated. The final sample of 31 studies was examined regarding the design of the KM initiatives as well as the performance concepts and indicators employed.FindingsA range of KM tools and methods (Electronic Health Records, Clinical Decision Support, Health Information Technology, Training, Communities of Practice) have been shown to improve healthcare processes but evidence of an impact on outcomes remains mixed. Performance indicators focus on medical quality but rarely capture economic or social performance. Indicators have been adapted from the medical field, but do not adequately capture IC and KM-induced performance.Originality/valueThis review provides an overview of KM initiatives in ambulatory healthcare and assesses the associated performance metrics through an IC lens. Thereby, it enables further research on the interplay of IC, KM and performance in ambulatory care and points to several research gaps. It provides managers with guidance for designing KM initiatives in their organizations

PurposeThe article reviews major developments in the literature on knowledge management and intellectual capital management. It provides a description and visualization of the structure and content of the ISO 30401 and critically benchmarks its clauses against comprehensive taxonomies from the literature.Design/methodology/approach2018 saw the release of the ISO 30401 Knowledge Management Systems Standard, a type A regulation which may serve as a basis for certification. It builds on and integrates a broad and conceptually diverse literature on knowledge resources (e.g. intellectual capital theory, knowledge management theory). This article aims to show how the management systems standard relates to the literature it is built on and provides directions for its further operationalization by certification bodies and implementation by managers.FindingsThe ISO 30401 successfully integrates a diverse body of literature in a broadly applicable cross-industry standard. To operationalize and implement it, certification bodies and managers should build on empirical evidence of “what works,” taking into account market characteristics as well as organizational properties. Further research should support the implementation of the standard by developing KM measurement frameworks and context-specific studies of KM tools and methods.Originality/valueThis article is the first to systematically compare the ISO 30401 to the underlying theory. This paper uncovers avenues for research and makes suggestions for the standard's operationalization in practice.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the association of the Relational Capital (RC) embedded in a medical specialist’s social–professional network with the specialist’s economic performance based on social network analysis (SNA).Design/methodology/approachUsing health insurance claims data regarding ∼108,000 physicians treating ∼72,000,000 patients, social–professional networks (patient-sharing-networks (PSNs)) of ∼26,000 medical specialists were simulated. To explore the correlation of the network's characteristics (degree centrality, density, relative betweenness centrality and referrer concentration) with economic performance, ordinary-least-squares (OLS)-regression models were estimated for ten common specialties (gynecology, internal medicine, orthopedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, urology, neurology, radiology and rehabilitative medicine).FindingsThe study confirms the applicability and strong explanatory power of SNA metrics for RC measurement in ambulatory healthcare. Degree centrality and relative betweenness centrality correlate positively with economic performance, whereas density and referrer concentration exhibit negative coefficients. These results confirm the argument that RC has a strong association with the economic performance of medical specialists.Originality/valueThe study pioneers SNA for RC measurement in healthcare. It is among the first publications on specialists' PSNs. Questions for future research are proposed.