Adapting InCaS as an Acceleration Architecture for Emerging Organisations: A Work-in-Progress Report

Abstract

This paper reports on an ongoing research project investigating the adaptation and digital operationalisation of the InCaS (Intellectual Capital Statement) method as an acceleration architecture for emerging, knowledge-based organisations. The research is being conducted within the Impacta Júnior programme, a structured acceleration initiative promoted by Concentro and funded by the Coalizão pelo Impacto, involving ten university-based junior enterprises as the empirical field. The paper presents the theoretical grounding, the methodological design, and the full InCaS application process as implemented in this context, together with preliminary insights drawn from the first application cycle. The adapted process encompasses nine sequential stages, beginning with organisational pre-arrangement and business modelling, followed by intellectual capital factor identification, Quality-Quantity-Systematics (QQS) evaluation, and impact analysis. These stages feed into intervention potential mapping, indicator definition through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and structured strategic action planning, culminating in a pitch-based Demo Day as the final output. A purpose-built digital platform was developed to support this process at scale, enabling anonymised multi-stakeholder participation, automated composite scoring, and real-time visualisation of results. Twenty-four management factors were derived from organisational listening sessions and mapped across the three intellectual capital dimensions, using simplified terminology adapted to low-maturity organisational contexts. Early observations indicate that the adapted method fosters structured organisational self-reflection, makes latent knowledge gaps more visible, and encourages collective deliberation processes, even in organisations with limited prior exposure to formal management practices. Recurring challenges were observed in areas such as KPI definition, prioritisation of strategic factors, and the consolidation of shared organisational understanding. Full empirical analysis, including systematic pre-post comparisons of organisational maturity and longitudinal assessment of development trajectories, remains underway. The study contributes a documented and replicable model for adapting the InCaS method to acceleration environments, demonstrates the feasibility of its digital operationalisation, and offers initial evidence of its applicability for practitioners, programme designers, and policymakers working with knowledge-intensive and resource-constrained organisations.