Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to assess the capacity of communities of innovation (CoI) to improve the value creation process. The methodology consists of a sequence of successive steps, which aim at identifying the characteristics, the influence, and the relationships between the intellectual capital (IC) elements, and finally evaluating their performance. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology has been defined through the joined activity of academic researchers, experienced consultants, and community managers and is grounded on an interview‐based approach. The methodology has been implemented into the CoI of Finmeccanica, the Italian leading company in the industry of high technology for aerospace, defence and security. Findings The methodology has been shown to be suitable in singling out the factual contribution of every IC element and its direct and indirect influence on the economic performance of the CoI. Originality/value The implementation of the methodology into the CoI of Finmeccanica has encouraged the development of a more distributed leadership which has supported the dissemination of new knowledge. The building of a sort of “knowledge marketplace” has aimed to foster a systemic open innovation by exchanging continuous learning activities from inside and outside the organization and attracting excellence into the network of CoIs.
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