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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2007‒02‒10
eight papers chosen by Emanuele Canegrati Catholic University of the Sacred Heart |
| By: | Ogrean, Claudia |
| Abstract: | Confirming the well known thesis knowledge is power, A. Toffler argued that the knowledge based society represents the acme of the human society development and P. Drucker said that the developed countries passing through the knowledge based society represents the biggest change of the modern world. That made possible and helped the emerging of the managerial revolution (defined as knowledge applied to knowledge itself) at the firm’s level. Under these circumstances, knowledge has to be seen as a strategic resource – source of competitive advantages and of managerial performances as well. Considering this, a firm’s management have to define a coherent behavioral model in order to seriously take into account and to valorize the knowledge management as a source of sustainable competitiveness into the knowledge based society. |
| Keywords: | knowledge based society; competitiveness; knowledge management; managerial revolution. |
| JEL: | D83 M19 L29 |
| Date: | 2006–08–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1688&r=knm |
| By: | James R. Markusen; Natalia Trofimenko |
| Abstract: | Gains from productivity and knowledge transmission arising from the presence of foreign firms have received a good deal of empirical attention, but theoretical micro-foundations for this mechanism are limited. Here we develop a dynamic model in which foreign experts may train domestic workers who work with them. Gains from training can in turn be decomposed into two types: (a) obtaining knowledge and skills at a lower cost than if they were self-learnt at home, (b) producing domestic skilled workers earlier in time than if the domestic economy had to rediscover the relevant knowledge through "reinventing the wheel." We use fixed effects and nearest neighbour matching estimators on a panel of plant-level data for Colombia that identifies the use of foreign experts, to show that these experts have substantial, although not always immediate, positive effects on the wages of domestic workers and on the value added per worker. |
| JEL: | F2 O19 O47 |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12872&r=knm |
| By: | Marini, Marco A. |
| Abstract: | We model the process of knowledge transmission among firms via workers mobility as a multi-stage game. In our setup an idea to be realized needs that the agent informed about the idea recruits another agent from a pool of uninformed people. This constraint generates a recursive effect of knowledge transmission via players mobility across firms which affects simultaneously the players payoffs and the number of active players engaged in market competition. We provide sufficient conditions for the game to possess a unique symmetric subgame perfect equilibrium in which all incumbent players deter the exit of their collaborators. The equilibrium outcome is shown to depend upon the success of the idea over time, expressed by the behaviour of the market demand and on playerstime preferences. A few other intuitions are provided on the interplay between technology, market structure and the market value of an innovative idea. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Workers’ Mobility; Knowledge Transmission; Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium; Recursive Games |
| JEL: | C70 L2 |
| Date: | 2005–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1687&r=knm |
| By: | Gustavo Crespi (SPRU, University of Sussex and University of Chile); Aldo Geuna (SPRU, University of Sussex); Bart Verspagen (Eindhoven University of Technology and TIK) |
| Keywords: | university patenting, public-private technology transfer, european universities |
| JEL: | O3 I28 |
| Date: | 2007–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:154&r=knm |
| By: | Herciu, Mihaela; Ogrean, Claudia |
| Abstract: | If we can see the knowledge society as an essential part of the “external environment” of the firm management, that brings with it some specific opportunities and threats, we have to consider the intellectual capital – that integrates the two basic resources: knowledge and human – a key ingredient for the “internal environment” of the firm management, which determines some strengths and/or weaknesses that lead to the success or the failure of the managerial effort of the firm operating under the circumstances given by the emergency of three processes with global spread: the economic globalization, the managerial revolution and the knowledge-based society. Having as starting point the premise that Peter Drucker emphasized years ago: the managerial revolution represents the third essential change into the dynamics of knowledge, when knowledge is applied to knowledge itself, we have to accept the priority of the human factor – which generates, uses and valorizes knowledge in a never ending process of interaction with the environment. By continuing with this logic, we can not ignore that, even if there is no unanimously recognized approach about the meaning of the intellectual capital, it appears recently a quasi-unanimous recognized opinion regarding the first place that the intellectual capital has to take as source for the competitive advantage of the firm and strategic resource for its management. More than that, in a time when knowledge becomes the strategic resource for any of the human activities, firms shift through a new managerial paradigm that characterize “the civilized business” and promote management intellectualization. By this way, the valorization of the intellectual capital of the firm could become vital criteria for the managerial performance in the knowledge – based society. |
| Keywords: | intellectual capital; managerial performance; knowledge-based society |
| JEL: | M21 |
| Date: | 2006–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1635&r=knm |
| By: | Anabel Marin (Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento and SPRU, University of Sussex); Elisa Giuliani (DEA, University of Pisa and SPRU, University of Sussex) |
| Keywords: | MNE's, global linkages, local linkages, mental models, Argentina |
| JEL: | F32 O1 O32 |
| Date: | 2007–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:155&r=knm |
| By: | Zoltan J. Acs; Catherine Armington; Ting Zhang |
| Abstract: | Motivated by differences in new-firm survival across regions, this paper explores the impact of regional human capital on new-firm survival rates. New-firm survival is interpreted through formation rates of surviving versus closed firms in the service sector. By incorporating knowledge spillovers through a geographical variation model for Labor Market Areas, we empirically test the relationship between regional human capital stocks and new-firm survival. The expected positive relationship between regional human capital and new-firm survival is supported for the period 1993-1995, but is not as strong for the recession period 1990-1992. Controlling for human capital, the new-firm survival rate is negatively related to service sector specialization and positively related to all industry intensity, suggesting that city size and diversity may be an important determinant of new-firm survival in both periods. |
| Keywords: | New-Firm Survival, Human Capital, Knowledge Spillovers, Entrepreneurship, Labor Market Area |
| JEL: | J24 L80 M13 O3 R1 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:egpdis:2007-04&r=knm |
| By: | Nina Pološki Vokić (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb); Maja Vidović (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | Traditional sources of competitiveness, such as production capacities, financial resources, raw materials, distribution channels etc., are considered necessary, but no longer sufficient for organizational success. Human resources, their knowledge, skills and competencies as well as synergy among them, become the most valuable asset, the new source of wealth, and the key ingredient of competitive advantage. Consequently, the human resources function, which deals with recruiting, developing, and keeping the best people, now has the opportunity to move out of the background into the mainstream of organizational strategy and management. In other words, in a world in which all work is knowledge work and intellectual capital is crucial for economic success, it is logical that the ability to attract, retain, and use the talents of people provides a competitive edge. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality of HRM in Croatia, as excellent HR policies, programs and activities enable enterprises to be competitive through people. Therefore, the empirical research was conducted. The population were Croatian enterprises with more than 200 employees, out of which 80 form the final sample (response rate of 14.3%). In order to assess the value of HRM, the audit approach based on HR indicators was used. 55 HR indicators (26 quantitative and 29 qualitative ones) were analyzed, using 10 Croatian enterprises as benchmarks. The list of benchmark enterprises was generated using expert method. Precisely, enterprises from the sample that have the best HR practice were identified by the best Croatian HRM theoreticians. Results indicate that Croatian enterprises on average have insufficient HR activities. Precisely, independent samples t-test showed that 61.82% of analyzed HR indicators were significantly better for enterprises that were used as benchmarks, as well as that those enterprises have better absolute values for all of analyzed indicators. Consequently, HRM in Croatia could not be considered a solid ground for achieving competitiveness through people. |
| Keywords: | HRM, HR practices, competitive advantage, competitive advantage through people, audit approach, HR indicators, benchmarking |
| JEL: | M1 M12 |
| Date: | 2007–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zag:wpaper:0701&r=knm |