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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2026–09–28
five papers chosen by Laura Nicola-Gavrila, Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Tomasz Kopczewski (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences); Jan Lisicki (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Economic analysis of information explains how existing knowledge is distributed, revealed, and used, while the economics of innovation treats new ideas as outcomes of search and recombination. This paper examines a distinct role of communication in knowledge production: interaction can change the course of search itself. We define the mechanism as adaptive feedback, in which one participant responds to the current state of another participant's reasoning and thereby alters the directions subsequently explored. The resulting idea need not be contained in the feedback or previously possessed by either participant. In stronger cases, interaction can change the representation of the problem and make previously unavailable hypotheses accessible. The paper distinguishes this generative role of interaction from information transmission and access to others' knowledge. It argues that institutions shape knowledge production through both information structure and interaction structure, including the timing of interaction and the balance between independent search and mutual influence. |
| Keywords: | communication, knowledge production, generative interaction, search, innovation, problem representation |
| JEL: | D83 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2026-30 |
| By: | Wurster, Maximilian; Hellenkamp, Detlef |
| Abstract: | In knowledge-based economies, technological innovation capability, intangible assets, and intellectual property are becoming increasingly important for long-term economic performance. Patent data are widely used as indicators of innovation; however, simple patent counts do not adequately capture the quality, technological relevance, or international market coverage of individual patents. This paper therefore examines the extent to which key patents can serve as a quality-oriented indicator of technological innovation capability for analysing economic performance. Key patents are understood as particularly high-quality patents in relevant key technologies, whose patent strength derives from technological relevance and international market coverage. The paper combines a conceptual analysis of the key patent approach with literature from growth and innovation economics, as well as with an exploratory empirical plausibility assessment based on a global patent dataset on world-class patents in future technologies (Breitinger et al., 2020). Economic performance is operationalised empirically through per capita income. The empirical evidence is assessed from two complementary perspectives: an international cross-section of high-income economies and a dynamic analysis of the United States, which held a particularly prominent position in high-quality patenting across key future technologies during the period under observation. In both perspectives, the findings point to a positive association between key patents and per capita income. They should not, however, be interpreted as evidence of causality, but as empirically grounded support for the plausibility of this relationship. The contribution of this paper lies in positioning key patents as a differentiated innovation indicator that takes patent quality, technological relevance, and international reach more fully into account than mere patent volumes. The key patent approach thus offers a scientifically grounded perspective on innovation capability and economic performance in knowledge-based economies. |
| Keywords: | Key patents, Patent quality, Innovation indicators, Technological innovation capability, Knowledge-based economies, Economic performance, Intangible assets |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O34 O47 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:343662 |
| By: | Hadžić, Faruk; Burić, Ema; Čavalić, Admir |
| Abstract: | In the growing and complex modern business environment, the importance of innovation is increasingly coming to the fore, as a key driver and factor that leads to competitiveness, but also to long-term growth of companies. As part of this paper, the mechanism that leads to incentives for innovation through internal organizational processes, as well as external cooperation of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is examined. The paper relies on theoretical frameworks such as resource-based approaches and the ability of companies to be open to innovation, in order to investigate how internal factors and capacities such as research and development functions, knowledge management and external cooperation contribute to innovation results. As part of the research, 304 responses were collected from companies of different sizes and from different sectors. For the statistical analysis of the collected data, regressions, t-tests and correlation were used, which were necessary to test the hypotheses set. The results show that the existence of a research and development department has a significant positive impact on innovation results, especially in small companies, while external cooperation proved to be the most beneficial for medium-sized companies. Internal mechanisms alone have not shown a significant direct effect on innovation, but are suggested to act as complementary factors within broader innovation systems. The findings highlight the existence of different innovation pathways among firms of different sizes, underscoring the need for differentiated strategies and policies. For small firms, strengthening internal R&D capacities appears to be a priority, while medium-sized firms benefit more from external networks and knowledge flows. Large firms, in contrast, require an integrated approach of complex internal and external resources. |
| Keywords: | Innovation stimulation mechanisms, Internal processes, External collaboration, SMEs |
| JEL: | O31 O32 L26 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esconf:343372 |
| By: | Shota Ichihashi; Fei Li; Dihan Zou |
| Abstract: | We study peer monitoring design in knowledge production. A principal leads agents who work on different but related tasks. By working on their own tasks, agents acquire information that is useful for evaluating their peers' performance. We consider robust contracts under which effort by all agents is the unique rationalizable outcome. The optimal contract induces a hierarchy of monitoring authority: agents easier for the principal to monitor directly are assigned greater authority to evaluate other agents. Task diversity improves information value but weakens peer monitoring. This tension distorts optimal public task assignment toward the principal's core expertise. Confidential random assignment relaxes this distortion by decoupling information production from the perceived monitoring structure. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2609.10499 |
| By: | Papadonikolaki, Eleni; Krystallis, Ilias; Morgan, Bethan |
| Abstract: | Absorptive capacity in construction is crucial for effectively managing change amidst the twin transition (digital and green transitions) that is significantly affecting existing practices in the sector. Concentrating on construction sector, this research examines how firms assimilate and use digital decarbonisation practices to improve their performance. Building on a multi-method qualitative dataset comprising interviews with 53 industry experts in the UK construction sector, archival data, and validation of our findings through focus group data, the study highlights the vital role of absorptive capacity in enabling firms to navigate and benefit from digitalisation and sustainability initiatives. The findings indicate that the potential absorptive capacity (acquisition and assimilation of knowledge) takes place mainly in firms whereas the realised absorptive capacity (transformation and exploitation) takes place mainly in the boundaries of projects they deliver. This offers a mutually reinforcing cycle of exploration and exploitation that can equip firms to meet contemporary challenges and institutional demands effectively to cope against the twin transition. Our study contributes with a four-phase process model for understanding the organisational change management processes required for the twin transition in project-based settings. Most existing research on absorptive capacity focuses on either organisational or industry-level dynamics, our study examines the loci of absorptive capacity (e.g., by examining firm and project boundaries) in a highly complex, project-driven industry such as construction. |
| Keywords: | dynamic capabilities;green transitition;knowledge absorption;net zero;digitalisation;digital innovation |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2026–03–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:140977 |