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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2026–10–12
eight papers chosen by Laura Nicola-Gavrila, Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Albrecht Glitz; Adrian Lerche; Lukas Mergele |
| Abstract: | Economic espionage is a pervasive global phenomenon. We study how knowledge acquired through this clandestine activity affects firms' economic performance. Exploiting historical data from East Germany that trace the flow of scientific-technical information from its sources in the West to its recipients in the East, we show that economic espionage increased firms' productivity and reshaped their production structure and input choices. We further find that the resulting technical change was labor-augmenting and that the associated productivity gains propagated through the production network via input-output linkages. In the long run, firms receiving larger inflows of espionage information were significantly more likely to survive the transition to a market economy following German reunification. |
| Keywords: | Espionage, Knowledge Flows, Firm Adjustments, Productivity |
| JEL: | L2 N4 O3 P2 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26255 |
| By: | Christophe Storaï (LISA - Laboratoire « Lieux, Identités, eSpaces, Activités » (UMR CNRS 6240 LISA) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli]) |
| Abstract: | Corsica's economic structure is characterized by a weak industrial base, the absence of large multinational corporations, and a limited presence of intermediate-sized firms typically associated with regional economic dynamism. Instead, the island economy relies predominantly on micro- enterprises, small-scale agricultural activities, artisans, and local service providers. Within this context—combined with a structurally dominant public sector—the emergence of a sustainable development trajectory depends largely on the capacity of territorial actors to mobilize endogenous resources. This chapter argues that the articulation between human capital formation, technological research, and territorial governance constitutes a fundamental lever for the emergence of a localized skills-based economy. Drawing on theoretical contributions from territorial economics and the knowledge economy, it highlights how the Corsican case illustrates the relevance of a "territorial specification" strategy based on the valorization of localized resources and collective learning processes. By emphasizing the role of higher education institutions, innovation infrastructures, and governance mechanisms, the study contributes to the understanding of how peripheral territories can build resilience and attractiveness in a context of intensified global competition. |
| Keywords: | territorial governance, skills economy, regional development, Human capital, Human capital regional development skills economy territorial governance |
| Date: | 2026–08–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05729253 |
| By: | Cuong Le Van (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, TIMAS, Thang Long University, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Tin Nguyen-Trong (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Ngoc-Sang Pham (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UL - Université de Lorraine, Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School, EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Thi Kim Cuong Pham (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We develop a growth model with an R&D sector in which the elasticity of innovation with respect to existing knowledge can be negative. We investigate the existence and uniqueness of a balanced growth path (BGP) and derive closed-form growth factors, showing that productivity and output growth are semi-endogenous and population-driven. We also establish the global stability under a general production function. Under testable parameter restrictions, the economy converges to the BGP. However, when the knowledge elasticity is sufficiently low, a Jacobian-based condition implies instability, and an N-period innovation cycle can emerge. Comparative statics are conducted to explore the impact of several factors, including research efficiency, input elasticity, and population growth. Numerical simulations map out transitions and mark the points at which stability is lost. They make clear when innovation frictions endanger balanced growth and provide practical guidance for R&D and demographic policy. |
| Keywords: | Population-driven growth, Balanced growth path, Stability, Instability, Innovation, Monotone dynamical system, Knowledge, Semi-endogenous growth |
| Date: | 2026–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-05770311 |
| By: | Rouvinen, Petri |
| Abstract: | Abstract This review synthesizes the latest scholarly evidence on intangible capital. Drawing on 60 recent studies across macro, meso, and micro levels (anchored by firm-level data from Finland, broader Europe, the US, and Asia) it demonstrates that intangible investments have emerged as the preeminent engine of economic growth, competitiveness, and productivity. The literature yields three critical imperatives for public policy. First, the measurement and statistical tracking of intangibles require a fundamental overhaul; at present, a swath of these investments remains invisible in official data and absent from corporate balance sheets. Second, policymakers must broaden their horizons beyond narrow research and development (R&D) subsidies. Modern innovation policy must embrace the full spectrum of intangible assets – spanning software, data, organizational capital, management capabilities, and brand equity –, while capitalizing on the vital synergies between them. Third, the scalable nature of intangible capital demands a synchronized approach to competition policy, innovation strategy, and corporate finance. Authorities must strike a delicate balance: cultivating the incentives and finance necessary to fuel intangible investments, while simultaneously preventing harmful market concentration and fostering broad diffusion of knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Intangible investments, Productivity, Innovation policy |
| JEL: | E22 O34 O47 D24 G32 |
| Date: | 2026–10–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:148 |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Tavassoli, Sam (Deakin University); Obschonka, Martin (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Firms in peripheral and less knowledge endowed regions often struggle with innovation, as it is deeply rooted in and influenced by local characteristics. Although recent research highlights the significant, yet complex and hard-to-quantify role of local 'soft factors' such as culture and macro-psychology (e.g., local psychological openness) for firm innovation, we know relatively little about its specific role for firms located in the knowledge periphery. This study examines the hypothesis that favorable local soft factors, such as psychological openness, can compensate for unfavorable local hard factors for innovation of firms located in the knowledge periphery. Drawing upon Schmookler's scissor metaphor, we theoretically elaborate how local psychological openness impacts firm innovation by shaping both the demand and supply sides of the innovation process. In our arguments, we also incorporated the contingent impact of both regional (external) and firm (internal) factors on the relationship between local psychological openness and firm innovation. Our empirical investigation of a large and longitudinal sample of Swedish firms across 2004 to 2018 revealed a compensatory effect of local psychological openness for local 'structural knowledge gaps' in less endowed peripheral regions. Implications for research and policymaking addressing innovation in firms and regions are discussed. |
| Keywords: | firm innovation; local psychological openness; knowledge spillovers; peripheral regions |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_007 |
| By: | Fil Kristensen, Iryna (CIRCLE, Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Pugh, Rhiannon (CIRCLE, Lund University); Krautscheid, Lena (CIRCLE, Lund University); Morgan, Kevin (Cardiff University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how power-knowledge relations shape the mobilization, recognition, and suppression of local knowledge in food system transformation. Drawing on Foucault's subjugated knowledges, we analyse how experiential, place-based expertise encounters institutional resistance within regional governance frameworks. Through case studies from Skåne and Värmland, Sweden, we identify forms of transformative local knowledge, strategies actors employ to sustain them, and mechanisms of their marginalization. Our findings reveal how governance routines, regulatory norms, and national policy agendas constrain transformative potential, while demonstrating how local actors' agency creates alternative pathways for systemic change. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability transitions; Local knowledge; Food systems transformation; Place-based governance |
| JEL: | O38 Q01 Q18 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2026_001 |
| By: | Aurélien Goutsmedt (ISPOLE - UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain, F.R.S.-FNRS, ICHEC - Brussels Management School [Bruxelles]); Francesco Sergi (LIPHA - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire d'étude du Politique Hannah Arendt Paris-Est - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 - Université Gustave Eiffel); Juan Acosta (Univalle - Universidad del Valle [Cali]) |
| Abstract: | What do economists do in central banks? Why do central banks hire economists? This book investigates the evolving role of economists and economic knowledge within central banks, arguing that their current centrality is neither self-evident nor historically inevitable. While the presence and influence of economists in central banks today may seem natural, this book shows that it is the result of a complex, gradual, and uneven historical process shaped by institutional structures, disciplinary transformations, and shifting relationships between science and policy. Drawing on a rich but dispersed body of literature, the book traces how economists progressively gained authority through the establishment of statistics departments, the adoption of macroeconometric models, and the emergence of a shared cognitive infrastructure between academia and central banks. Rather than focusing on individuals or doctrines, it examines general trends and institutional shifts across a series of national case studies to show how central banks function as boundary organizations, at the intersection of policy and science. |
| Date: | 2026–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05083645 |
| By: | Wise, Emily (CIRCLE, Lund University); Wilson, James (Orkestra, Deusto Foundation); Schwaag Serger, Sylvia (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the evolving role of universities in transferring and developing knowledge to foster transformative Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy amid significant shifts in economic development landscapes. With a rising focus on geopolitics, defense, resilience, and disruptive technologies, universities are increasingly expected to engage and act as catalysts for sustainable development. The research explores how academic institutions interact with policymakers by analyzing "knowledge for policy" relationships, emphasising structural, operational, and practice-oriented factors. Building on a peer-learning exercise hosted by the Governing Resilience and Transformation (GReaTr) initiative in Sweden, the study draws insights from a comparative analysis of five cases of academic institutions, representing diverse contexts and experiences. Findings reveal the challenges universities face in aligning with transformative innovation policies, particularly given the multidisciplinary expertise and agile operational capacities required. Despite evolving practices such as action research and co-created knowledge products, the complexities of addressing urgent and multifaceted policy issues persist. The study concludes by calling for more dynamic and interactive approaches to knowledge creation, stressing the need for universities to adapt their strategies to better engage with policymakers' evolving contexts and demands. |
| Keywords: | Transformative universities; Transformative innovation policies; Knowledge transfer for policy; Science policy interface |
| JEL: | I23 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_012 |