The ambiguity of knowledge work is emphasized and it is argued that a crucial dimension of a knowledgeintensive organization concerns. This book makes a significant contribution to how to make knowledgeintensive firms successful. This paper aims to widen the existing understanding about the concept of. Knowledge intensive firms, information work and the extended organizational form ravi aron jitendra singh the wharton school university of pennsylvania. In addition, the concept of knowledgeintensity has no significant managerial use.
Knowledge workers therefore tend to have considerable choice and latitude regarding their place of work particularly within knowledgeintensive. I identify three distinctive characteristicsknowledge intensity, low capital intensity, and a professionalized workforcewith which i propose a taxonomy of four types of knowledgeintensive firms whose varying degrees of professional service intensity generate. Over the last decade, there has been a substantial rise in the number of knowledgeintensive firms constituted primarily of professionals. The automation of knowledge work by means of artificial intelligence and other technologies both trends have critical implications for business and are of particular importance to professional services firms. Knowledge intensive business services commonly known as kibs are services and business operations heavily reliant on professional knowledge. How organizations communicate expertise without experts. The book covers a fairly broad set of management, organization and working life aspects are addressed, including hrm themes anddifferent forms of control including. Related knowledge work and knowledge intensive firms 019926886x by mats alvesson file. Knowledgeintensive firms sustainable entrepreneurship project. These contributions provide evidence of the increasingly distributed and interactive process of innovation rooted in knowledge generation and. However, in traditional economic and management thinking, sharing means a loss in value and utility.
This category refers to firms where work is primarily of intellectual nature, performed by well educated and qualified personnel alvesson, 2000. They are mainly concerned with providing knowledgeintensive support for the business processes of other organizations. Drucker, the coming of the new organization, harvard business. Knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms pdf free. In the early 1900s, the ford motor company would not have known what a t1 line was. The emergence of new ways of reaching and engaging workers 2. The aim, also, is to examine the implications of dispersed knowledge work on firms, especially knowledge intensive firms that are increasingly conducting dispersed work. The core assets of these businesses are the people. Cooperation, coordination and organization design are the key parameters for any accounting and control system. This article discusses the concepts of knowledgeintensive workers and firms.
Introduction in an era when knowledge is rapidly changing, and innovating is critical to business success and sustainability, the human capital of the organization is an issue of increasing importance. A practicebased view of organizational expertise is used to examine how workers accomplish expertise through recurrent practices, and the processes through which. Zack 2003 further says that even companies in the traditional industries, such as cement, can benefit greatly from km. Knowledgeintensive firms and the struggle with ambiguity, journal of management studies 30 november 1993. The author describes a number of cases of knowledge intensive firms, including it firms, management consultancy firms, advertising agencies and life science companies. Greek tables for the use of students scholars choice edition 1296468720 by alpheus crosby six selections from irvings sketchbook 58638012 by washington irving the instagramers. Of particular interest within this group are knowledgeintensive business services kibs, i. However, there are no explicit and generally acknowledged criteria for characterising kibs or other knowledgeintensive organisations. Which types of knowledgeintensive business services firms.
Determinants of patent innovation of central and eastern. This work examines how knowledgeintensive firms that lack strong ties to professional groups, or exclusive jurisdiction in a technical domain, communicate organizational expertise. This book addresses the concept of knowledge, and its use in the contexts of work and organizations. Knowledge sharing in knowledgeintensive manufacturing firms. Features and key processes in knowledge intensive firms. Recent research stresses the growing relevance of external sources of knowledge for innovation and the opening up of organizational boundaries of firms to collaborate for innovation chesbrough, 2003. Knowledgeintensity as an organisational characteristic. He emphasizes the ambiguity of knowledge in the input, process, and output of professional work, and suggests that we should be careful in assuming too much about the nature. This article takes a sceptical view of the functionalist understanding of the nature and significance of knowledge in socalled knowledge intensive companies. Knowledge intensive firms kif in knowledge intensive firms, most of the work is of intellectual nature welleducated, qualified, highly skilled employees form the major part of the work force work processes creating market value, are through knowledge intellectual capital is deployed for innovation, initiative and competence building and to provide custom. Hrm, innovation, knowledge intensive firms, case study 1. The knowledgebased view of the firm positions knowledge as the key competitive resource of the firm. To answer our research question we analyse existing literature and propose 3 hypotheses. It provides a critical understanding of current approaches to knowledge management, organization and the knowledge economy.
Dispersed knowledge work implications for knowledge. Furthermore, the distinction between knowledgeintensive and nonless knowledgeintensive organisations or work is not selfevident alvesson, 2001. Knowledge workers are generally work in knowledge intensive firms and use their theoretical and analytical skills to find creative solutions to complex problems and dealing with uncertainty of. Starting from the limitations of the definition of uncertainty, especially when applied to contexts characterised by knowledge intensity, this study investigates the relationship between knowledge complexity and management control systems. Knowledge workers therefore tend to have considerable choice and latitude regarding their place of work particularly within knowledge intensive. The value of knowledge is derived from the value of the decisions with which it is associated. The purpose is to point out differences and similarities in their way of organizing knowledge, and then. Defining the attributes and processes that enhance the. Cultural drivers of high performing knowledgeintensive. Download knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms pdf. We all spend large parts of our days doing classification work, often tacitly, and we devise and use a range of ad hoc classifications to do so e. These firms are characterized by an analytical knowledge base and there is a strong reliance on codified knowledge as a basis for competitive advantage. Knowledgeintensive meaning in the cambridge english.
The key role of knowledgeintensive firms is to coordinate knowledge that is owned by individuals grant, 1996. This article discusses the concepts of knowledge intensive workers and firms. Value of the balanced scorecard for organizational. We use quantitative panel data analysis based on the top knowledge intensive firms from cee region. In trying to abstract similarities between knowledgeintensive firms and companies in other branches of industry, we present character istics of the former in terms of the nature of their work, their products, the production of their ser 26 business horizons mayjune 199k vices, their organization, their management, and their strategies. Download knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms.
This paper is part of a research project titled knowledgeintensive business. The context of this study is knowledge intensive industries. Teng and song 2011 that the importance of km is no longer restricted to knowledge intensive firms in the hightech industries but to all sectors of the economy. The key components of a knowledge economy include a greater reliance on intellectual. Defining knowledgeintensive firms the phrase knowledgeintensive can be used in at least three contexts. Knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms this page intentionally left blank knowledge work and knowledgeintens. Article pdf available in journal of management and. Abstract little research on knowledgeintensive firms has focused specifically on management control issues.
Cee region firms in order to contribute to innovation literature by expanding its geographical scope. Knowledge work and knowledge intensive firms researchgate. Over two decades ago, kozlowski 1987 called for human. Knowledgeintensive companies from knowledgebased economies may propose much better incentives to have them move and work for them. The functional view is questioned and a perspective on knowledge as institu tionalized myth and rationalitysurrogate is proposed. It provides a critical understanding of current approaches to knowledge management, organization and the \u27knowledge economy\u27. Yet the concept of knowledge is complex and its relevance to organization theory has been insuf ficiently developed. This work is aimed at modeling the link between knowledge and outputs in organizations. Leadership, knowledge and people in knowledgeintensive. Knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms paperback. Knowledgeintensive businesses represent perhaps the most attractive segment for many companies from the developed world to focus on. Knowledge work and knowledge intensive firms 019926886x by. The sector of knowledgeintensive business services kibs has a central role in modern economies.
Within and between cop knowledge sharing in knowledgeintensive firms. Consultancy industry falls under the umbrella of knowledgeintensive business services kibs. The ambiguity of knowledge work is emphasized and it is argued that a crucial dimension of a knowledge intensive organization concerns. Managing the knowledgeintensive firm by nicolaj ejler and flemming poulfelt. Knowledgeintensive companies kics can be defined as companies that offer to the market a quite sophisticated knowledge or knowledgebased products and. If youre looking for a free download links of knowledge work and knowledgeintensive firms pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. Data were collected from a sample of 759 knowledge workers selected from 23 knowledge intensive manufacturing companies exposed to international. This is not the case in knowledgeintensive activities. There is current interest in the competitive advantage that knowledge may provide for organizations and in the significance of knowledge workers, organ izational competencies and knowledge intensive firms. As a result, their employment structures are heavily weighted towards scientists. The authors deepened the analysis by highlighting the contribution of ambidextrous leadership on ambidextrous innovation. Do leadership styles promote ambidextrous innovation.
The article emphasizes the slipperiness of the concept of knowledge, the ambiguity of knowledge, its role in what is constructed as knowledge work and the evaluation of work outcomes. November 2004 knowledge sharing in knowledgeintensive firms. If youre looking for a free download links of knowledge work and knowledge intensive firms pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. Drawing on theories of intellectual capital as well as social capital, we. Dealing with uncertainty in knowledgeintensive firms.
Knowledge management process knowledge management is the process of making relevant information available quickly and easily for people to use productively 7. I develop a theory of the distinctive characteristics of professional service firms and their organizational implications. Uncovering information flows at amorim cork composites using social network analysis. Sharing and integrating knowledge within the organisation depends partly on building social capital. Knowledge intensive business services firms are characterised by being knowledge intensive which to great extent rely on their experts judgment and knowledge in the delivery of.
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