Strategy, Economic Organization, and the Knowledge Economy : The Coordination of Firms and Resources

The rise of the knowledge economy has far-reaching implications for the nature of economic organization as well as firm strategy. Not surprisingly, thinking in management studies as well as in economies has been profoundly affected by these changes. Thus, management thinking in particular has been increasingly characterized by a schism between those who advocate 'knowledge' or 'capabilities-based' approaches in the strategy and organization fields and those who adopt more economies-influenced approaches, notably the economics of organization. This book is a sustained attempt to overcome this schism. Its basic argument is that knowledge-based and organizational economics approaches are not substitutes but complements. In particular, organizational economics has much to contribute with respect to furthering the understanding of efficient organization and strategy in the emerging knowledge economy. This theme is taken through several theroretical as well as empirical variations. Themes such as the incentive liabilities of flat, 'knowledge-based' organizations, the role of complementary HRM practices for fostering knowledge sharing and creation, and the role of organizational instruments in the knowledge management activities of the multinational corporate are extensively treated. The book thus contains important implications for knowledge management, organizational design and international management. The book encompasses nine chapters which critically examine current thinking on strategy, and organization. The reasoning is non-technical. While primarily aimed at a management studies audience, economists and other social scientists will also benefit from it, including Advanced Students, Academics and Researchers.

The rise of the knowledge economy has far-reaching implications for the nature of economic organization as well as firm strategy. Not surprisingly, thinking in management studies as well as in economies has been profoundly affected by these changes. Thus, management thinking in particular has been increasingly characterized by a schism between those who advocate 'knowledge' or 'capabilities-based' approaches in the strategy and organization fields and those who adopt more economies-influenced approaches, notably the economics of organization. This book is a sustained attempt to overcome this schism. Its basic argument is that knowledge-based and organizational economics approaches are not substitutes but complements. In particular, organizational economics has much to contribute with respect to furthering the understanding of efficient organization and strategy in the emerging knowledge economy. This theme is taken through several theroretical as well as empirical variations. Themes such as the incentive liabilities of flat, 'knowledge-based' organizations, the role of complementary HRM practices for fostering knowledge sharing and creation, and the role of organizational instruments in the knowledge management activities of the multinational corporate are extensively treated. The book thus contains important implications for knowledge management, organizational design and international management. The book encompasses nine chapters which critically examine current thinking on strategy, and organization. The reasoning is non-technical. While primarily aimed at a management studies audience, economists and other social scientists will also benefit from it, including Advanced Students, Academics and Researchers.

The rise of the knowledge economy has far-reaching implications for the nature of economic organization as well as firm strategy. Not surprisingly, thinking in management studies as well as in economics has been profoundly affected by these changes. Thus, management thinking in particular has been increasingly characterized by a schism between those who advocate'knowledge'or'capabilities-based'approaches in the strategy and organization fields and those who adopt more economics-influenced approaches, notably the economics of organization. This book is a sustained attempt to overcome this schism. Its basic argument is that knowledge-based and organizational economics approaches are not substitutes but complements. In particular, organizational economics has much to contribute with respect to furthering the understanding of efficient organization and strategy in the emerging knowledge economy. This theme is taken through several theoretical as well as empirical variations. Themes such as the incentive liabilities of flat,'knowledge-based'organizations and the role of complementary HRM practices for fostering knowledge sharing and creation are extensively treated. The book thus contains important implications for knowledge management, organizational design, and firm strategy.'The book encompasses nine chapters which critically examine current thinking on strategy, and organization. The reasoning is non-technical. While primarily aimed at a management studies audience, economists and other social scientists will also benefit from it, including Advanced Students, Academics, and Researchers. The rise of the knowledge economy has far-reaching implications for the nature of economic organization as well as firm strategy. Not surprisingly, thinking in management studies as well as in economies has been profoundly affected by these changes. Thus, management thinking in particular has been increasingly characterized by a schism between those who advocate 'knowledge' or 'capabilities-based' approaches in the strategy and organization fields and those who adopt more economies-influenced approaches, notably the economics of organization. This book is a sustained attempt to overcome this schism. Its basic argument is that knowledge-based and organizational economics approaches are not substitutes but complements. In particular, organizational economics has much to contribute with respect to furthering the understanding of efficient organization and strategy in the emerging knowledge economy. This theme is taken through several theroretical as well as empirical variations. Themes such as the incentive liabilities of flat, 'knowledge-based' organizations, the role of complementary HRM practices for fostering knowledge sharing and creation, and the role of organizational instruments in the knowledge management activities of the multinational corporate are extensively treated. The book thus contains important implications for knowledge management, organizational design and international management. -- Publisher description

in This Set Of Eight Critical Essays, Foss (economic Organization, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark) Examines Some Foundational Issues Of The Theory Of Economic Organization, Especially As It Relates To Concept Of The Knowledge Economy. A Number Of Overall, Related Themes Emerge From The Essays, Including The Need For Strategic And Organizational Theorizing To Come To Grips With The Mechanisms By Which The Knowledge Economy Is Likely To Impact Firms, The Tension Between Competence And Governance Approaches To Organization And Strategy, And The Role Of The Competitive- Equilibrium Model With Respect To Furthering Thinking In Strategy. Other Topics Addressed Include Innovation-performance Effects Of The High-performance Work Practices Often Associated With The Knowledge Economy And The Implications Of The Knowledge Economy For Organizational-design Issues. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or

Strategy and economic organization in the knowledge economy -- The 'strategic theory of the firm' -- The resource-based view : Aligning strategy and competitive equilibrium -- Knowledge-based views of the firm -- Strategy, resources, and transaction costs -- Economic organization in the knowledge economy -- Interna organization in the knowledge economy : the rise and fall of the Oticon Spaghetti Orgnization -- Performance and organization in the knowledge economy : Innovation and new human resource management practices -- Cognitive leadership and coordination in the knowledge economy. ## Abstract This book examines the impact of the knowledge economy on the knowledge production of management studies. It highlights the important parts of theorizing that have emerged within the strategy and organization fields to accommodate those tendencies thought of as characterising the knowledge economy. It seeks to resolve existing tensions between ‘competence’ and ‘governance’ approaches to organization and strategy. The advent of the knowledge economy changes the ways in which firms organize their activities and how they strategize in the market place. This volume lays the foundations for an analysis of these phenomena. It shows how 'knowledge-based approaches' in management studies may be complemented by key ideas from the economics of organization. "This book encompasses nine chapters which critically examine current thinking on strategy, and organization. The reasoning is non-technical. While primarily aimed at a Management Studies audience, Economists and other social scientists will also benefit from it, including Advanced Students, Academics, and Researchers."--Jacket The advent of the knowledge economy changes the ways in which firms organise their activities and how they strategize in the market place. This non-technical volume lays the foundations for an analysis of these phenomena. The discussion is both theoretical and empirical