Economics of K
It is often helpful to view the process of Knowledge Management as a series of transactions [ii] or activities between entities (people and or organizations). These activities are Buying (buyers seeking knowledge), Brokering (connecting those buying with those selling), and Selling (holders of knowledge that are selling that knowledge). The currency of transactions between these activities is relevant knowledge. The interesting part of thinking in terms of an economic transaction is that each entity has the ability to decide whether to participate in a given transaction. The broker can decide if there is value in connecting a buyer to a seller. The seller can decide if there is value in “selling” knowledge to a buyer, and the buyer can decide to seek out a seller through a broker or some other means. There are costs associated with each activity, and each participant must judge the value of their participation. Thus some may forgo participation if the knowledge to be transacted is not considered worthy of the price.
[ii] Davenport and Prusak refer to this as “The Political Economy of Knowledge Markets” in their book Working Knowledge.
