The Professional Knowledge Economy

Knowledge is the great fifth production factor in our economy, besides capital, labour, land, and entrepreneurship. Perhaps it is the most precious of the five factors, because it takes so much effort and money to keep it well-nourished. Perhaps it is the most strategic of the five factors, because we depend on it to develop business, the economy, and the world at large in a balanced and sustainable direction. Knowledge is certainly one of the least understood factors and one of the hardest to grasp. This book concerns the largest pool of knowledge, which is professional knowledge. This form of knowledge, albeit being very close to business practice, is nonetheless least understood of all. Economists have tried to grasp the knowledge factor, measuring and assessing it in terms of the pools of R&D-expenditures, patented innovations, licences, and other forms of knowledge that can be documented. The pool of professional knowledge is not among these, because it is tacit. It can only exist in our head; it is intrinsically tied to people --the professionals. Professional knowledge is the articulation of scientific and documented knowledge, and the individual experience and dexterity of individuals. It is for this reason that it is so hard to grasp; while for this very same reason, it is so close to the life of business, to the shopfloor of our advanced economies.

Klappentext

The Professional Knowledge Economy gives an in-depth account of the role and organization of advanced knowledge workers in businesses, presenting the various ways in which different companies have structured their internal professional support activities, ranging from R&D to the legal department. The professionalization of business is related to the complexity of the business and to turbulence in the business environment. One key issue is the increasing use of external consultants. Growth of the consultancy industry has resulted in a vast pool of advanced knowledge, providing a flexible alternative to rigid, costly internal professional support departments. But the use of outside expertise is an art, and the book examines the conditions needed for efficient integration of external professional support and the internal knowledge base. The book contains an extensive case study of the management consultancy industry, the results of which are used to construct a framework for strategic management in the industry. Audience: Managers of professional support departments, as well as managers and experts in the consultancy industries. Of value to business researchers and economists interested in the knowledge economy.

Inhalt
1 Introduction: The Issue.- 1.1 The rise of professional support.- 1.2 Scope and structure of this book.- 2 Theories and Conjectures.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Towards a taxonomy of knowledge in business.- 2.3 The functions of professional support.- 2.4 The organization of professional support functions.- 2.5 Externalizing professional support.- 3 Internal Professionals.- 3.1 The support burden.- 3.2 The complexity hypothesis.- 3.3 General types of support structure: survey results.- 3.4 The development of specific support functions.- 3.5 General discussion: towards a firm typology.- 4 The Use of External Expertise.- 4.1 Stars, Cash Cows, Dogs, Questionmarks & Consultants.- 4.2 Expertise demand and client compatibility.- 4.3 Motives for external services usage.- 4.4 Interaction with external professional services providers.- 4.5 Consequences for market behavior and service life cycles.- 5 Management Consultancy: a case of professional services supply.- 5.1 Aims of this chapter.- 5.2 Dynamics in market structure.- 5.3 The 7c framework for strategic management in consultancy firms.- 5.4 Market positioning: concepts of the consultancy-client value chain.- 5.5 Relations management: co-ordination of the consultant-client co-production.- 5.6 Business economy: cash flow generation and capacity utilization.- 5.7 Structure and development of competencies in management consultancy.