Knowledge-based company view

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The knowledge-based theory of the firm (Engl. Knowledge-based view (KBV) of the Firm ) is a flow of strategic management and is from this perspective a justification for the knowledge management . It is attempted theory of the firm or at least a way of looking at things before Build the background of the knowledge society and the information age .

The knowledge-based company view comes from the resource theory , which regards a company as a collection of resources and skills. The task of the company is to use its resources and skills optimally. The knowledge-based company view regards the knowledge and skills within a company, i.e. those of its workforce, as the most important strategic resources and deals with the problems of coordinating these within the boundaries of a company or a cross-company organizational structure and the costs of the transaction of knowledge.

The ability to transfer knowledge, not only between companies but also within a company, is problematic. Grant identifies two forms of knowledge which differ significantly in their ability and type of transferability between individuals. Explicit knowledge is about knowledge of facts and theories and can be transmitted through normal communication and is its fundamental property. Implied knowledge is about specialized technical knowledge and results from its application. If tacit knowledge cannot be codified and can only be observed and acquired in the context of its application, its transmission between individuals is slow, expensive and insecure. It is not transferable per se and can only be acquired through repeated use in a productive activity.

The acquisition of knowledge is the activity of individuals, while the role of the company is to use the existing knowledge to manufacture products. If the manufacturing process of a product requires the linking of the implied knowledge of several people, a company offers within its own boundaries the level of authority, structure and stability that contracts between companies involved in the market cannot achieve. The main task of the company is therefore to coordinate the activities of the specialized workforce. If the activities are independent of each other, i.e. a component can be installed in the product without having to rely on implicit knowledge of the component and only explicit knowledge is sufficient, then the respective production steps can also be carried out by cross-company structures or by the people involved in production Organizations independently of each other.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see: Claus Weyrich: Knowledge-based companies - goals and challenges. In: Bernd Kuhlin, Heinz Thielmann (ed.): Real Time Enterprise in Practice. Facts and outlook. Springer, Berlin et al. 2005, ISBN 3-540-21908-0 , pp. 533-549.
  2. ^ A b c d Robert M. Grant: Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. In: Strategic Management Journal . tape 17 , no. 2 , 1996, p. 109-122 , doi : 10.1002 / smj.4250171110 .
  3. ↑ a b Jack A. Nickerson; Todd R. Zenger: A Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm - The Problem-Solving Perspective . In: Organization Science . tape 15 , no. 6 , 2004, p. 617-632 , doi : 10.1287 / orsc.1040.0093 .
  4. ↑ a b Kathleen R. Conner; CK Prahalad: A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge versus Opportunism . In: Organization Science . tape 7 , no. 5 , 1996, pp. 477-501 , doi : 10.1287 / orsc.7.5.477 .