Towards an operational definition of the knowledge economy

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Thisthesisseekstocontributetowardsamuch-­‐neededoperationaldefinitionoftheknowledgeeconomy–atermwhichisaswidelyusedasitismisunderstood.Despitetwodecadesofacademiccontemplationanddebate,muchuncertaintystillsurroundstheconceptofaknowledgeeconomy,makingitexceedinglydifficultforresearches,academicsandpolicymakerstofindasharedperspective.Theproblemextendsbeyondjustsemantics–oftencontainedwithinacertaindefinitionareunderlyingassumptionsthathavethepotentialtoinformdecision-­‐makingandguideaction.ChapterOneintroducestheaimsofthisthesis,andoutlinestheintendedapproach.Inparticular,ithighlightsthechallengesofconductingaliteraturereviewbasedonanextensiveandhighlyvariedsetofcontributionstowardstheconceptoftheknowledgeeconomy.ChapterTwoseekstoclarifytheconceptoftheknowledgeeconomyandhowitdistinguishesitselffromthebroader,moreinclusiveconceptoftheknowledgesociety.Afterdrawingdistinctionsbetweenthetwoconcepts,ChapterTwodevelopsupontheknowledgesocietyconcept'smoreinclusivenature,andsuggeststhattheextensivescopeofthetermdetractsfromitsusefulnessasaguideforpolicymakers–inparticular,inrelationtothesomewhatmorepreciseconceptoftheknowledgeeconomy.ChapterThreebeginsthefocusontheInordertoprovidesomeconceptualclarityinthisregard,anumberofthemostprevalentand/orenduringcontributionsaregroupedunderthefouroverarchingcategorisationsthatemergedasaresultofthediscussioninthischapter:namely,PropositionalKnowledge,PrescriptiveKnowledge,CulturalKnowledgeandUnderstanding.ChapterFourfocusesonthenextcomponentofthetermknowledgeeconomy,andplacesattentionontheeconomicaspectsofknowledgewhichhaveemergedoverthepasttwodecadesasaresultofthetechnologicalandacademicshiftsthathavetakenplaceinthisperiod.ChapterFiveusesthefoundationofunderstandingbuiltuptothispointtoanswerthequestion:whatisnewabouttheknowledgeeconomy?Here,theimpactofICTscomestotheforeinillustratingthewayinwhichthesetechnologieshavealteredmodernsocietiesonadeepandprofoundlevel.Secondly,ChapterFivedevelopsuponthewayinwhichknowledgeasaneconomycommodityhascausedwidespreadupheavalinIndustrialEraeconomictheory.Here,theideathatthetenetsthatgovernedthephysicalparadigmeconomyofindustryandmanufacturingarenolongerrelevantorvaluableinthefaceofacorecommoditywhichdoesnotobeytheprincipalrulesofphysicalparadigmgoods.ChapterSixconcludesthediscussionsthathaveunfoldedinthisthesis,andhighlightshowtheprecedingchaptersallcontributetowardsachievingtheinitialaimsofthethesis.Ontopofthis,ithighlightsthechallengesuncoveredduringthecourseofthethesisthatwillcontinuetoprovidelimitationstotheachievementofaprecisedefinitionoftheconceptoftheknowledgeeconomy.Itisconcludedthatthediscussionsdevelopedinthisthesiswouldachievetheirgoalinprovidingavaluableandcomprehensive'workingdefinition'oftheknowledgeeconomyforacademicsandpolicymakersseekingtofindconceptualclarityandaplatformof'commonground'fromwhichtobasetheirconversationsanddebates.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University