Effective Sourcing and Organization of Knowledge: the Role of Innovation

摘要

We investigate optimal knowledge and information management strategies in organizations. Using the Cobb-Douglas production function, we show that patterns of information and labor utilization play a key role in the determination of optimal production sets. With this formal model, we are able to reach unequivocal conclusions regarding optimal investments in different types of knowledge. We show that firms that are able to derive added value from putting together information items and intelligently using the relationships among them are prone to invest more in explicit knowledge. On the other hand, firms that are more adept at fostering effective teamwork have a greater incentive to seek and retain talented employees. Our theoretical results explain why highly-innovative firms may find it optimal to invest less in information technologies than non-innovative firms do.