Knowledge Market
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A knowledge market is a mechanism for distributing
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
resources. There are two views on knowledge and how knowledge markets can function. One view uses a legal construct of
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
to make knowledge a typical scarce resource, so the traditional
commodity market A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products, such as cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investin ...
mechanism can be applied directly to distribute it. An alternative model is based on treating knowledge as a public good and hence encouraging free sharing of knowledge. This is often referred to as
attention economy Attention economics is an approach to the management of information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity and applies economic theory to solve various information management problems. According to Matthew Crawford, "Attention is a ...
. Currently there is no consensus among researchers on relative merits of these two approaches.


History

A
knowledge economy The knowledge economy (or the knowledge-based economy) is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific inno ...
include the concept of exchanging knowledge-based products and services. However, as discussed by Stewart (1996) knowledge is very different from physical products. For example, it can be in more than one place at one time, selling it does not diminish the supply, buyers only purchase it once, and once sold, it cannot be recalled. Further, knowledge begets more knowledge in a never-ending cycle. Understanding of knowledge markets is beginning to emerge. As would be expected, they are very different in form from traditional markets. Knowledge markets have been variously described by Stewart (1996) and Simard (2000) as a mechanism for enabling, supporting, and facilitating the mobilization, sharing, or exchange of
information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
and
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
among providers and users. This transactional approach assumes that knowledge-based products or services are available for distribution, that someone wants to use them, and that the primary focus of the market is to connect the two. This perspective is appropriate when the market has limited or no interest or control over either the production or use of the content being exchanged, as is the case for most traditional markets. A provider-user perspective is also appropriate for emerging
social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
"ideagoras" (Tapscott and Williams, 2006), in which the primary function of the market is to match existing solutions with problems and problems with those who can find solutions. From a production perspective, processes for creating wealth through the use of
intellectual capital Intellectual capital is the result of mental processes that form a set of intangible objects that can be used in economic activity and bring income to its owner (organization), covering the competencies of its people ( human capital), the value rela ...
are explained by Nonaka (1991) and Leonard (1998). At the marketing end of the spectrum, a number of authors, including Bishop (1996), May (2000), and Tapscott et al. (2000) describe the architecture and processes necessary to succeed in a digital economy. Knowledge markets may also be sequential in nature. Simard (2006) describes a cyclic
end-to-end End-to-end or End to End may refer to: * End-to-end auditable voting systems, a voting system * End-to-end delay, the time for a packet to be transmitted across a network from source to destination * End-to-end encryption, a cryptographic paradigm ...
knowledge-market model comprising nine stages that embed, advance, or extract value into knowledge products and services along a knowledge services
value chain A value chain is a progression of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product (i.e., good and/or service) to the end customer. The concept comes through business management and was firs ...
. The first five stages are internal to a
knowledge organization Knowledge organization (KO), organization of knowledge, organization of information, or information organization is an intellectual discipline concerned with activities such as document description, indexing, and classification that serve to ...
(production and transfer) while the last four stages are external (intermediaries, clients, and citizens). Because the value chain is cyclic, it can be used to model either a supply (post-production evaluation ) or a demand (pre-production evaluation) approach to knowledge markets.


Knowledge services

Knowledge services is an emerging concept that integrates
knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...
, a
knowledge organization Knowledge organization (KO), organization of knowledge, organization of information, or information organization is an intellectual discipline concerned with activities such as document description, indexing, and classification that serve to ...
, and knowledge markets. Knowledge services are programs that provide content-based (data, information, knowledge) organizational outputs (e.g., advice, answers, facilitation), to meet external user wants or needs. Knowledge services are delivered through knowledge markets. St. Clair and Reich (2002) describe internal knowledge services as a management approach that integrates information management, knowledge management, and strategic learning into an enterprise-wide function. Kalakota and Robinson (2003) and Thomas (2005) developed service-oriented architectures for the private sector. Their focus was to transform traditional retail businesses by developing enterprise-wide platforms that support customer services. RocSearch (2006) takes a broader external view, referring to a nascent knowledge services industry that goes beyond traditional cost and time leveraging advantages of the traditional consulting sector. Simard et al. (2007) developed a holistic systems model of knowledge services for government S&T organizations. The model begins with generating new content and ends with sector outcomes and individual benefits. The model is independent of content, issues, or organizations. It is designed at a departmental level, but is scalable both upwards and downwards. The primary driver is a department’s legal mandate; a secondary driver is the needs of clients and residents. The model can function from either a supply or demand approach to knowledge markets. There are two levels of resolution - performance measurement, and classifying service-related activities. There are four types of knowledge services: generate content, develop products, provide assistance, and share solutions. 24 Knowledge services are modeled as a circular value chain comprising nine stages that embed, advance, or extract value from knowledge-based products and services. The stages are: generate, transform, manage, use internally, transfer, enhance, use professionally, use personally, and evaluate. (Simard, 2007) described a rich to reach service delivery spectrum that is segmented into categories of recipients, with associated levels of distribution, interactions, content complexity, and channels. The categories, from rich to reach, are: unique (once only), complex (science), technical (engineering), specialized (professional), simplified (popular), and mandatory (everyone). From the perspective of knowledge markets, Mcgee and Prusak (1993) note that people barter for information, use it as an instrument of power, or trade it for information of greater value. Davenport and Prusak (1998) used a knowledge marketplace analogy to describe the exchange of knowledge among individuals and groups. However, Shapiro and Varian (1999) indicate that information markets will not resemble textbook competitive markets with many suppliers offering similar products but lacking the ability to influence prices. Simard (2006) described knowledge markets as a group of related circular knowledge-service value chains that function collectively as a sector, to embed, advance, and extract value to yield sector outcomes and individual benefits.


Examples

Fee-based knowledge markets commoditize knowledge by being based on traditional market mechanisms that work well for traditional goods. The buyer posts a request, normally in the form of a question and sets a price for the valid answer. Alternatively, the suppliers of knowledge (answerers) can post their bids to have the question answered.
Experts-Exchange Experts Exchange (EE) is a website for people in information technology (IT) related jobs to ask each other for tech help, receive instant help via chat, hire freelancers, and browse tech jobs. Controversy has surrounded their policy of providi ...
is fee-based knowledge market which using a
virtual currency Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is largely unregulated and issued and usually controlled by its developers and used and accepted electronically among the members of a specific virtual community. In 2014, the Europe ...
where buyers can offer payment to have their questions answered. Mahalo Answers, an extension of the search engine
Mahalo.com Mahalo.com was a web directory (or human search engine) and Internet-based knowledge exchange (Question-and-answer website) launched in May 2007 by Jason Calacanis. It differentiated itself from algorithmic search engines like Google and Ask.com, ...
, launched on December 15, 2008. The site also uses a virtual currency ("Mahalo Dollars"). Innocentive is a web-based open marketplace where firms post scientific problems and choose rewards.
Sage Board Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...
is an active American company tackling the problem from a consumer perspective. The company vets experts through web sources, social media profiles, journals, and professional profiles. It connects consumers to the vetted experts who provide paid answers, audio, or video conferencing services. Sage also provides an SEO software toolset that provides SEO analytics for digital content marketing for the experts.
Google Answers Google Answers was an online knowledge market offered by Google, online from 2002 to 2006. History Google Answers' predecessor was Google Questions and Answers, which was launched in June 2001. This service involved Google staffers answering ...
was another implementation of this idea. This service allowed its users to offer bounties to expert researchers for answering their questions. The Google site was closed in 2006. Two months later, fifty former Google Answers Researchers launched paid research/ Q&A site
Uclue Uclue was an online fee-based research service that operated between February 28, 2007 and December 15 2017. At one time, Uclue employed researchers in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines. Uclue was able ...
. Google also acquired Q&A website Vark.com, to shut it down a year later. Free knowledge markets use an alternative model treating knowledge as a public good.
Quora Quora () is a social question-and-answer website based in Mountain View, California. It was founded on June 25, 2009, and made available to the public on June 21, 2010. Users can collaborate by editing questions and commenting on answers that ...
,
Stack Overflow In software, a stack overflow occurs if the call stack pointer exceeds the stack bound. The call stack may consist of a limited amount of address space, often determined at the start of the program. The size of the call stack depends on many fac ...
(and the rest of the
Stack Exchange Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer (Q&A) websites on topics in diverse fields, each site covering a specific topic, where questions, answers, and users are subject to a reputation award process. The reputation system allows th ...
network), Ask Metafilter,
Yahoo! Answers Yahoo! Answers was a community-driven question-and-answer (Q&A) website or knowledge market owned by Yahoo! where users would ask questions and answer those submitted by others, and upvote them to increase their visibility. Questions were orga ...
,
Windows Live QnA MSN QnA (formerly ''Live Search QnA'' and ''Windows Live QnA'', codenamed ''Answers''), was a question and answer service, part of Microsoft's MSN group of services. It is somewhat similar to Google Answers, but closer in function to Yahoo! Answers ...
, Wikipedia's
Reference Desk The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds ...
, 3form Free Knowledge Exchange,
Knowledge iN The Naver Corporation is a South Korean internet conglomerate headquartered in Seongnam that operates the search engine Naver. Naver established itself as an early pioneer in the use of user-generated content through the creation of the online ...
, and several other websites currently use the free knowledge exchange model. None of these offer more than an increase in
reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...
as payment for researchers. ChaCha.com and Answerly.com both offer subsidized knowledge markets where researchers are paid to generate answers despite the service remaining free to the question asker.
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
's NowNow previously offered a subsidized knowledge market for questions asked through mobile phones and as an experimental feature in the company's ebook reader, the Amazon Kindle. The NowNow service was discontinued November 21, 2008 after an extended private beta period.


See also

* List of Question and Answer Websites *
Collective intelligence Collective intelligence (CI) is shared or group intelligence (GI) that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making. The term appears in sociobiology, politic ...
*
Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...
*
Digital economy The digital economy is a portmanteau of digital computing and economy, and is an umbrella term that describes how traditional Brick and mortar, brick-and-mortar economic activities (production, distribution, trade) are being transformed by Interne ...
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Electronic business Electronic business (or "Online Business" or "e-business") is any kind of business or commercial transaction that includes sharing information across the internet. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, grou ...
*
Electronic commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
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Information economy Information economy is an economy with an increased emphasis on informational activities and information industry, where information is valued as a capital good. The term was coined by Marc Porat, a graduate student at Stanford University, who ...
*
Knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...
*
Information market Although information has been bought and sold since ancient times, the idea of an information marketplace is relatively recent. The nature of such markets is still evolving, which complicates development of sustainable business models. However, ...
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Information society An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid inf ...
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Information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, information storage, store, and information distribution, distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems a ...
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Knowledge economy The knowledge economy (or the knowledge-based economy) is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific inno ...
*
Knowledge ecosystems The idea of a knowledge ecosystem is an approach to knowledge management which claims to foster the dynamic evolution of knowledge interactions between entities to improve decision-making and innovation through improved evolutionary networks of c ...
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Knowledge organization Knowledge organization (KO), organization of knowledge, organization of information, or information organization is an intellectual discipline concerned with activities such as document description, indexing, and classification that serve to ...
*
Knowledge policy Knowledge policies provide institutional foundations for creating, managing, and using organizational knowledge as well as social foundations for balancing global competitiveness with social order and cultural values. Knowledge policies can be vi ...
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Virtual economy A virtual economy (or sometimes synthetic economy) is an emergent economy existing in a virtual world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an online game, particularly in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). People enter th ...
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Private intelligence agency A private intelligence agency (PIA) is a private sector (non-governmental) or quasi-non-government organization devoted to the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information, through the evaluation of public sources (OSINT or Open Source IN ...
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Competitive intelligence Competitive intelligence (CI) is the process and forward-looking practices used in producing knowledge about the competitive environment to improve organizational performance. It involves the systematic collection and analysis of information from ...
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Social information processing Social information processing is "an activity through which collective human actions organize knowledge." It is the creation and processing of information by a group of people. As an academic field Social Information Processing studies the inform ...
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Knowledge worker Knowledge workers are workers whose main capital is knowledge. Examples include programmers, physicians, pharmacists, architects, engineers, scientists, design thinkers, public accountants, lawyers, editors, and academics, whose job is to "thin ...


References


External links

*{{Commonscatinline, Knowledge markets Knowledge management Information economy Market (economics)