Knowledge: From Ethical Category to Knowledge Capitalism

Changing Societies & Personalities, vol. 5, pp. 553–580

Abstract

In the post-industrial economy, the efficiency of scientific knowledge generation becomes crucial. Researchers began to interpret knowledge as a factor of economic growth in the second half of the 20th century; since then, within the theory of economics and management, various approaches have been developed to study the impact of knowledge on economic growth and performance. With time, the focus of knowledge-based theories shifted from corporate management to macrosystems and economic policy. The article describes the main stages in the development of socio-economic concepts of knowledge and analyzes the theoretical and methodological aspects of each approach. The authors have also formulated the critical problems in the analysis of the economic category of knowledge at the present stage and suggested ways of overcoming them. The article may be of interest both to researchers and practitioners in the sphere of corporate strategies and economic policy.

Authors 1

1. Dmitry M. Kochetkov corresponding Aachen Centre for Science and Technology Studies Department of Project Management

   Leiden University · Peoples' Friendship University of Russia · Institute of Informatics Problems · Federal Research Center “Computer Science and Control” of the Russian Academy of Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands and Department of Project Management, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

   Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands

   Department of Project Management, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

   Institute of Informatics Problems, Federal Research Center "Computer Science and Control" of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

   Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russia