This volume uses both established and more recent modes of inquiry to shed light on an increasingly important dimension of organizational co-operation and competition - that of knowledge and knowledge transfer. As we move from the industrial to the information age, the key to firms' competitive success becomes the application and development of specialized knowledge and competencies. Based on research and practice, this volume addresses a range of issues concerning the management of knowledge, from knowledge transfer between organizations to knowledge management within organizations. Divided into two parts, the work reflects a conceptual distinction between two-world views. The first part is characterized by representationism, or traditional approaches to viewing knowledge, knowledge transfer and co-operative strategies. The contributors provide an overview of the current research on knowledge management and bring together studies in the sociology of knowledge, strategic management and learning theory. The second part focuses on anti-representationism, or new perspectives on knowledge and knowledge transfer in organizational co-operation.
These perspectives, based on autopoiesis theory, go far beyond conventional ways of perceiving and managing knowledge and their implications for management theory and practice are fully examined. Contrasting established approaches with the thinking on knowledge as an organizational resource, this work should be useful reading for academics and students in strategic management and general management studies.