Transcript Knowledge Networks and Intellectual Capital

3.“Public” knowledge goods

Background on Public Goods
 Social
Philosophy, Locke, Hume, Adam Smith
 Economics, in contrast to private goods
Samuelson
 Olson
 Hardin, “Tragedy of the Commons”

 Sociology,
aspects of collective action

Defining properties, in pure form:
can’t exclude anyone in the community
from access to the good
 Nonrivalry: one person’s use does not diminish the
value of the good to others
 Inclusiveness:
PG Production: Four Influences

Good itself
 Divisibility,

heterogeneity of elements
Participants
 Interests/value,

“Public”
 Size,

resources, costs, gain
heterogeneity of interests and resources
Action Process
 Interdependence
among participants
 Information about others
 Social and communication networks
 Organizers and champions of the good
Production Models: Gain Function
Marwell and Oliver’s(1993) gain function:
 gi(R,r)
= vi[P(R)] - ci(r), where...
 individual
gain = value - cost
 value is a function of level of production of the
good, and
 level of production is a function of collective
resources contributed
 cost is a function of individual resources contributed
Production Functions
Likelihood of
Production
 Accelerating
 Decelerating
Collective Resources Contributed
“Public” Knowledge Goods

Public knowledge goods are defined by the
functionality they provide, not the systems that
help to deliver that functionality
 Connective
good: ability to link with specific others
who hold relevant knowledge
physical connectivity
 social connectivity

 Communal
good: ability to maintain a shared pool of
knowledge

Connectivity and communality can be provided
jointly by use of a communication/information
system
Connectivity


Example: functionality provided by universally
accessible communication system Transactive
Memory System
Division of labor regarding knowledge domains in a
community
 People
selectively acquire knowledge based on what they
think others know
 Communication is used to learn about others’ expertise
and coordinate who will learn what

Benefits:



reduces information load on individual
increases overall information accessible to participants
reduces excessive redundancy in knowledge network
Communality




Example: functionality provided by shared data
repositories
Community members contribute to the repository
and retrieve information from it
Repository may be centralized or distributed
among members
Benefits:
 No
one needs to know who specifically knows what nor
who specifically needs what information
Issues for Public Knowledge Goods

Inducing quality contributions and uses
 Costs
& benefits: the payoff problem
 Inducements: the quality problem
 Interdependence: the problem of critical mass
 Tacit knowledge: the transfer challenge
 Trust and confidence
 Proficiency in using technology for knowledge
management