The Value of Knowledge in the Age of the Knowledge Economy
Abstract
In today’s infocommunication and digital world, the value of knowledge has become as important as the cost of innovative products or services. Knowledge itself is now a commodity in the era of the knowledge economy. Accurately determining the cost of knowledge has emerged as a critical area of research for both science and business. This study aims to identify the distinctive features of the knowledge economy era and to mathematically formalize the cost of knowledge. The research employs a systematic analysis of scientific knowledge in the field of the knowledge economy. The results include a methodology for calculating the maximum cost of knowledge, which depends on several factors: the size of a realistic achievable market segment (SAM – Serviceable Available Market); the prevalence of knowledge in society’s educational sphere; the level of understanding required by the user; changes in the comfort of human life; the innovativeness of knowledge; and the speed at which new innovative knowledge is created. The study also explores the impact of infocommunication knowledge networks on production sustainability. It demonstrates that the growing importance of knowledge in national and global economies represents a new innovative revolution, driven by computer technology, digital infrastructure, and highly skilled labour. The key conclusion is that effective knowledge management and the development of infocommunication knowledge networks are essential strategies for the successful growth of modern companies.
About the Author
V. V. Erokhin
Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Bauman Moscow State Technical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Victor V. Erokhin – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Mathematical Methods and Business Informatics; Professor of the Department of Innovative Entrepreneurship,
52-30, Mozhaiskoe highway, Odintsovo, 143007, Moscow region.
Scopus Author ID: 57195330507.
References
1. Sukharev O. (2024a). “Evolutionary economics”: Possibilities for forming the policy of growth and technological changes. Society and Economics, (1), 5–25. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.31857/S0207367624010012
2. Sukharev O. S. (2024b). Measuring technological development: Problems and ways to overcome them. Stankoinstrument, 3(36), 26–33. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.22184/2499-9407.2024.36.3.26.32
3. Sukharev O. S. (2015). Information economy: knowledge, competition and growth. Moscow: Finance and Statistics Publishing House.
4. Arrow, K.J. (1999). Knowledge as a factor of production. In B. Pleskovic & J. E. Stiglitz (Eds.), Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (pp. 15–20). World Bank.
5. Bontis, N., Ciambotti, M., Palazzi, F., & Sgrò, F. (2018). Intellectual capital and financial performance in social cooperative enterprises. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 19(4), 712–731. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-03-2017-0049, EDN: YKCJTV
6. Brown, J., & Duguid, P. (2001). Knowledge and organization: A social-practice perspective. Organization Science, 12(2), 198–213. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.12.2.198.10116
7. Choucri, N., & Agarwal, G. (2022). Analytics for cybersecurity policy of cyber-physical systems. 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Technologies for Homeland Security (HST) (pp. 1–7). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/HST56032.2022.10025438
8. Clark, G. (2014). The industrial revolution. In P. Aghion & S. N. Durlauf (Eds.), Handbook of Economic Growth (Vol. 2, pp. 217–262). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53538-2.00005–8
9. Coyle, D. (1998). The Weightless World: Strategies for Managing the Digital Economy. MIT Press.
10. Coyle, D., & Manley, A. (2024). What is the value of data? A review of empirical methods. Journal of Economic Surveys, 38(4), 1317–1337. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12585
11. Dosi, G., Marengo, L., & Virgillito, M. (2021). Hierarchies, knowledge, and power inside organizations. Strategy Science, 6(4), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2021.0136, EDN: SOZKDC
12. Kogut, B. (2010). Knowledge, information, rules, and structures (pp. 77–94). In: Itami, H., Kusunoki, K., Numagami, T., Takeishi, A. (eds) Dynamics of Knowledge, Corporate Systems and Innovation. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04480-9_4
13. Landes, D.S. (2003). The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511819957
14. Lee, C-C., Yeh, W.- C., Yu, Z., et al. (2023). Knowledge sharing and innovation performance: A case study on the impact of organizational culture, structural capital, human resource management practices, and relational capital of real estate agents. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 707. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02185-w, EDN: AZJOJE
15. Lundvall, B. (2022). National systems of innovation. Chapter 43 In C. Antonelli (Ed.), Elgar Encyclopedia on the Economics of Knowledge and Innovation (pp. 350–357). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839106996.00048
16. Mohaghegh, F., Zaim, H., Dzenopoljac, V., Dzenopoljac, A., & Bontis, N. (2024). Analyzing the effects of knowledge management on organizational performance through knowledge utilization and sustainability. Knowledge and Process Management, 31(3), 261–272. https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1777, EDN: NTAKCE
17. Neef, D.G., Siesfeld, A., Cefola, J. (1998). The Economic Impact of Knowledge. Butterworth-Heinemann (1st edition). Routledge.
18. Ramirez, R., & Choucri, N. (2016). Improving interdisciplinary communication with standardized cyber security terminology: A literature review. IEEE Access, 4, 2216–2243. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2016.2544381, EDN: WSHEYJ
19. Regnér, P., & Zander, U. (2014). International strategy and knowledge creation: The advantage of foreignness and liability of concentration. British Journal of Management, 25(3), 551–569. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467–8551.12054, EDN: UUUWNJ
20. Rikap, C., & Lundvall, B. (2022). Big tech, knowledge predation and the implications for development. Innovation and Development, 12(3), 389–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/2157930X.2020.1855825, EDN: YGHNOT
21. Saadet, N., & Karadenizli, S. (2024). The effects of knowledge and knowledge sharing on innovativeness. In Reference Module in Social Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-13701-3.00132-8
22. Shapiro, C., & Varian, H.R. (1998). Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Harvard Business Review Press.
23. Stearns, P.N. (2013). The Industrial Revolution in World History (4th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494475
24. Sukharev, O.S. (2020). Technological development in the knowledge economy. Proceedings of the 2nd Virtual International Conference Path to a Knowledge Society-Managing Risks and Innovation. Serbia, Niš, November 16–17, 2020 (pp. 17–21).
25. Sukharev, O.S. (2023). The knowledge economy and technology bubble in the IT sector. Proceedings of the 5th Virtual International Conference Path to a Knowledge Society-Managing Risks and Innovation Serbia, Niš, October 23-24, 2023. (pp. 105–110).
26. Sun, Y., Liu, J., & Ding, Y. (2019). Analysis of the relationship between open innovation, knowledge management capability and dual innovation. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 32(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.1632431
27. Yildiz, H., Murtic, A., Klofsten, M., Zander, U., & Richtnér, A. (2021). Individual and contextual determinants of innovation performance: A micro-foundations perspective. Technovation, 99, 102130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2020.102130
Review
For citations:
Erokhin V.V. The Value of Knowledge in the Age of the Knowledge Economy. Economics of Science. 2025;11(1):39-49. (In Russ.)
Views:
104
Email this article 