Earl`s the taxonomy of knowledge management strategies

Taxonomy of Knowledge Management Strategies

Earl (2001 :215-233 ) categorized organizations into three broad schools technocratic , economic , and behavioral . The technocratic school generally emphasizes the creation of knowledge based-systems through innovation , mapping of ideas , and generating processes that would reinforce the knowledge-based system . It is divided into 3 schools systems school , cartographic school , and engineering school . The economic school focuses on the commercialization of knowledge (derived from patents ) and creation of net surplus capital for increasing profit levels . The economic school is also named as commercial school . The behavioral school is

based on the assumption that human behavior in different settings can generate knowledge so long as it is stimulated and put into organization . This school is divided into three schools of knowledge : organizational school , spatial school , and strategic school All the school mentioned above differed slightly or significantly on four variables : focus , aim , principle IT element , and philosophy

Commercial School

The increasing number of patents in the United States and Western countries in the past 10 years prompted many companies to develop revenue creating methods based on the utilization of existing patents These patents if proven useful to the company may provide it with gross revenue above the profit margin . Although costs will be incurred , since procuring patents are met by increasing annual taxes and of course the high payment to the developer , it will be significant only in the short-run . Larger revenues are expected in the long-run , since the utilization of knowledge for commercialization , will in effect make the company the only producer of a product which is price way up the market price

This monopolization ' tendency of companies utilizing a specific patent is in the rubric commercial school philosophy . Maximize profit by reducing explicit and implicit costs . Explicit costs refer to the costs incurred before and after marketing the patented products (and transaction costs . Implicit costs refer to the situation where the market controls the price of a product , and the existence of other firms selling the same product

An example is provided . Universal Corporation Ltd (an inestee company , is currently producing the so-called saquinavir (a Roche 's HIV medicine (http /www .finnfund .fi /ajankohtaista /uutiset06 /en_GB /Universalcorporati onkenya . The company before the development of the said medicine invited several scientists from different countries to conduct researches on the feasibility of producing a medicine that can cure an HIV infection . They were offered high salaries to encourage them to work , and of course a freehand on the research process . The scientists who developed the medicine sold the patent to the company for a very high price

The company estimated that almost 64 of people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected by HIV virus . This amounts to at least 100 million consumers of the medicine . If the medicine is produced to a degree that will accommodate each consumer , then the company expects an ROI (returns of investment ) of at least 500 . Since the company owns the exclusive right to produce and sell the said product , it can dictate prices which...