Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Published in:
Cover of the book

2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. The Elusive Definition of Knowledge

Authors : Ettore Bolisani, Constantin Bratianu

Published in: Emergent Knowledge Strategies

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

Knowledge is an abstract concept without any reference to the tangible world. It is a very powerful concept, yet it has no clear definition so far. From the Greek philosophers up to present experts in knowledge management, people tried to define knowledge but the results are still very fuzzy. This chapter has the intention of showing the most significant aspects of the dispute over the definition of knowledge, and the main conceptual barriers in that endeavor. In the first part of the chapter we discuss about the knowledge nature and the attempts made in epistemology to define knowledge. The well-known definition that knowledge is justified true belief is shown to have the limitations given by the justification condition and the truth nature. In the second part, we consider the metaphorical approach to knowledge explanation and we present the main metaphors used for knowledge in the managerial literature: knowledge as objects, knowledge nuggets, knowledge as an iceberg, and knowledge as stocks and flows. In the last part, we introduce a new paradigm of metaphorical thinking based on the knowledge energy. This metaphor opens new opportunities for understanding knowledge as a multi-field paradigm composed of the rational, emotional, and spiritual knowledge fields.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
next chapter The Emergence of Knowledge Management
Literature
Andriessen, D. (2006). On the metaphorical nature of the intellectual capital: A textual analysis. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 7(1), 93–110.CrossRef
Andriessen, D., & Boom, M. (2007, May). Asian and Western intellectual capital in encounter. Paper presented at IC-Congress 2007, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Haarlem, The Netherlands.
Ayer, A. J. (2009). The right to be true. In R. Neta & D. Pritchard (Eds.), Arguing about knowledge (pp. 11–13). London: Routledge.
Basu, K., & Palazzo, G. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: A process model of sensemaking. Academy of Management Review, 33(1), 122–136.CrossRef
Bolisani, E., & Oltramari, A. (2012). Knowledge as a measurable object in business contexts: A stock-and-flow approach. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 10(3), 275–286.CrossRef
Bolisani, E., Borgo, S., & Oltramari, A. (2012). Using knowledge as an object: Challenges and implications. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 10(3), 202–205.CrossRef
Borgo, S., & Pozza, G. (2012). Knowledge objects: A formal construct for material, information and role dependences. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 10(3), 227–236.CrossRef
Branson, R. (2011). Screw business as usual. London: Virgin Books.
Bratianu, C. (2011). Changing paradigm for knowledge metaphors from dynamics to thermodynamics. Systems Research and Behavioral Sciences, 28(2), 160–169.CrossRef
Bratianu, C. (2013). The triple helix of organizational knowledge. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 1(2), 207–220.
Bratianu, C. (2015). Organizational knowledge dynamics: Managing knowledge creation, acquisition, sharing, and transformation. Hershey: IGI Global.CrossRef
Bratianu, C., & Andriessen, D. (2008). Knowledge as energy: A metaphorical analysis. In D. Harorimana & D. Watkins (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th European conference on knowledge management (pp. 75–82). Reading: Academic Publishing.
Carayannis, E. G., & Campbell, D. F. J. (2011). Open innovation diplomacy and the 21st century fractal research, education and innovation (FREIE) ecosystem: Building on the quadruple and quintuple helix innovation concepts and the “mode 3” knowledge production. Journal of Knowledge Economy, 2, 327–372.CrossRef
Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (2000). Working knowledge. How organizations manage what they know. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Delen, D., & Al-Hawamdeh, S. (2009). A holistic framework for knowledge discovery and management. Communications of the ACM, 52(6), 141–145.CrossRef
Descartes, R. (1997). Key philosophical writings. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions.
Dombrowski, E., Rotenberg, L., & Bick, M. (2013). Theory of knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Edvinsson, L. (2002). Corporate longitude: What you need to know to navigate the knowledge economy. London: Prentice Hall.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2006). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people’s minds. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Gentner, D., Bowdle, B. F., Phillip, W., & Borant, C. (2001). The analogical mind. Perspectives from cognitive science (pp. 199–254). Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Gettier, E. (2009). Is justified true belief knowledge? In R. Neta & D. Pritchard (Eds.), Arguing about knowledge (pp. 14–15). London: Routledge.
Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Back Bay Books.
Hill, D. (2008). Emotionomics. Leveraging emotions for business (Rev. ed.). London: Kogan Page.
Janicot, C., & Mignon, S. (2012). Knowledge codification in audit and consulting firms: A conceptual and empirical approach. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 10(1), 4–15.CrossRef
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kaufman, S. F. (1994). The martial artist’s book of five rings. The definitive interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi’s classic book of strategy. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
Klein, G. (2003). The power of intuition: How to use your feelings to make better decisions at work. London: Currency/Doubleday.
Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Lakoff, G. (1990). The invariance hypothesis: Is abstract reason based on image-schema? Cognitive Linguistics, 1(1), 39–74.CrossRef
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh. The embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought. New York: Basic Books.
Lehrer, K. (2009). Knowledge, truth and evidence. In R. Neta & D. Pritchard (Eds.), Arguing about knowledge (pp. 16–21). London: Routledge.
Leistner, F. (2010). Mastering organizational knowledge flow: How to make knowledge sharing work. Hoboken: Wiley.
Maxwell, N. (2007). From knowledge to wisdom: A revolution for science and humanities (2nd ed.). London: Prentice Hall.
Neta, R., & Pritchard, D. (2009). Arguing about knowledge. London: Routledge.
Nissen, M. E. (2006). Harnessing knowledge dynamics: Principled organizational knowing & learning. London: IRM Press.CrossRef
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.CrossRef
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nonaka, I., & Von Krogh, G. (2009). Tacit knowledge and knowledge conversion: Controversy and advancement in organizational knowledge creation theory. Organization Science, 20(3), 635–652.CrossRef
Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., & Hirata, T. (2008). Managing flow: A process theory of the knowledge-based firm. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRef
O’Dell, C., & Hubert, C. (2011). The new edge in knowledge: How knowledge management is changing the way we do business. New York: Wiley.
Oliver, G. (2013). A tenth anniversary assessment of Davenport and Prusak (1998/2000) working knowledge: Practitioner approaches to knowledge in organizations. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 11(1), 10–22.CrossRef
Pinker, S. (2008). The stuff of thought. Language as a window into human nature. New York: Penguin Books.
Pinto, J., Leana, C. R., & Pil, F. K. (2008). Corrupt organizations or organizations of corrupt individuals? Two type of organizational-level corruption. Academy of Management Review, 33(3), 685–710.CrossRef
Polanyi, M. (1983). The tacit dimension. Gloucester: Peter Smith.
Russell, B. (1972). A history of Western philosophy. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Russell, B. (1992). Human knowledge: Its scope and limits. London: Routledge.
Sullivan, P. H. (1998). Profiting from intellectual capital: Extraction value from innovation. New York: Wiley.
Szulansky, G. (1996). Exploring internal stickiness: Implements to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 27–43.CrossRef
Szulansky, G. (2000). The process of knowledge transfer: A diachronic analysis of stickiness. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 9–27.CrossRef
Wang, L., Malhotra, D., & Murnigham, J. K. (2011). Economics education and greed. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(4), 643–660.CrossRef
Williams, G. J., & Huang, Z. (1997, December). Mining the knowledge mine: The hot spot methodology for mining large real world databases. Paper presented at the 10th Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Perth, Western Australia.
Zohar, D., & Marshall, I. (2000). SQ: Spiritual intelligence. The ultimate intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.
Zohar, D., & Marshall, I. (2004). Spiritual capital. Wealth we can live by. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Metadata
Title
The Elusive Definition of Knowledge
Authors
Ettore Bolisani
Constantin Bratianu
Copyright Year
2018
Book
Emergent Knowledge Strategies

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60656-9

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-60657-6

Copyright Year: 2018

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60657-6_1