Information technology plays an important role as a changing force in the knowledge intensive organizations of today and tomorrow. The way knowledge intensive activities are organized will change and take on new forms. Some organizational forms we already can identify are clusters, networking organizations and small and dynamic entrepreneurs.
A cluster can be defined as a group of independent but related industries/companies that both cooperate and compete with each other. Clusters can be geographically situated in a region (like Silicon Valley or Karlskrona/Ronneby). The companies and organizations in the cluster contribute to a common welfare for the region by establishing channels for export of goods and services outside the region. Cooperation can be both formal and informal.
In a way the relationship between producer and subcontractors can be viewed as a kind of cluster liaison. The whole chain from supplier to product in a broadly defined branch of industry is represented in the cluster. Also infrastructure, supportive industries and services - like education, research, finance and administration, is a part of the cluster.
Successful clusters are typically developed in an organically, bottom-up style. They are based on an idea or some companies that have worked as a catalytic converter, and attracted more companies and people. At the same time there are important top-down processes, like political aspirations as well as local culture and communication technologies that could support the emergence of clusters.
Clusters centered on high technology and knowledge intensive organizations, face specific challenges in that they have to attract well educated contributors to the cluster. Another problem is how to create an atmosphere of trust and reliance in order to make the companies unafraid of sharing knowledge, resources and competence when, at the same time, being competitors in a certain field of business. How is knowledge managed and valued commercially and legally among the members of a cluster? How does one compete and collaborate at the same time? How are networks developed and organized?
Geographical connectedness is a main feature in many forms of clusters. Clusters are located in a region. This is, however, not the case when virtual networking organizations are considered. At the most extreme one can only reflect on the extremely loose organization that created the Linux operating system. The whole process - from specifications to development and implementation - is organized as a virtual distributed development process with programmers working on a non-profit basis and with a minimum of centralized coordination and control. Coordination is instead based on the community and its ideals, core values and front figures (such as Linus Torvalds). Status is related to the ability to reach acceptance within the community by being an owner of a project or make some crucial contributions to ongoing development projects. As a result of these new ideals and practices, new business models are developed. Symbolic values are converted to financial values in ways that are constructed around a complicated logic of a certain field.
From a business point of view this raises different kinds of questions: How can a traditional company meet this new kind of non-profit competition? How are new business models shaped (like Red Hat)? How can conventional companies gain from incorporating a Linux organization model?
Finally entrepreneurs, in the form of small companies (not more than 10 employees) with a great potential for development, are an interesting form of knowledge intensive business. Entrepreneurs develop their activities in a fast and dynamic way without being held back by bureaucracy and other constraints that normally accompany bigger companies. Small corporations consisting of hard working, well-educated enthusiasts has rapidly taken over the market for web design and development while the bigger consultancy bureaus are slower in recognizing signals form the market as well as restructuring resources and recruit personnel with the right competence (since these people often are entrepreneurs). Small game-companies are a typical business in this area where knowledge development is interwoven in the actual development of games. Additional competence development is therefore not needed.
How can bigger companies take on some of the openness for dynamics and the swiftness in which activities are redirected like in the small entrepreneurs, and at the same time add some of the solidity that comes from being a major actor in a market segment? How do entrepreneurs package their knowledge? How are expectations created based on knowledge and business concept?
Areas of investigation:
Partners:
Viktoria institute, EHPT, Astrakan, Ericsson Mobile Data Design
Method:
Expected results: