Knowledge Networking: Creating the Collaborative Enterprise

Chapter 1

The networkedknowledgeeconomy

Many terms are used to describe the changing world in which we live and work – the post-industrial economy, information society, knowledge era, and more. My preference, and the term which reflects the orientation of this book, is the ‘networked knowledge economy’ – global is taken as read. Whatever term is used, this new environment has characteristics quite distinctive from the industrial era of the last two centuries.

This chapter describes the networked knowledge economy through the perspective of five major shifts or megatrends. This is followed by a review of technology, the predominant driving force behind these changes. The chapter concludes with an overview of responses that are needed to adapt ...