External commercialization of knowledge

  • Companies increasingly make use of the external knowledge exploitation, i.e. the commercialization of disembodied knowledge, although they often perceive considerable difficulties in managing the external commercialization tasks. These difficulties are partly due to the imperfections of the markets for knowledge, which, however, may be mastered by an adequate management as the examples of various well-known companies show. In combination, these facts point to the need of research into the external exploitation of knowledge. A thorough analysis of past research confirms this need and shows that the existing literature is highly fragmented. By integrating the main findings of the different research streams, we establish a detailed overview on the literature on external knowledge exploitation. The key characteristics and the main forms of externally commercializing knowledge are presented. Then, major imperfections in the markets for knowledge are examined, and the increasing importance of the topic in practice as well as primary reasons for this trend are described. Afterwards, major strategic and monetary objectives and the risks of commercializing disembodied knowledge are identified before turning to the management of the external knowledge exploitation, particularly regarding strategies, processes and structures. Apart from reviewing the literature, a research agenda, which describes promising paths for future research, is set up based on past research results and findings from other fields, particularly the internal knowledge exploitation and the external knowledge acquisition.

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Metadaten
Author:Ulrich Lichtenthaler
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:992-opus4-6211
Subtitle (English):review and research agenda
Series (Serial Number):WHU-Forschungspapier (101b)
Publisher:Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Unternehmensführung (WHU) Otto-Beisheim-Hochschule
Place of publication:Vallendar
Document Type:Working Paper
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2018/04/06
Date of first Publication:2004/09/01
Release Date:2018/04/06
Tag:Wissensmanagement; Wissenstransfer
Knowledge management; Knowledge transfer
Page Number:47
Institutes:WHU Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group / Chair in Entrepreneurship and New Business Development
Licence (German):Copyright for this publication