Research Summary
Research Summary
"Creating Competitive Advantage Through Knowledge Management" (with Elie Ofek)
Description
This project explores how the concept of Knowledge Management (KM) is likely to impact competition among professional services firms (e.g. Consultants, Accounting Firms and Advertising Agencies). Assuming that the "KM technology" exhibits economies of scale, first we would like to understand what type of scale economies (demand- or supply-side) are likely to be exploited in modern KM systems. In the latter case, KM's role is to reduce the firm's operating cost while in the former case its role is to provide a quantum leap in product quality. Second, we would like to understand the competitive dynamics and market structure that emerge as a result of firms competing with KM systems. Our results shed light on the current debate concerning the appropriate design of KM systems and also support a number of recent market trends in the professional services sector.