Knowledge Capitalism: Business, Work, and Learning in the New Economy [Hardcover]

Alan Burton-Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198296223 | ISBN-13: 978-0198296225 | Publication Date: December 30, 1999

This book probes the surface of contemporary economic and social change and reveals how the shift to a knowledge-based economy is redefining firms, empowering individuals, and reshaping the links between learning and work. Using economic, management and knowledge-based theories, it describes the emergence of a new breed of capitalist, one dependent on knowledge rather than physical resources.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A winner....It is the best book I have seen for a CEO on the strategy to use, if you want the best from the knowledge that exists in your organization. I recommend it for all planning teams, everywhere."--Bob Buckman, Buckman Laboratories, US

"No stone is left unturned in this sweeping and insightful analysis of the knowledge game in this new economy."--John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation; Director, Xerox PARC

"...offers the business practitioner an excellent balance between analysis and prescription."--Hirotaka Takeuchi, co-author, The Knowledge-Creating Company "This book impresses with its breadth of coverage, its research detail and the synthesis of analysis....It touches upon something important for many people - work, its nature, its shortage for some, its changes and its future direction. Highly recommended. - Dr John Burgess. University of Newcastle.

About the Author

Alan Burton-Jones, formerly business development director of leading multi-national, British Oxygen's computer services subsidiary based in London, now heads an international IT and management consultancy practice headquartered in Australia. A frequent speaker at technical and business conferences, he has extensive contacts within the academic and business spheres in the USA, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198296223
• ISBN-13: 978-0198296225
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,922,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous book. A great reference., September 24, 2001

By 

Roger Pearson (Chicago USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knowledge Capitalism: Business, Work, and Learning in the New Economy (Hardcover)

Burton-Jones' account of the knowledge based economy is the best I have found. I've nearly finished my PhD and have read many books! Most books by academics while good for my thesis yield few useful insights for practice. Unfortunately books written by practitioners are mostly useless. They are too light weight to add any value at all (not just for me, my consulting friends tell me the same thing!). This book strikes a great middle-road. Burton-Jones is a practitioner but he seems to have read everything academics have read! It's original, well researched, well written, and carefully argued enough to be very useful for my research and teaching while still practical enough be a great reference for managers. I particularly liked Burton-Jones' Knowledge Supply Model, his Knowledge Growth Model of the firm, and his clear 'Implications' sections concluding his chapters. It's a great book. If you want an introduction to the knowledge economy it is perfect. If you are serious about the knowledge economy or knowledge management, it should be on your bookshelf (or your desk). If you teach knowledge management or economics (particularly in grad school/MBA), get it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 16, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knowledge Capitalism: Business, Work, and Learning in the New Economy (Hardcover)

This book falls squarely into the apocalyptic tradition of business literature. It preaches the end of the world, and exhorts readers to repent and prepare for a new world unlike anything they have known. Burton-Jones has absorbed, organized and presented a mass of data to support his message. The data themselves are worth the price of the book, because they provide ample raw material from which to draw one's own conclusions about the validity of the author's thesis. He has trademarked certain key phrases in the book, and the frequent appearance of the superscript "TM" is a helpful reminder to the reader to remember that this book is at least in part a sales pitch for a consultancy practice. But it is nonetheless important to read this book because while Burton-Jones may be wrong about some things, he is clearly right that a big global economic change is underway, and he sets forth in clear, if colorless, prose a reasonably plausible explanation of what it is and why it is happening. We [...] recommend the book to owners, managers, individuals, students, teachers, and policy-makers.