264 Int. J. Knowledge-Based Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2016
Knowledge markets: a typology and an overview
Francisco Javier Carrillo
EEHCS, Tecnológico de Monterrey,
Campus Monterrey,
CT-524, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur,
Monterrey 64890 NL, Mexico
Email:
Abstract: Knowledge markets are defined as value exchange systems where
the quantity, quality and terms of interactions amongst agents are determined
primordially by the dynamic properties of intellectual capital creation and
exchange. Such properties include the attributes of knowledge-based value
production as well as a distinctive ethos and organisational design. Based on
this definition, an array of ten types of knowledge markets is introduced, with a
synthetic characterisation for each category. First level types are: intellectual
capital dealing, open dealing, crowd dealing, cooperative dealing,
non-monetary dealing, social dealing, alternative currencies plus incentive
regimes, alternative banking, open knowledge labs and emerging knowledge
markets. Each category is broken down into subtypes, each subtype in turn
characterised and/or exemplified. The typology description is accompanied by
an extensive and updated literature review. The resulting map of knowledge
markets may contribute to understand the uniqueness of these novel
value-generation arrangements and capitalise on their transformative power.
Keywords: knowledge markets, knowledge-based value exchange, capital
systems
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Carrillo, F.J. (2016)
‘Knowledge markets: a typology and an overview’, Int. J. Knowledge-Based
Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.264–289.
Biographical notes: Francisco Javier Carrillo is a Professor of Knowledge
Management and Head of the Knowledge Society Research Group at
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico as well as the President of the World
Capital Institute. His main research interests are knowledge-based
development, capital systems, knowledge cities, knowledge markets, and
alternative economic cultures.
1 Introduction1
Cultural transformations over the last decade have been masked by the ubiquity and
pervasiveness of technological change. Current social, economic, environmental,
demographic and political realities, make living prospects for millennials and
subsequent generations increasingly uncertain. Environmental degradation, climate
change, economic stagnation, growing inequality, urban gentrification and political
disillusionment are some of the costs to be inherited from the received way of life: the
Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
, Knowledge markets 265
industrial-capitalist economic culture. The pressure for an alternative system of value
production and distribution, paired with different ways of organising human life, is
building by the day.
Knowledge markets (k-markets) are novel and diverse forms of association naturally
appealing to young people and all those seeking a life-work balance. They operate as
commons, focus on a shared purpose, require little leadership and do not rely primarily
on financial resources. K-markets are self-organising and entrepreneurial, effectively
tackling concrete problems, from social innovation and civic activism through business
development. Innovative ways of generating social value, they build primarily on
intangible capital, defying received typologies of human activity systems, from NGOs
through SMEs, e-participation and venture-capital-raising. They share a distinctive ethos
of trust, transparency and imagination, setting the pace for the evolution from industrial
to knowledge societies.
Although a growing body of literature accounts for the interplay between knowledge
and markets and the emergence of new value exchange domain, elements and rules [e.g.,
Carrillo, 1998, 2013; Davenport and Prusak, (1998), Ch. 2; Teece, 1998; Wurzburg,
1998; Adler, 2001; Guilhon, 2001; Potts, 2001; Desouza and Awazu, 2003; Benkler and
Nissenbaum, 2006; Brydon and Vining, 2006; Simard, 2006; Lichtenthaler and Ernst,
2007; Gambarotto et al., 2011; OECD, 2012; Rifkin, 2014; Benbya, 2015) the field is still
embryonic. This paper aims at mapping and documenting the many and diverse practices
that can be regarded as k-markets under the umbrella concept outlined here. Whereas a
prior exercise tracked the evolution of the idea of k-markets and the attributes considered
by different authors, advancing an analytic model [Carrillo et al., (2014), Ch. 8], this
exercise will favour comprehensiveness and interdependence between prospective types.
The intention is that this broader account may help to realise the reach of this movement,
discover a pattern of cultural transformation, articulate a comprehensive research
approach and lead to effective designs. Given the wide scope of the converging topics, an
effort has been made to include recent contributions that may help to understand current
trends, resulting in an extensive and updated overview.
The typology that constitutes the central contribution of this paper is based upon the
following definition of k-markets: “value transaction systems where contents, agents’
experiences and terms of interaction are determined primordially by the dynamic
properties of intellectual capital creation and exchange” (Carrillo, 2010). This working
concept allows for the inclusion of the following attributes as demarcation criteria:
a the predominance of knowledge capital in value exchange content
b the appeal of open, self-organised, adaptive forms of organisation
c the reduction of intermediation and transaction costs
d the frequent resource to leveraging technologies such as matching algorithms,
ubiquitous computing, blockchain, etc.
e the emphasis on a distinctive set of underlying values, such as trust, transparency,
equality and balance
f the increasing awareness and effective capitalisation of the unique properties of
knowledge-based value creation and distribution (Carrillo, 2014).
, 266 F.J. Carrillo
While several of the type and sub-type categories may be arguable, this exercise, as a first
comprehensive mapping, has privileged width. These types may sometimes occur mixed
rather than in a pure form. Also, no assumption is made that k-markets are
organisationally more effective or intrinsically more ethical, but rather than their
distinctive ethos and design structure are more likely to unfold in these settings, due to
the cohesive effect of knowledge-based transactions (Benkler and Nissenbaum, 2006). It
is precisely the qualitative change in the experience of knowledge-based human
interaction (exchanges of ideas and emotions, besides objects and money) that are
peculiar to k-markets and might even be considered as non-market or even market
disruptions (Sandel, 1994; Offer, 1997; Rifkin, 2014; Carrillo, 2014).
Figure 1 K-markets typology
Source: Adapted from Carrillo and Villa (2011)
Knowledge markets: a typology and an overview
Francisco Javier Carrillo
EEHCS, Tecnológico de Monterrey,
Campus Monterrey,
CT-524, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur,
Monterrey 64890 NL, Mexico
Email:
Abstract: Knowledge markets are defined as value exchange systems where
the quantity, quality and terms of interactions amongst agents are determined
primordially by the dynamic properties of intellectual capital creation and
exchange. Such properties include the attributes of knowledge-based value
production as well as a distinctive ethos and organisational design. Based on
this definition, an array of ten types of knowledge markets is introduced, with a
synthetic characterisation for each category. First level types are: intellectual
capital dealing, open dealing, crowd dealing, cooperative dealing,
non-monetary dealing, social dealing, alternative currencies plus incentive
regimes, alternative banking, open knowledge labs and emerging knowledge
markets. Each category is broken down into subtypes, each subtype in turn
characterised and/or exemplified. The typology description is accompanied by
an extensive and updated literature review. The resulting map of knowledge
markets may contribute to understand the uniqueness of these novel
value-generation arrangements and capitalise on their transformative power.
Keywords: knowledge markets, knowledge-based value exchange, capital
systems
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Carrillo, F.J. (2016)
‘Knowledge markets: a typology and an overview’, Int. J. Knowledge-Based
Development, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.264–289.
Biographical notes: Francisco Javier Carrillo is a Professor of Knowledge
Management and Head of the Knowledge Society Research Group at
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico as well as the President of the World
Capital Institute. His main research interests are knowledge-based
development, capital systems, knowledge cities, knowledge markets, and
alternative economic cultures.
1 Introduction1
Cultural transformations over the last decade have been masked by the ubiquity and
pervasiveness of technological change. Current social, economic, environmental,
demographic and political realities, make living prospects for millennials and
subsequent generations increasingly uncertain. Environmental degradation, climate
change, economic stagnation, growing inequality, urban gentrification and political
disillusionment are some of the costs to be inherited from the received way of life: the
Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
, Knowledge markets 265
industrial-capitalist economic culture. The pressure for an alternative system of value
production and distribution, paired with different ways of organising human life, is
building by the day.
Knowledge markets (k-markets) are novel and diverse forms of association naturally
appealing to young people and all those seeking a life-work balance. They operate as
commons, focus on a shared purpose, require little leadership and do not rely primarily
on financial resources. K-markets are self-organising and entrepreneurial, effectively
tackling concrete problems, from social innovation and civic activism through business
development. Innovative ways of generating social value, they build primarily on
intangible capital, defying received typologies of human activity systems, from NGOs
through SMEs, e-participation and venture-capital-raising. They share a distinctive ethos
of trust, transparency and imagination, setting the pace for the evolution from industrial
to knowledge societies.
Although a growing body of literature accounts for the interplay between knowledge
and markets and the emergence of new value exchange domain, elements and rules [e.g.,
Carrillo, 1998, 2013; Davenport and Prusak, (1998), Ch. 2; Teece, 1998; Wurzburg,
1998; Adler, 2001; Guilhon, 2001; Potts, 2001; Desouza and Awazu, 2003; Benkler and
Nissenbaum, 2006; Brydon and Vining, 2006; Simard, 2006; Lichtenthaler and Ernst,
2007; Gambarotto et al., 2011; OECD, 2012; Rifkin, 2014; Benbya, 2015) the field is still
embryonic. This paper aims at mapping and documenting the many and diverse practices
that can be regarded as k-markets under the umbrella concept outlined here. Whereas a
prior exercise tracked the evolution of the idea of k-markets and the attributes considered
by different authors, advancing an analytic model [Carrillo et al., (2014), Ch. 8], this
exercise will favour comprehensiveness and interdependence between prospective types.
The intention is that this broader account may help to realise the reach of this movement,
discover a pattern of cultural transformation, articulate a comprehensive research
approach and lead to effective designs. Given the wide scope of the converging topics, an
effort has been made to include recent contributions that may help to understand current
trends, resulting in an extensive and updated overview.
The typology that constitutes the central contribution of this paper is based upon the
following definition of k-markets: “value transaction systems where contents, agents’
experiences and terms of interaction are determined primordially by the dynamic
properties of intellectual capital creation and exchange” (Carrillo, 2010). This working
concept allows for the inclusion of the following attributes as demarcation criteria:
a the predominance of knowledge capital in value exchange content
b the appeal of open, self-organised, adaptive forms of organisation
c the reduction of intermediation and transaction costs
d the frequent resource to leveraging technologies such as matching algorithms,
ubiquitous computing, blockchain, etc.
e the emphasis on a distinctive set of underlying values, such as trust, transparency,
equality and balance
f the increasing awareness and effective capitalisation of the unique properties of
knowledge-based value creation and distribution (Carrillo, 2014).
, 266 F.J. Carrillo
While several of the type and sub-type categories may be arguable, this exercise, as a first
comprehensive mapping, has privileged width. These types may sometimes occur mixed
rather than in a pure form. Also, no assumption is made that k-markets are
organisationally more effective or intrinsically more ethical, but rather than their
distinctive ethos and design structure are more likely to unfold in these settings, due to
the cohesive effect of knowledge-based transactions (Benkler and Nissenbaum, 2006). It
is precisely the qualitative change in the experience of knowledge-based human
interaction (exchanges of ideas and emotions, besides objects and money) that are
peculiar to k-markets and might even be considered as non-market or even market
disruptions (Sandel, 1994; Offer, 1997; Rifkin, 2014; Carrillo, 2014).
Figure 1 K-markets typology
Source: Adapted from Carrillo and Villa (2011)
