IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v30y2001i9p1355-1372.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Expert systems: aspects of and limitations to the codifiability of knowledge

Author

Listed:
  • Cowan, Robin

Abstract

This paper discusses recent attempts to codify knowledge through the development of expert systems in several different contexts. This paper argues that in the context of expert systems there is some knowledge that can be codified (turned into an expert system essentially in its entirety), some for which this is partly possible, and some for which it is basically impossible given the state of today''s technology. We look specifically at the expertise of three different types of workers: the artisan, the repairer and the strategist, and differences in natures of their expertise, and ask what it is about these different tasks that makes human expertise easy, hard or impossible to capture in codified form. The studies also show though that different types of knowledge lend themselves with different degrees of compliance to the codification process.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Cowan, Robin, 2001. "Expert systems: aspects of and limitations to the codifiability of knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1355-1372, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:30:y:2001:i:9:p:1355-1372
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048-7333(01)00156-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bengt-ake Lundvall & Bjorn Johnson, 1994. "The Learning Economy," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 23-42.
    2. Cowan, Robin & David, Paul A & Foray, Dominique, 2000. "The Explicit Economics of Knowledge Codification and Tacitness," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 9(2), pages 211-253, June.
    3. Cowan, Robin & Foray, Dominique, 1997. "The Economics of Codification and the Diffusion of Knowledge," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 6(3), pages 595-622, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.
    2. Caroli Eve, 2003. "Internal versus External Labour Flexibility: The role of knowledge codification," Research Unit Working Papers 0310, Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquee, INRA.
    3. Gwenaële Rot, 2004. "Le knowledge management et l'écononomie spontanée du partage des connaissances," Post-Print hal-03163561, HAL.
    4. Hede, Shantesh & Nunes, Manuel Jose Lopes & Ferreira, Paula Fernanda Varandas & Rocha, Luis Alexandre, 2013. "Incorporating sustainability in decision-making for medical device development," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 276-293.
    5. Leiponen, Aija, 2003. "The Choice of Organizational Form for Collaborative Innovation," Working Papers 127230, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    6. Leiponen, Aija, 2003. "Organizational Knowledge and Innovation in Business Services," Working Papers 127228, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    7. Bengt-åke Lundvall, 2012. "One Knowledge Base or Many Knowledge Pools?," Chapters, in: Richard Arena & Agnès Festré & Nathalie Lazaric (ed.), Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Biggiero, Lucio, 2007. "Organizations as congitive systems :what do they process and deliver?," MPRA Paper 3089, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Luiz Moutinho & Paulo Rita & Shuliang Li, 2006. "Strategic diagnostics and management decision making: a hybrid knowledge‐based approach," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(3), pages 129-155, July.
    10. Lazaric, Nathalie & Mangolte, Pierre-Andre & Massue, Marie-Laure, 2003. "Articulation and codification of collective know-how in the steel industry: evidence from blast furnace control in France," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1829-1847, December.
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7247 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frédéric CREPLET, 2004. "Les Portails d’entreprise : une réponse aux dimensions de l’entreprise « processeur de connaissances »," Working Papers of BETA 2004-07, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    2. Grimaldi, Rosa & Torrisi, Salvatore, 2001. "Codified-tacit and general-specific knowledge in the division of labour among firms: A study of the software industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1425-1442, December.
    3. Erkan Erdil & İbrahim Semih Akçomak & Umut Yılmaz Çetinkaya, 2022. "Is There Knowledge Convergence Among European Regions? Evidence from the European Union Framework Programmes," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1243-1267, June.
    4. Hilbert, Martin, 2016. "Formal definitions of information and knowledge and their role in growth through structural change," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 69-82.
    5. Benezech, Daniele & Lambert, Gilles & Lanoux, Blandine & Lerch, Christophe & Loos-Baroin, Jocelyne, 2001. "Completion of knowledge codification: an illustration through the ISO 9000 standards implementation process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1395-1407, December.
    6. Lissoni, Francesco, 2001. "Knowledge codification and the geography of innovation: the case of Brescia mechanical cluster," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1479-1500, December.
    7. Charles Ayoubi & Boris Thurm, 2023. "Knowledge diffusion and morality: Why do we freely share valuable information with Strangers?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 75-99, January.
    8. Hötte, Kerstin, 2023. "Demand-pull, technology-push, and the direction of technological change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    9. Lazaric, Nathalie & Mangolte, Pierre-Andre & Massue, Marie-Laure, 2003. "Articulation and codification of collective know-how in the steel industry: evidence from blast furnace control in France," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1829-1847, December.
    10. Balconi, Margherita, 2002. "Tacitness, codification of technological knowledge and the organisation of industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 357-379, March.
    11. Narula, Rajneesh, 2010. "Much ado about nothing, or sirens of a brave new world?: MNE activity from developing countries and its significance for development," MERIT Working Papers 2010-021, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    12. Michael A. Peters, 2011. "Three Forms of the Knowledge Economy: Learning, Creativity and Openness," Chapters, in: Roger King & Simon Marginson & Rajani Naidoo (ed.), Handbook on Globalization and Higher Education, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Widad Guechtouli, 2014. "Agent-based modeling of knowledge transfer within social networks," Working Papers 2014-148, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    14. Ljubica Nedelkoska, 2010. "Occupations at risk: explicit task content and job security," Working Papers 2010/48, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    15. Ulrich Witt & Tom Broekel & Thomas Brenner, 2012. "Knowledge and its Economic Characteristics: A Conceptual Clarification," Chapters, in: Richard Arena & Agnès Festré & Nathalie Lazaric (ed.), Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Enrica Imbert & Piergiuseppe Morone & Francesca Bigi, 2019. "Assessing the potential of social enterprises through social network analysis - Evidence from Albania," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 1211-1239, September.
    17. Iizuka, Michiko & Soete, Luc, 2011. "Catching up in the 21st century: Globalization, knowledge & capabilities in Latin America, a case for natural resource based activities," MERIT Working Papers 2011-071, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    18. Fiorenza Belussi & Silvia R. Sedita, 2012. "Industrial Districts as Open Learning Systems: Combining Emergent and Deliberate Knowledge Structures," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 165-184, April.
    19. James Bessen, 2010. "Communicating Technical Knowledge," Working Papers 1001, Research on Innovation.
    20. Bengt-åke Lundvall, 2012. "One Knowledge Base or Many Knowledge Pools?," Chapters, in: Richard Arena & Agnès Festré & Nathalie Lazaric (ed.), Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:30:y:2001:i:9:p:1355-1372. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.