The concept of knowledge for a knowledge-based society : from knowledge to learning

With the emergence of the so-called knowledge economy, knowledge has become one of the most fashionable terms in the political and managerial sphere. The present paper presents different views on knowledge, focusing mainly on the literature derived from management studies. The main focus is on knowledge management approaches, since this field of study has been very much involved in relating knowledge to managerial practices. Three main approaches to epistemology are proposed in a broad sense: innatist/introspection, empiricism/behaviourism and critical philosophy/constructivism. Special emphasis is placed on constructivism since it is argued that it is the predominant view nowadays. Afterwards, knowledge is conceptualized from a managerial perspective. More specifically, the paper differentiates between several knowledge-related terms, such as data, information or expertise. The distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge is also addressed. The paper finalizes summarizing main characteristics of knowledge and its relationship with learning.