Driving forces

• The economics is not of scarcity, but rather of abundance. Unlike most resources that deplete when used, information and knowledge can be shared, and actually grow through application.
• The effect of location is
  • either diminished, in some economic activities. Using appropriate technology and methods, virtual marketplaces and virtual organizations can be created that offer benefits of speed and agility, of round the clock operation and of global reach.
  • or on the centrary reinforced in some other economic fields, by the creation of Porter's clusters around centers of knowledge, such as universities and research centers having reached a world-wide excellence.
• Laws, barriers and taxes are difficult to apply on solely a national basis. Knowledge and information "leak" to where demand is highest and the barriers are lowest.
• Knowledge enhanced products or services can command price premiums over comparable products with low embedded knowledge or knowledge intensity.
• Pricing and value depends heavily on context. Thus the same information or knowledge can have vastly different value to different people at different times.
• Knowledge when locked into systems or processes has higher inherent value than when it can "walk out of the door" in people's heads.
• Human capital -- competencies -- are a key component of value in a knowledge-based company, yet few companies report competency levels in annual reports. In contrast, downsizing is often seen as a positive "cost cutting" measure.