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As information is shared globally and insight is commoditised, the best returns
go to those who can produce non-standard, differentiated knowledge.
-R LMW VIGIRX FSSOW The World is Flat and Hot, Flat
and Crowded, Thomas Friedman, New York Times
columnist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, did an
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the alignment of increasing globalisation, high-speed
internet connections and new business models all
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to lower cost economies merged with offshoring
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the developed to the developing world.
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highlighted through his stories about the changes in
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and value creation. He focused on the way in which
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shifted parts manufacture, then assembly and then,
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able to build up their expertise to a point where they
themselves have now become the new incumbent
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Today, the fast-growth economies are no longer
fast-followers but have become global centres
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and much of the pharmaceutical industry is shifting
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been the common focus for many and the idea of
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reactions of many countries which have seen their
value-creating manufacturing capabilities disappear.
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“To achieve recovery, Britain has no choice but to create a
balanced and sustainable knowledge economy by 2020
and therefore must devise new ways of intervention to
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can deliver changed behaviour as effectively but more
cheaply.”
The fast-growth economies are no
longer fast-followers but have become
global centres of excellence in their
own right.
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As the half-life of knowledge continues
to shrink, 2020 will see greater
commoditisation of knowledge.
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the world have been increasing their status as
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been trying to create exclusive content. Leaders such
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online free of charge through the OpenCourseWare
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sees that, over the next decade, ‘the industrialization
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A fundamental issue embedded in this topic is the
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without restriction and, in the eyes of some, result in
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to recognise these two powerful economic shifts?
Will the open innovation movement evolve to a
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increasing selection of commentators are predicting
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innovation.
However, there is an alternative view – that of
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the companies who can produce non-standard
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often cited as a company whose sales and margins
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is less strong at a national level: this view suggests
that at a large/global scale, the competition is on to
be the differentiated sources of insight. At a national
economy scale, where one cannot have everyone
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been on the cards in some sectors for several years,
it has now become a more widespread concern.
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been challenged by new business models, many
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collaborative platforms for innovation. With the
growth of the creative commons and open source
movements, core components of corporate and
development and sharing at a broader scale.
Furthermore, another recent development adds
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are scaling up and positioning themselves as
intermediaries for sharing of expertise – namely,
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“Maven is the Global Knowledge Marketplace. We
connect knowledge seekers with knowledgeable
individuals for the rapid exchange of expertise,
perspective, and opinion. Our Members (‘Mavens’)
include individuals from all professional backgrounds,
geographies, and functional roles. Mavens are paid to
participate in short telephone consultations and custom
surveys conducted by other professionals who seek to
learn from their knowledge.”
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within companies, academia, governments – in fact,
anyone with insight – to people and organisations
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Maven but, in principle, this is a good disruption to the
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that erodes differentiation. What are the implications
for the future as more programmes such as Maven
ramp up and begin to have a major impact, especially
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It is clear that, by 2020, the knowledge
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set than they were in 2000.
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consulting companies where it is more about what
you do with the insight rather than the accessing of
it; probably faster migration up the scale from novice
to expert; and possibly further erosion of developing
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With the evident rebalancing of economic power –
and, with it, associated expertise – it is clear that, by
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individuals, companies or countries, those that rise
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that others value, but they will have also been able to
sustain this so that it continues to be differentiated.
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designed to protect ideas to operate in a truly open
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the ones that manage the delicate balance of new
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which, even if there is less formal protection available
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in itself not given away.
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insights
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