ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the notions of economic knowledge as a commodity, resource and capital. In this context, scientific-technical knowledge and particularly R&D is considered a key asset as well as impetus for the knowledge-based society. Knowledge was explained as a social construct, opening up a framework which was then used for discussing informal and implicit knowledge including experiences. Although closely related, it became obvious that a distinction needs to be drawn between case-specific knowledge and shared visions as situational, problem-related mental constructs allied to strategy and decision-making, and patterns of interpretation as socio-cultural interpretive schemes or rules generating meaning and understanding. Learning is meaningful action for employees in the context of their daily work. In multinational companies, management faces particular challenges in terms of organising internal learning processes. With regard to economic knowledge, some places are said to have surplus meaning in the sense of particularly creative' or innovative' places.
