ABSTRACT
Worldwide access to all knowledge available, information overflow, virtualization of everyday life—what is knowledge in a society called an information society? In what ways and why is information becoming more central today indeed, so central that the term “information society” or even “knowledge society” is justified? “An information society is one in which society is aware of the importance of information in every aspect of its work, an attitude of mind that makes for the efficient, productive, broad utilization of information in every aspect of life” (Dordick/Wang, 1993, 128). This definition focuses on the pragmatic impact of information in society. The term “knowledge” is broader. It encompasses expertise, skills, and information (Stehr/Ericson, 1992). But even those two notions—use of information and knowledge described as more than information—may not be enough to define what knowledge in an information society is. The definition ignores the presence of information and communication technology as its basis. Hence, all societies were information societies. Widening the perspective of knowledge instead of mere information, theorists such as Fritz Machlup (1962), Yoneji Masuda (1981) and Peter Drucker (1969) refer to the increasing weight of knowledge industries in Japan and the United States of America. They maintain the production, distribution and consumption of knowledge as the decisive factor for economic growth and corporate competition (Webster, 1994; Dordick/Wang, 1993, 33–52).
