ABSTRACT

The nature and the set of futures describing a knowledge based enterprise does not form a unified concept. The conception of knowledge based enterprise evolved from a learning organization to a competitive learning organization, and finally to an intelligence organization, and agile organization. Theoretical postulates of the organizational innovations in knowledge based enterprises can be treated as a normative model, aimed toward maximum freedom. It is an extremely flat organization, free of official hierarchy, based on horizontal coordination relationships and variable hierarchy of goals, blended into external economic networks, completely decentralized, based on wide specialization of employees, and very low level of standardization and formalization; it uses most of the modern techniques of management. The empirical research of the organizational innovations in knowledge based enterprises (case studies, two special studies in Poland, and some issues from European Community Innovation Survey) indicate, that in practice more diversified organizational solutions are being used, and it is rather hard to find the enterprise on that extremely theoretical level. The gap between theoretical and practical models led to the following conclusions: 1. the research models were too simplified – in some aspects, 2. One of the most important aspect 4was: the research model should be adjusted to the particular areas of business processes of an enterprise (marketing, R&D, production etc.)