Modern economy is a knowledge economy. The concept of innovation. Knowledge economy: lessons for Russia Knowledge economy and its features

The knowledge economy has three fundamental features. The first is the discreteness of knowledge as a product. Concrete knowledge is either created or not. There cannot be half knowledge or one third knowledge. The second feature is that knowledge, like other public goods, once created, is available to everyone without exception. And finally, the third feature of knowledge: by its nature it is an information product, and information, after it has been consumed, does not disappear like an ordinary material product.

The discrete nature of knowledge raised doubts that, when applied to it, the market mechanism could be as effective as in the case of traditional products. Recent work shows that the main results obtained for divisible products, under fairly general and realistic conditions, also turn out to be true for discrete products such as knowledge or large investment projects.

The second and third features result in the fact that in a market economy, knowledge distributors find themselves in a unique, in a sense, monopoly position. Whatever price they set for their product, it is impossible to sell the maximum number of “copies of knowledge.” The desire to sell more is quite natural, especially since a copy costs practically nothing (copying costs are extremely small). If you set a high price, there will be few buyers. At a low price there will be many buyers, but revenue may be less than at a high price. A number of works have shown that in the knowledge economy the traditional market mechanism does not lead to efficient states. Efficiency is achieved when so-called discriminatory prices are used, that is, prices designed for a specific consumer.

Using discriminatory prices requires more professionalism than using regular prices. Discrimination must be introduced correctly. Experience in the market provision of knowledge and information products is gradually accumulating in different countries for different types of products. Discriminatory prices are especially common in the market for statistical information and software. It is known that in traditional economics discriminatory prices were condemned and even prohibited by law, since they are a way for monopolies to obtain excess profits.

As we know, in a standard perfect market, competition drives prices down to marginal cost. In the knowledge market, prices are higher than marginal costs. Pricing in the computer software market demonstrates how subtle this mechanism can be. The software seller, trying to get maximum profit, is forced to provide the maximum number of users with its products. The system of discrimination based on the time of purchase, the legal status of the buyer (commercial company, government agency, university), the complication of the product itself (program versions, upgrade system, subscription, package services) ultimately lead to the maximum satisfaction of the needs for knowledge and information. At the same time, the problem of quality provision of goods is also solved, that is, the distribution of pirated copies is eradicated using an economic method. However, the issue of pirated copies remains controversial. Some consumers prefer lower quality but cheaper copies. The existence of an illegal business selling pirated copies objectively leads to a wider dissemination of knowledge and information, thereby better satisfying consumer demand. Apparently, the development of this market is still at a stage where the presence of an illegal sector is positive. As the market improves, this sector will shrink and eventually disappear, as its functioning will become ineffective.

An extremely broad and at the same time subtle instrument for regulating property relations in the sphere of so-called intangible goods, which include knowledge, is copyright. Along with what is regulated by law, the so-called informal copyright also applies. The global scientific community is closely monitoring that it is not violated.

The listed features of the knowledge economy determine its significant differences from the standard market economy in terms of existing patterns and mechanisms. And this makes it difficult to build a theory.

An important circumstance: the knowledge economy is an inseparable triad of markets - the knowledge market, the services market and the labor market. They cannot be considered in isolation, they interact so closely with each other, from which many consequences flow and which must be understood by people who make decisions in this area.

In this context, one cannot fail to mention the so-called inseparable, or tacit, knowledge. This is a very subtle concept: we are talking about knowledge that cannot be separated from its bearer - an individual or a scientific, design, or production team. There is an opinion that our share of accumulated inseparable knowledge is higher than that of representatives of other countries, and this can become our competitive advantage. But collectives are easy to destroy. And now we are witnessing the destruction of outstanding teams that created, for example, large weapons systems. This destroys inseparable knowledge that is potentially worth billions of dollars.

In modern society, it is necessary to achieve an understanding that the knowledge sector is a problem-solving machine. The flow of problems is diverse and intense, so the organization of the knowledge sector that meets this challenge must be flexible, dynamic, and precisely economic. But then a special type of specialist is needed, the so-called innovation manager. He must feel the breakthrough direction in his gut.

It should, however, be taken into account that the era of a knowledge-based economy corresponds to a different social structure compared to the usual one. We are accustomed to the division of labor between producers and consumers of knowledge with the participation of an intermediary. Now a new system is emerging in which the consumer of knowledge participates in its creation. The market for products (knowledge) is being replaced by a market for services. And this presupposes a different institutional environment, the creation around large companies of numerous small innovative firms that receive orders from the “parent” company. This is how most American giants operate, for example General Motors, which invests tens of billions of dollars in research and development.

In Kazakhstan, unfortunately, this does not exist yet. The largest domestic companies must be players in the knowledge economy, creating a new environment, a symbiosis of knowledge production and consumption. This will ensure the demand for knowledge. And here the role of the state is fundamental. Without the participation of the state, it will not be possible to organize the demand for knowledge.

Literature: Timina E.I. From a service economy to a knowledge-based economy // Russia and the global educational space. Materials of the IV International Scientific Conference. M., MIEMP. 2008. Kazumo T. The eternal spirit of entrepreneurship. Practical philosophy of a businessman. M., 1990. Brooking E. Intellectual capital. SPb., Peter, 2001

Knowledge economy as an innovation system

Gozhenko Konstantia Nikolaevna

Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Management

NOU VPO "Kislovodsk Institute of Economics and Law"

Annotation: The article examines the innovative characteristics of the knowledge economy.

Keywords: economics of knowledge, innovative technologies, modern economic theory.

Abstract: We consider its innovative features of the knowledge economy.

Keywords: economics of knowledge, innovative technology, modern economic theory.

Modern economics reflects the profound changes taking place in social life and transforming the basic forms of society, its main economic characteristics, the essence of social production, trade, and employment. The parameters of the economic system in the coming period will be very different from previous periods.

In an agricultural economy, land was the key production resource. In an industrial economy, the main resources were labor and industrial factors of production. In the knowledge economy, the status of a key resource passes to knowledge.

In the theoretical aspect, the “knowledge economy” is a mode of production in which the generation, use and dissemination of knowledge plays a dominant role in the creation of material, property and intellectual wealth, as well as generally recognized social values.

The knowledge economy does not just mean reaching new boundaries of knowledge; in fact, such an economy means the formation of a new mode of production - increasing the efficiency of the economy through the rational and systematic use of all types and types of knowledge in all areas of economic activity.

The use of knowledge is not a new idea; knowledge has always played an important role in economics. However, all forms of economics that preceded the “knowledge economy” were based on “simple” (“directly productive”) knowledge.

The economic importance of knowledge use has increased since the Industrial Revolution. But the degree of inclusion of knowledge and
information in economic activity has now increased so much that it leads to irreversible structural and qualitative changes in the functioning of the economy and the transformation of the quality of production, which for many times served as the basis for the competitive advantage of a given national economy.

As an innovative model for the sphere of educational services in the knowledge economy, a number of economists put forward the so-called “triple helix model” between universities, industry and the state, which can be interpreted as a movement from the neo-institutional structure of social networks to the neo-evolutionary model of the organization of economic relations.

The deep economic meaning of the innovative transformation of the special education system in the conditions of the knowledge economy lies in the optimal connection of the three above-mentioned spheres - the university, industrial and government environment. Such unity is possible only on the basis of overcoming the fragmentation of the spheres of creating material wealth, producing knowledge and legislation as social regulation, the unity that only the knowledge economy can provide.

Thus, the triple helix model allows us to highlight the knowledge sector as a basic element of the knowledge economy, which is complemented by an industrial and regulatory element. Accordingly, the problem arises of optimizing and harmonizing the interaction of three fundamentally different functioning mechanisms that are inherent in each of the named sectors.

The production of knowledge requires the highest degree of deregulation of the management process of obtaining new knowledge; it can only be organized in liberal and democratic forms of constructing the creative process.

Post-industrial production requires greater regulation and orderliness, although market factors - in the form of competition - inevitably introduce elements of spontaneity, unpredictability and liberalism.

As for the sphere of social management, it is characterized by the highest degree of regulation and directiveness.

A post-industrial society is a society in which the decline in industrial production occurs not as a result of an economic crisis, recession or stagnation, but as a result of the rapid growth of the service sector, developing into the growth of the information sector as the basis for the emergence of a knowledge economy. The economic structure of employment is already dominated by trends in the total number of people employed in non-production sectors (transport and communications, trade, education, finance) exceeding those in industry and agriculture.

In the economy of knowledge - and practice clearly demonstrates this - it is universities, due to their universality, that become the main institution of the new society. If in an industrial society the main subject of the economy was an industrial enterprise, and the dominant result of production was represented by a certain material (commodity) value, in a post-industrial society the main subject of the economy is an information and communication center, and the dominant result of production is information and communication technologies, then in a knowledge economy the main subject will be the university, and the dominant result of production will be some kind of scientific and technical knowledge. In the new economy, the bulk of the total labor force is represented by employment not in the sphere of material production or in the sector of distribution of material goods, but in the sphere of design, development, technology, marketing, sales and service of this knowledge. An economy in which ideas, information, and knowledge form the basis of innovation and economic growth is dominated by a constant flow of information, as well as the powerful potential of science and technology.

The main problem of the knowledge economy is the new mechanism of its movement, which faces a specific problem - the problem of information asymmetry, which cannot be completely solved by information and communication technologies of any degree of complexity.

Other problems of the knowledge economy should be considered: institutional ways of organizing the production and dissemination of knowledge, protection of intellectual property in the new economy, increased competition, lack of security for creative work and the necessary flexibility.

The theoretical content of the knowledge economy can be seen in the fact that one model of capitalism (under the guise of technological determinism) acquires a different appearance, more consistent with the urgent needs of our time.

The structural transformation of production in the knowledge economy leads to the fact that the main element here becomes the so-called “knowledge production sector” (represented by the main subject - the university, innovation and educational center), as well as active providers of this knowledge. A kind of “intangible capital” arises, which exceeds the amount of investment concentrated within the framework of “tangible capital” and becomes a priority object of increasing investment flows. Technological progress is increasingly shifting towards intangible assets.

At the same time, the average level of education of the population and its general cultural and technical level are increasing.

Thus, the formation of a knowledge economy is a process of sequential implementation of the two parallel trends mentioned above. Changes in factors of production are accompanied by changes in the structure of production. Structural changes have been taking place in developed countries since the early 1970s, leading to productive activities primarily based on the creation, use and dissemination of new knowledge. So-called “intensive technologies” are emerging, such as electronics, computers, telecommunications and biotechnology, which are growing much faster than traditional industries. The expansion of knowledge leads, in turn, to the diffusion of the technology for creating new knowledge with the technology of information transfer, as well as communication technologies, software equipment, the Internet, and telecommunications.

As a result, industries producing information and communication technologies are becoming increasingly important in the production structure of innovatively developed national economies. Investments by companies that increase the share of information and communication technologies in their corporate capital ensure that their production becomes increasingly intensive in the field of information technology, technical changes and labor productivity. This leads to the fact that such technologies not only spread rapidly, but also to the fact that they become the “locomotives” of overall economic growth for a given country.

For economic science, the arrival of information and communication technologies became a signal of the actualization of problems of theoretical analysis of “intangible capital” (intangible assets), since it is such capital that forms the material basis for the production of knowledge, the development of science, the dissemination of technical skills, and also the improvement of the quality of human capital. But the results of the knowledge economy need rethinking both in terms of traditional property rights and the competitive mechanism of their use.

Since knowledge by its nature is not an object of separate use under exclusive ownership rights, this same knowledge can be used by a number of economic agents, which in no way reduces the productive potential that it provides to each user. Knowledge has the characteristic feature that its production is limited essentially by a fixed cost. Therefore, the marginal storage costs become less and less over time, and this makes the processing and transmission of information much easier and cheaper.

At the same time, the knowledge economy maintains a division of functions between organizations that produce new knowledge (mainly universities and specialized research centers) and those organizations that apply it. The latter are especially interested in expanding their own knowledge production base to increase their own competitiveness (direct effect) and expand the ability to search for knowledge produced outside their enterprise (indirect effect).

The noted trends have an impact on the protection of knowledge in the field of intellectual property, which is especially important not only for companies, but also for entire states. Patenting opportunities for software (based on case law) are expanding noticeably.

The knowledge economy is forming a new type of primary production link, which has characteristics so unusual for the industrial stage of production that it is difficult to provide them with finance from traditional financial sources and through traditional financial intermediaries. Typically, these are firms operating in new markets, there is uncertainty about the technical difficulties of trading, the development of start-ups requires significant venture capital, and industrial innovation requires the cost of additional organizational and institutional innovations.

In the economy, knowledge and the organization of labor, production, stimulation of labor activity of workers, their association and collectivism are changing, replaced by disunity, reviving the principle of “dispersed manufacture”. Flexible production organizations are designed to replace “Taylorist” models. Such flexible models are characterized by:

Reducing the importance of employee participation in the corporatization of an enterprise,

Horizontal dissemination of information,

Active participation of employees in increasing productivity and quality of work.

The lower cost of processing information for new projects will encourage the transfer of formal authority (with final decision rights) to the lowest hierarchical levels. Advances in mass and monitoring technology make it possible to control the efforts of an ever-increasing number of workers, reducing the size and prerogatives of intermediate hierarchies.

At the same time, the reorganization and reconfiguration of research structures leads to cost reduction and the development of outsourcing. And this creates conditions for the formation of new types of services for coordination and control of work through local networks and the production of intermediate products.

In the knowledge economy, two types of capital become decisive - human capital and intangible information and communication capital.

A significant difference in the market organization of the knowledge economy is introduced by the network model of the market - in particular, the traditional phenomenon of the typical organization of markets in which the exchange is “anonymous” in nature, covering price uncertainty, gives way, thanks to information and communication technologies, complete information about clients and actual ( or potential) suppliers. These same techniques allow firms to escape the constraints of hierarchical organization.

The knowledge-based economy involves major changes
in modes of corporate organization. Due to the increasing difficulty in managing the body of knowledge that can directly or indirectly affect the performance of a firm, the latter tends to specialize in accordance with those knowledge and skills that dominate and which will allow it to maintain its competitive position.

See for example: Loet Leydesdorff & Martin Meyer. The Triple Helix Model and the Knowledge-Based Economy // Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam. Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

The formation of a knowledge-based economy is today becoming one of the basic strategic policy priorities of both developed and developing countries. In 2000, at the Lisbon Summit, the Council of Europe formulated the strategic goal of the European Union in the coming century - to become by 2010 "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of achieving sustainable economic growth, along with an increase in the number and quality of jobs and a strengthened social harmony."

Foreign experience shows that currently competitive companies are those that have a high (compared to their competitors) level of intellectual (industrial) property in their assets. This fact is a feature of the innovative economy.

First of all, it should be said that the general statement about the important role of knowledge in economics does not look like something new. Production has always been based on various forms of knowledge. The new role of science in human production activity transforming the world, which is succinctly reflected by the ideologeme “knowledge-power,” was recorded in the works of Francis Bacon in the 17th century. What allows us to talk about a knowledge-based economy as a new phenomenon of recent decades? We look at several trends that are believed to form the foundation of the knowledge economy and suggest a new role for knowledge:

Transformation of knowledge into the most important factor of production along with natural resources, labor and capital.

Increasing the share of the service sector and accelerated growth of knowledge-intensive services for business.

The growing importance of human capital and investment in education and training.

Development and large-scale use of new information and communication technologies (ICT).

Transforming innovation into the main source of economic growth and competitiveness of enterprises, regions and national economies.

Increased awareness in political and business circles of the importance of knowledge and innovation for competitiveness and economic growth.

Innovation is the main form of transforming knowledge into wealth and is a key characteristic of a knowledge-based economy. As studies by economists show, innovation today is the main source of economic growth and the most important factor in the competitiveness of enterprises, regions and national economies.

Estimates by experts from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the economic growth of developed countries in the last two decades has been driven more than half by innovation.

We can formulate several fundamental features and trends in the development of innovation processes in the modern economy (some of which are a new understanding of innovation, but not a new trend):

1. Research and development are not the only source of knowledge for innovation. Market research, experience of competitors and partners, etc. are no less frequently used sources of innovative information.

2. Innovation is not the exclusive prerogative of knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy. Innovative activity is important and is carried out today in all industries, services and the public sector of the economy, including government bodies.

3. The linear model of the innovation process (from basic research to commercialization) is inaccurate. The modern understanding of innovation comes from an interactive and systemic model of innovation processes, in which innovation systems (regional, national and international) play a key role, within which new scientific and technological knowledge is created, disseminated and used, and support for innovation processes is provided.

4. The pace of innovation is increasing and stimulating it is important to ensure competitiveness.

5. Innovation processes are becoming more and more global.

6. Based on a wide range of technologies, enterprises are increasingly forced to obtain new knowledge from outside. The number of technological alliances, agreements with scientific organizations, networks and clusters of innovatively active enterprises is growing.

The concept of a knowledge-based economy is adjacent to the original theory of the “information society” and is close to it in many respects. It proceeds from the fact that activities for the production, dissemination and use of knowledge play an important role in the modern economy as never before, determining its essential features and pace of development.

From the point of view of the formation of a knowledge-based economy, a clearly recorded trend in recent years is important - the rapid growth of knowledge-intensive services for business (various types of consulting, system integration, training of specialists, etc.), which play a large role in the diffusion of knowledge in sectors of the economy and stimulating innovation.

The term “knowledge economy” was introduced into scientific circulation by the Austro-American scientist Fritz Machlup (1962) as applied to one of the sectors of the economy. Now this term, along with the term “knowledge-based economy,” is used to define a type of economy in which knowledge plays a decisive role and the production of knowledge is the source of growth. The widely used concepts of “innovative economy”, “high-tech civilization”, “knowledge society”, “information society” are close to the concept of “knowledge economy”.

Today, investments in knowledge are growing faster than investments in fixed assets: in OECD countries in the 90s - by an average of 3.4% per year versus 2.2%. Of the total volume of knowledge measured in physical units that humanity has, 90% was obtained over the past 30 years, just as 90% of the total number of scientists and engineers trained throughout the history of civilization are our contemporaries. These are the clearest signs of the transition from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy.

Noting the high receptivity to innovation in post-industrial countries (Japan, USA, EU countries, etc.), it is extremely important to note the following. Adaptation to the internationalization of knowledge has allowed economically highly developed countries to harmonize all types of innovations: technological, production, trade, economic, managerial and others. People participate in innovation activities systematically within the framework of developed programs. As American experience shows, the most dynamic development occurs in those regions where complexes or incubators of companies, research centers of scientific institutions and higher educational institutions have been formed on the basis of specialized suppliers, consumers and manufacturers connected by the technological cycle.

The problem of qualitative transformations in the modern economy lies in the innovative orientation of the strategy and tactics of production development. At the same time, the main resource in the new economic system becomes the reproduction of knowledge, or the ability of people to innovate and innovate. This ultimately led to the fact that in the 90s, in many Western countries, and primarily in the United States, a number of negative trends were overcome through increased investment in the high-tech sector of the economy. The products of the information sector, widely imported outside Western markets, found even more widespread use within developed countries, and generally did not encounter restrictions on the demand side because they were characterized by the ability to become cheaper due to the growing needs for them.

The basis of high-tech production, as can be seen from the above material, was investment, which was then embodied in the development of new technologies, scientific and technological progress in the information, computer, biological and social spheres of the economy. And, as a result, the concepts of “information economy” and “knowledge economy” appeared, which are not equal to one another and have differences

And, as the experience of developed economic states has shown, only knowledge through scientific and technological progress multiplies the result more effectively. It is also obvious that the economies of Western countries are more receptive to the achievements of scientific and technological progress. At the same time, the determining factor in the growth of the economies of Western countries was the increase in spending on scientific research and education. Thus, in the USA, from the mid-40s to the mid-60s, expenditures on R&D increased by 15 times, and on education by 6 times, while GNP grew only 3 times during this period. During this period, radical steps were taken by Western countries to introduce saving technologies and apply a system of economic, legal, and social measures to stimulate research and development work.

The knowledge economy has three fundamental features. The first is the discreteness of knowledge as a product. Concrete knowledge is either created or not. There should not be half or one third knowledge. The second feature is that knowledge, like other social (public) goods, once created, is available to everyone without exception. And finally, the third feature of knowledge: by its nature it is an information product , and information, after it has been consumed, does not disappear like an ordinary material product.

The discrete nature of knowledge raised doubts that, when applied to it, the market mechanism should be as effective as in the case of traditional products. But it is noted that the main results obtained for divisible products, under fairly general and realistic conditions, also turn out to be true for discrete products such as knowledge or large investment projects.

A distinctive feature of the “knowledge economy”, or new economy, is the accelerated development of the intangible sphere and the intangible environment of economic activity. The production, distribution and use of knowledge form the basis of the new economy, and its infrastructure is the World Wide Web of Information (Table 6.1..). This is a paradigm shift in economic development, which significantly reduces the material, resource and spatial limits of growth rates.

Economists were the first to pay attention to this fact, and Tobin’s coefficient came into use - the ratio of a company’s market price to the replacement price of its real assets. The gap between these indicators has different names: invisible assets, intellectual capital, organizational capabilities. Today, few doubt that it is intellectual capital that creates the main value for a company's shareholders, and the competence of its management is determined by the quality of management of these invisible assets.

In modern society, the concept of “knowledge economy” has become very popular, mentioned both in scientific and socio-political literature. This is caused by the processes of transformation of society as a whole and the economy, occurring, in particular, in the developed countries of our planet. This process can be fully observed, for example, in the United States.

What is the essence of the idea of a knowledge economy? The theory of such economic development assumes that it is human knowledge, and not goods or production, that underlies the economic processes occurring in a developed society; it is knowledge that becomes the driving force in the development of society. The knowledge economy is becoming the highest stage of development, not replacing the traditional system, but becoming its next logical stage. With the development of the knowledge economy, knowledge is a full-fledged commodity in society; it becomes one of the factors of production, and this commodity carries uniqueness.

Knowledge is the product of human mental activity, with the help of which a person cognizes the phenomena of the world around him. Knowledge is born thanks to information received from outside. However, serving as a source for mental thinking activity, information at the same time becomes a form of knowledge storage.

The active development of information technologies makes it possible for the free growth of knowledge, facilitating access to it, allowing it to be widely disseminated and used in various spheres of life.

Among the main features of the knowledge economy are the following:

The predominance of the service sector over production;
Increased costs for educational and scientific needs;
Rapid growth and development of the information and communication sphere;
Expansion of networks: corporate and personal;
Uniting the economies of different countries;
The development of innovation, expressed in the application of the results of mental intellectual activity in the creation of new goods (services).

The following innovative areas are identified:

services,
products,
processes,
strategies

Firms that use high technology gain a significant advantage over their competitors. At the same time, they bring to the market many times more products (offer services), and at the same time, each new product has several unique innovations or properties. Products introduced to the market have a wider geographical distribution than competitors, and goods are sold several times faster. While competitive firms are creating an analogue of a new model or revolutionary invention, the leading firm is already introducing the next model.

Human capital is becoming the most important factor in the development of new technologies. Leading companies in developed countries are making every effort to ensure that new technologies and new ideas are implemented and presented on the market as quickly as possible.

The development of a knowledge-based economy in Russia requires reforming science, which, unfortunately, does not receive much attention in principle. And it is possible to win and maintain leading positions only by attracting young people to science, presenting science as a prestigious and promising area of human activity.

Without government support, the development of science becomes very difficult. What will be the basis for the superiority of industry, for example, gas, when mineral reserves run out? While very little attention is paid to the development of intelligent, innovative technologies and there is no talk of leading world positions. A turning point in mass consciousness, understanding and acceptance of the fact that the wealth of a nation lies in the brains and knowledge of its people, and not in the bowels of the earth, a long process, but necessary for the further successful development of society.

The modern economy of developed countries is often characterized as “ knowledge economy" This term was first used in 1962 by the American researcher F. Machlup.

The scientific literature has not yet developed an unambiguous definition of this concept. There are different positions expressed on this issue.

So, L.M. Gokhberg believes that “the knowledge economy is an economy based on the intensive and effective use of knowledge.”

G. Kleiner gives the following definition: “We call the knowledge economy such a state of the economy of a given country in which: a) knowledge becomes a full-fledged commodity; b) any product carries unique knowledge; c) knowledge becomes one of the main factors of production.”

It is obvious that the above definitions do not pretend to replace existing classifications of types of economic systems (its simplest version: traditional, planned, market systems). Most likely, we are talking about a certain stage of development of the existing economy in its prevailing market version. Thus, in the fundamental monograph “Economy of Knowledge” it is stated: “The economy of knowledge itself appears when knowledge becomes a market product.”

Taking into account the characteristics of the modern economy as a knowledge economy, it is necessary to consider what “ knowledge».

Knowledge- a product of human mental activity to penetrate into the essence of the phenomena of the surrounding world.

It is useful to distinguish knowledge from information– streams of visual, sound and other signals from objects in the surrounding world.

Then information, on the one hand, acts as a source for mental activity, and on the other, as a form of existence and preservation of knowledge.

Knowledge is divided into 2 types: codified and inseparable from a person.

Codified knowledge stored and transmitted using media in the form of texts, diagrams, drawings, etc.

Inseparable knowledge, if transmitted, it is from teacher to student.

The rapid progress of information technology has made it possible to increase knowledge, facilitated access to it, and expanded the possibilities for the dissemination and use of knowledge in all spheres of public life. This is why the informatization of society has contributed to the emergence of a knowledge economy or knowledge-based economy.

The main features of the knowledge economy are the following.

High share of the service sector in the structure of the economy. For example, in the United States, over 75% of all employed people work in this area.
Rising costs for education and research. The ratio of spending on education and science in economically developed countries to GDP is about 6.5% (in the mid-90s - 5.4%). In Russia this figure is 3.7%.
Progress in the information and communication sphere.
Development of network relationships in the form of corporate and personal networks.
Formation of a national innovation system, including the infrastructure of fundamental science, technology transfer centers, venture funds, etc.
Development of the education sector, when secondary education has become universal, and higher education has become widespread, covering up to 60% of the population of the corresponding age, when the concept of lifelong education is being implemented.
Internationalization of the economies of various countries.

By its nature, knowledge is rapidly updated. When embodied in a new product or service, new knowledge leads to innovation. The knowledge economy constantly generates innovation - transforms new knowledge into new goods and services.

Innovation– is the application of the results of intellectual activity to create new products, processes and services.

There is also a definition of innovation as a product of creative labor that has a completed form of product, ready for sale. This emphasizes the connection between innovation and demand, that is, with the solvent need, which is necessary for the implementation of new achievements in a market economy.

Obviously, the first definition is broader. It covers the creation of innovations not only for commercial purposes, but also for the public good.

There are various innovation classifications.

Depending on the object of innovation activity The following types of innovation are distinguished:

Product (service) innovation is the implementation of a new way to solve a consumer problem.
Process innovation is a new technology that improves quality, reduces costs, and reduces product production time.
Strategy innovation – new management methods.

Depending on the scale of innovation The following types are distinguished:

Basic innovation, which is based on a new fundamental scientific achievement that makes it possible to create consumer goods, technologies, machines and equipment of the next generations.
Integrating innovation obtained through the use of an optimal set of achievements previously accumulated in world practice.

Innovations considered in the context of major structural shifts in the economy (including changes in dominant technological structures) give rise to talk about “innovation waves.” For example, there is a wave that began in the late 70s and early 80s, when small innovative companies (for example, Dell) became the basis for the production of innovative products. Then came the “waves” associated with the acquisition of strategic information technologies, the Internet boom, etc.

Innovative development provides significant competitive advantages, as high-tech firms:

at the same time they bring to market 2-3 times more products than competitors;
they use 2-3 times more technological innovations in each new product;
bring a new product to market 2 times faster than competitors;
have a market geography 2 times larger than that of competitors.

An example is Apple's iPad. While competitors have just released their analogues of the first iPad model, the company begins sales of the second model in March 2011.

Demarcation stages of the innovation process was proposed by Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950), who distinguished:

the stage of invention or generation of new ideas;
the innovation stage, when developments transform new ideas into products and processes of commercial value;
the stage of dissemination of new products and processes within a potential market.

At each stage, selection occurs: only a few ideas are brought to commercialization and only a few innovations are successfully disseminated.

In more detail, the stages of the innovation process can be represented as the following sequence of stages:

intention;
R&D;
prototype;
small series;
mass production;
sales;
service.

The economic meaning of each stage of technology promotion is to reduce the risk of failure when entering the market. In this case, the following formula is valid:

S*R=const where S is the amount of investment to implement the stage
R – risk value (probability of failure to enter the market).

Each stage requires 10 times more costs than the previous one, as it is associated with attracting a wider range of participants.

What all stages have in common is buying chances for success. We commercialize a successful project at every stage of execution.

The point of the research stage is to eliminate the risk of non-compliance with the laws of nature.

R&D eliminates the risk of non-feasibility at a given level of development of general technologies.

Creating a prototype and a small series eliminates the risk of non-compliance with market demands and production conditions at a particular enterprise.

Serial production eliminates the risk of mismatch between supply and demand.

The sales and service stages remove the risks of delivering goods to consumers.

At the first stages, financing is provided by the state and charitable foundations. The prototype is funded by venture capital. If venture funds are confident that there is market demand for the product being created, then it can finance all stages.

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