Policy, Managerial, and Research Implications of the Application of Social Evolutionary Theory to the Socio-Economic Transformation in the Digital Era

The previous material has painted a picture, if a somewhat extreme picture for effect, of socio-economic transformation in terms of differential distributions of knowledge, and explains these within an evolutionary framework. If accepted as a logical and worthwhile approach, it serves to highlight that research, policy-making, and managerial activity needs to focus upon the dynamics of knowledge, especially knowledge dynamics mediated by ICT within the digital age, which occur before knowledge becomes embodied and embedded. Theorists have seen the potential of studying dynamic knowledge, but the epistemological difficulties involved do not make this an easy task (Spender, 1996). Evolutionary theory does, however, provide a knowledge-based unit of analysis, the meme, which is just beginning to be explored in organizational life (Shepherd, 2002; Weeks & Galunic, 2003).

At the level of nationwide knowledge economies, this stance implies generating policies that make knowledge more dynamic in areas where greater levels of knowledge generation are needed. It implies measuring entrepreneurship in terms of memetic survival and monitoring innovation in terms of the attractiveness of memes and the speed of their development and diffusion.

Specifically, America has fueled the debate regarding the extent to which the knowledge economy and Digital Era is real. The 'Solow' paradox talks of there being little if any increase in productivity other than in terms of the increased ICT production industry. Countries such as Malaysia, like America, adopted a move towards a knowledge economy largely based on ICT and multimedia, rather than knowledge, and have suffered in the post-dot.com hype. Evolutionary theory suggests that much more needs to be done to make knowledge more dynamic. Other than ICT, nations have perhaps to emphasize the education of knowledge workers and the development of an entrepreneurial spirit, where many ideas are given the best chance to survive into sustainable businesses, if they are to create balanced knowledge economies. Hawaii has, for example, begun recently to heavily market itself as a conference location (including academic conferences). A conference meme associated with Hawaii has to be more attractive than many other locations, and conferences are more lucrative than other forms of tourism. A government-funded incubator of new ideas has been founded, heavy investment has been made in ICT within education, and national prowess in oceanography has been extended into biotechnology, thereby memetically exploiting genetic sources of knowledge variety. This approach results in a national knowledge policy that makes the most of an emotionally attractive location, a knowledge-rich local resource, the ocean, as well as embeds entrepreneurship and ICT literacy across society. Similarly, Canada advertises Toronto as being a relatively low-cost area, but one that has a well-developed ICT infrastructure and highly innovative knowledge workers.

At an industry level there is the issue of clusters. Economic geographers talk of needing to allow knowledge to roam free in clusters such that ideas can naturally flourish in the environments in which they are best suited (Vernon Henderson, Zmarak, & Venables, 2001). Equally all organizations within the cluster, despite losing ideas to the broader community, benefit from ideas flowing into them. This view has yet to be juxtaposed with the more stringent view of strategic management, where it is considered that knowledge should be patented and coveted. Industry and organizational clusters are present in many countries, including Scotland, Australia, America, Mexico, and England, and thus the policy-making implications of knowledge creation and ownership dynamics are wide ranging. Memetics might help determine when ideas should be left to roam and when they should be captured in the form of patents or products/services. Much more, however, needs to be done to justify and develop this agenda.

At the organizational level, there are areas of the business where a higher production level of memes needs to be encouraged, where new memes can be created through encouraging communities of practice to engage with each other, and where transformation of the knowledge base needs to be inhibited. Research needs to be defended and conducted in this arena.