Money Talks: The role of communication in monetarizing knowledge value

Abstract

Knowledge is increasingly accepted as a source of value creation and a differentiator between firms. Building on the perspective of knowledge as a flow, and postulating that value is based on knowledge use rather than knowledge possession, this paper address the research question: How can we express knowledge in such a way that it can be monetized and opened up for specific managerial interventions? Extant literature on organizational communication roles emphasizes the role of boundary spanners in search and combination of experience and tacit knowledge. We merge these insights on the roles of individuals with empirical observations of communication enhancing regimes at the organizational level. The paper proposes that the boundary-spanning roles fulfilled by individuals or by organizational arenas in bringing together diverse knowledge, provide the focal point for such monetization efforts. The contribution of this paper is seven propositions for future research on how management accounting and control s...