Knowledge creation through multimodal communication

Berliant, Marcus and Fujita, Masahisa (2024): Knowledge creation through multimodal communication.

Abstract

Knowledge creation either in isolation or joint with another person, using either face to face or internet contact and incorporating internet search ability is analyzed. Both a conceptual phase and a technical phase of research are analyzed, allowing workers to choose endogenously their mode of communication. In addition to formal knowledge, tacit knowledge plays an essential role in the knowledge production process. Lead time for face to face communication plays a key role in the optimal choice of communication mode. The sink point is inefficient. Our framework is applied to pandemic restrictions on face to face communication.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Knowledge creation; Tacit knowledge; Multimodal communication; Pandemic restrictions
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D83 - Search ; Learning ; Information and Knowledge ; Communication ; Belief ; Unawareness; L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L86 - Information and Internet Services ; Computer Software

References

Aghion, P., Jones, B.F. and C.I. Jones, 2017. "Artificial Intelligence and Economic Growth," in The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, ed. by A. Agrawal, J. Gans and A Goldfarb, pp. 237-282. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.

Atkin, D., Chen, M.K. and Popov, A., 2022. "The Returns to Face-to-Face Interactions: Knowledge Spillovers in Silicon Valley." Working Paper. http://www.nber.org/papers/w30147

Battiston, D., i Vidal, J.B. and T. Kirchmaier, 2021. "Face-to-Face Communication in Organizations," The Review of Economic Studies 88, No. 2, 574--609.

Berliant, M. and M. Fujita, 2008. "Knowledge Creation as a Square Dance on the Hilbert Cube," International Economic Review 49, No.4, pp.1251-1295.

Berliant, M. and M. Fujita, 2009. "Dynamics of Knowledge Creation and Transfer: The Two Person Case," International Journal of Economic Theory 5, No.2, pp.155-179.

Berliant, M. and M. Fujita, 2011. "The Dynamics of Knowledge Diversity and Economic Growth," Southern Economic Journal 77, No.4, pp.856-884.

Berliant, M. and M. Fujita, 2012. "Culture and Diversity in Knowledge Creation," Regional Science and Urban Economics 42, No.4, pp.648-662.

Bloom, N., Jones, C.I., Van Reenen, J. and M. Webb, 2020. "Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?" American Economic Review 110, 1104-1144. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180338

Ceci, F., Lazoi, M., Lezzi, M. and H. Mohammad, 2021. "Fostering Knowledge Sharing in the Innovation Process: Information and Communication Technology-Based versus Face-to-Face Relationships," Knowledge Process and Management 28, 302-316.

Emanuel, N., Harrington E. and A. Pallais, 2023. "The Power of Proximity to Coworkers: Training for Tomorrow or Productivity Today?" Working Paper. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4638214

Finke, R.A., Ward, T.B. and S.M. Smith, 1992. Creative Cognition: Theory, Research, and Applications. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.

Gibbs, M., Mengel, F. and C. Siemroth, 2023. "Work from Home and Productivity: Evidence from Personnel and Analytics Data on Information Technology Professionals," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics 1, 7-41.

Gordon, P., 2013. "Thinking About Economic Growth: Cities, Networks, Creativity and Supply Chains for Ideas," Annals of Regional Science 50, 667-684.

Hanson, R.S., 2020. "Report: Remote work in the age of Covid-19," Slack https://slack.com/intl/zh-tw/blog/collaboration/report-remote-work-during-coronavirus

Inoue, H., Nakajima, K., Okazaki, T. and Y.U. Saito, 2022. "The Role of Face-to-face Contact in Innovation: The Evidence from the Spanish Flu Pandemic in Japan." RIETI Discussion Paper 22-E-026.

Krugman, P., 1991. Geography and Trade. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.

Lin, Y., Frey, C.B. and L. Wu, 2022. "Remote Collaboration Fuses Fewer Breakthrough Ideas," Nature 623, 987-991. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06767-1

Liu, S. and Y. Su, 2023. "The Effect of Working from Home on the Agglomeration Economies of Cities: Evidence from Advertised Wages." Working Paper. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4109630

Monte, F., Porcher, C. and E. Rossi-Hansberg, 2023. "Remote Work and City Structure." NBER Working Paper 31494. http://www.nber.org/papers/w31494

Morikawa, M., 2020. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from an Employee Survey." RIETI Discussion Paper Series 20-E-073.

Nonaka, I. and H. Takeuchi, 1995. The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Polanyi, M., 1958. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.

Polanyi, M., 1966. The Tacit Dimension. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.

Panahi, S., Watson, J. and H. Partridge, 2012. "Social Media and Tacit Knowledge Sharing: Developing a Conceptual Model," World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 64, 1095-1102.

Xiao, H., Wu, A. and J. Kim, 2021. "Commuting and Innovation: Are Closer Inventors More Productive?" Journal of Urban Economics 121, 103300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2020.103300

Yamauchi, I., Nagaoka, S. and D. Miyazaki, 2022. "Impacts of COVID-19 on R&D and Patenting Activities in Japan: Demand Shocks, Application Delays, and Patent Option Value." RIETI Policy Discussion Paper 22-P-013.

Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., Suri, S., Sinha, S., Weston, J., Joyce, C., Shah, N., Sherman, K., Hecht, B. and J. Teevan, 2022. "The Effects of Remote Work on Collaboration among Information Workers," Nature Human Behavior 6, 43-54.