Knowledge flows and the new comprador : a minicase on the Pearl River Delta

Abstract

In our post-industrial economy, effective knowledge management is viewed as a key factor for the success of individuals, firms and nations. Yet, it is becoming a well-worn icon, the clarity of the concept of knowledge management is in danger of being lost. The key insight is that stocks of knowledge, however comprehensive and specific, are quite useless unless there is a way to ensure their availability to the decision-making process. As decision-makers are rarely omnisicient, this demands a sort of knowledge delivery systems, which might take either a human or technological form.

To illustrate such a system in action, this mini-case explores the evolution of knowledge flows in the late eighteenth century entrepot trade, from the perspective of China's Pearl River Delta region, for many years the economic growth engine of southern China. This reveals the features of an effective knowledge delivery system without today's IT infrastructure. Period covered 1900