P/M/207. Knowledge is the organisation's essential source of competitive advantage. Discuss

This paper examines the extent to which organisational knowledge can be considered the firm's most important source of sustainable competitive advantage. The writer argues, that although knowledge can bring considerable economic rents to the firm, it is the management of the knowledge, rather than the knowledge per se that is of value to the firm. The writer also argues that whilst 'knowledge' has pervaded the management consultancy zeitgeist, its organisational relevance is limited to a niche number of firms, and cannot therefore be considered as the universal source of competitive advantage.