Towards knowledge cities: conceptual analysis and success stories

Abstract

Over the past several years, there have been intensive discussions about the importance of knowledge management (KM) in our society. Nowadays, it is commonly accepted that many KM disciplines and practices are relevant to the social‐level knowledge‐based development. In this context, the new theme of “knowledge cities” came to the front. This paper attempts on the one hand to define the concept in a coherent way – presenting also its main implications and benefits – and on the other hand, to examine – on a worldwide scale – the different models of knowledge cities as well as modes of practice. The authors were based on a broad range of published works, including papers, books, reports and Web sites. The main approach was to briefly present the existing views of the concept, accompanied by some criteria determining a knowledge city. The authors also tried to provide a meaningful and concise review of existing cases, avoiding to get into many confusing details. This review provided valuable input for the definition of the key success factors and main benefits related to knowledge cities. This new concept is currently a main topic of interest for the research community and practitioners. It becomes clear that it has important benefits and in this way, focused research is needed towards many directions, in order for it to become a part of our life in near future. This integrated review is a very useful source of information for academics and practitioners who want to be acquainted with the knowledge cities concept.