Managing knowledge-based resource capabilities under uncertainty

A firm's ability to manage its knowledge-based resource capabilities has become increasingly important as a result of performance threats triggered by technology change and intense competition. At the manufacturing plant level, we focus on three repositories of knowledge that drive performance. First, the physical production or information systems represent knowledge embedded in the plant's technical systems. Second, the plant's workforce has knowledge, including diverse scientific information and skills, to effectively operate the technical systems. Third, the firm's managerial systems embody knowledge in the form of goals, reward systems, and control and coordination systems. Taken together, we consider the technical systems, workforce knowledge, and the managerial systems as the plant's knowledge-based resource capability.