The Call for Transformational Governance in the Knowledge Economy

Increasingly, regions are developing initiatives towards building a knowledge economy. This change is also bringing about a transition from more static forms of information technology (IT) work to more dynamic forms of knowledge work. It follows that knowledge industries will involve more multifaceted forms of collaboration among workers and organizations using IT. In view of the complexities in knowledge work, this chapter develops an argument for a transformational approach to governance, whereby policymakers create mechanisms to continuously evaluate local social contexts so as to continuously adapt policies to unique local conditions. This argument is based on the results of three markedly different case studies of knowledge economies: San Joaquin Valley, California; Ennis, Ireland; and Singapore. These data are used to show how local and unique social conditions influence the sustainability of a knowledge economy. Given the unique characteristics of local contexts, a transformational approach represents one useful approach to governance.