I-Space Framework

The Information Space, or I-Space (Boisot, 1995, 1998), is a conceptual framework that relates the degree of structure of knowledge (i.e. its level of codification and abstraction) to its diffusibility as that knowledge develops. Tacit knowledge (low codification and abstraction) flows very slowly between agents and often only in face-to-face situations. Codified and abstract knowledge, by contrast, can diffuse rapidly throughout a population, whether such diffusion is desired or not. Extracting value from knowledge is difficult. The structuring of knowledge increases its utility while – on account of its increased diffusibility – simultaneously compromising its scarcity. Thus the value of knowledge goods, in contrast to that of physical goods, is inherently unstable and requires a more dynamic treatment than the latter.