‘Good work’ in the knowledge economy: Evidence from two studies

The last two decades have witnessed extensive economic restructuring across the developed world and across all sectors of the economy. Employment has shifted from manufacturing to services, and latterly to higher value knowledge intensive services (e.g., high-tech manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications, health and education). These processes have been driven by technological progress, the liberalisation of international markets and a differentiation of consumer demand as a consequence of rising affluence. The phenomena have often been described as characteristics of a new “knowledge economy.” While there is no official definition of this new economy, it is generally agreed that behind the knowledge economy is a story of how general purpose technologies have combined with workers intellectual and knowledge assets to create value within organisations.