The fast and unpredictable changes in the business environment lead to significant changes in the future job market. For current business students, the future will offer many new opportunities for their employment but, at the same time, it will also create many threats disguised in the disappearing jobs. Business education centered mainly on knowledge transmission is challenged to switch towards a competence-based approach which includes knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The present research focuses on the need to change the paradigm of business education by creating a new learning environment centered on business competencies, and on a new knowledge ecosystem dynamics. The approach uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first phase the research is focused on a critical literature review, and extraction of ideas for the next phase based on quantitative methods. In order to evaluate the students’ perception on the need of competence-based business education, a questionnaire has been designed and applied to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in business and management programs. Data is processed by using SPSS and deriving six logistic regressions based on the conceptual model designed similar to a hierarchy Findings coming from students show a significant awareness for the need of paradigm shift in business education, from knowledge transfer to business competence development.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the knowledge dynamics process based on the energy metaphor and the thermodynamics framework. Knowledge dynamics is analyzed as a transformational process that goes beyond the Newtonian logic used to date. Design/methodology/approach: The research design is based on metaphorical thinking, critical analysis of the mostly used knowledge metaphors to date, and the logic of thermodynamics, which is the science of energy transformation. Findings: Knowledge is conceived as a field, composed of three fundamental forms: rational knowledge, emotional knowledge and spiritual knowledge. Each form of knowledge can be transformed into another form, thus generating an iterative and interactive dynamics. The unity of knowledge is supported by the brain’s organic structure. Practical implications: Understanding knowledge dynamics as a transformational process helps managers in their problem-solving and implementation of strategies in their organizations. Knowledge dynamics is fundamental to the learning and unlearning processes, and for stimulating innovation. Knowledge dynamics, as a transformational process, is influencing both organizational behavior as well as consumers’ behavior. Originality/value: The present research uses for the first time a thermodynamics approach in understanding and explaining the knowledge dynamics, which is a transformational process of three fundamental forms of knowledge: rational, emotional and spiritual.

The emergence of knowledge economy and knowledge management revealed the need for reconsidering the concept of knowledge in a larger framework than that created by philosophers from ancient times. While the epistemology as a theory of knowledge and justification considers knowledge as a justified true belief, experts in knowledge management consider knowledge as a strategic resource. The new economic interpretation of knowledge as a strategic resource and a key contributor to achieving a competitive advantage generated a search of new metaphors to supply the attributes needed in constructing the new framework of understanding and operating with a working concept of knowledge in management. The most widespread knowledge metaphors are based on analogies with stocks, flows, and stock-and-flows. These metaphors induce, beyond some useful attributes, the Newtonian mechanics paradigm which is limited by the properties of linear spaces and reversible processes. The purpose of this paper is to show how we can enrich the theory of knowledge by introducing the concepts of knowledge fields and knowledge dynamics based on metaphorical thinking and the thermodynamics principles. The focus of our research is the energy metaphor which considers energy as a source semantic field. The main outcome of the present research is that knowledge can be considered as a field, which is manifesting in different forms like energy. This thermodynamics framework opens new directions for research in knowledge management, decision-making and leadership.

The pandemic of COVID‐19 is considered the most complex global process generated so far due to its unprecedented power of disruption, interconnection, and lockdowns in all the domains of our life, from health to economy, education, research, culture, sports, and social isolation. The COVID‐19 crisis came like any other natural disaster, finding people and organizations unprepared for disruptive power and social nexus. The unthinkable became a reality, and people realized that organizations and governments have no strategies to fight against such a pandemic. They found out that the strategic knowledge gap is enormous, and the only way to navigate this crisis is to create emergent knowledge strategies. This paper aims to analyze the characteristics of emergent knowledge strategies by comparing them with deliberate knowledge strategies and showing how people can develop such new kinds of strategies. The analysis is based on criteria like time perception, systems thinking, type of knowledge, type of changes, and complexity.

Due to the accelerated pace with which developments in information and communications technology are taking place, digital society and the digital economy have become real and, in turn, are generating specific challenges. In this environment, digital skills and competencies are essential in order to achieve professional success and the personal development of any individual. Through this paper, we aim to bring to light the basic concepts in the field of digital technology and at the same time, the topical implications on the educational processes. The main objective of the paper is to reflect the impact of digitalization on the education sector both in the European context and in Romania. The importance of the topic under consideration can be justified with many arguments, but we will mainly appeal to the need to meet the objectives proposed by the 2020 Strategy in the field of education, research and development at European level and in Romania. Considering the previous premises, in the paper, we will present information about the concepts of digitalization and digitization and the implications in the field of education. The realization of this paper is based on the study of the specialized literature, of the official documents published by the European Commission offices and of the statistics issued by the specialized bodies.

Although there is a long history of searching for the road from knowledge to wisdom, there is no final and clear result. In fact, there are multiple ways of starting from knowledge and reaching wisdom due to the complexity of the semantic domains of both concepts. In addition, there are different perspectives on interpreting these conceptual maps, ranging from philosophy to psychology or management. We are interested in understanding the connecting ideas between knowledge and wisdom from the management perspective, where decision making is the key driving force for transforming knowledge into efficient actions for creating value for customers through products and services. The well-known knowledge pyramid or wisdom pyramid is a good metaphor to start with in understanding the basic concepts of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom (DIKW) and their transformations. We analyze different interpretations of these four basic concepts and focus on the transition from knowledge to wisdom, looking beyond the DIKW pyramid. Additionally, to get a larger view of the multiple connections between knowledge and wisdom, we perform a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer as a specialized software tool. The contribution of the present paper comes from this enlarged framework of searching for links between knowledge and wisdom and analyzing their relevance to business management. The results are relevant to anyone who would like to understand how to manage efficiently knowledge in their organizations. We explain the semantic differences in interpreting the concepts of “information” and “knowledge” in philosophy, information science, and knowledge management, which can be useful both in theory and in practice.