From Fitness Landscapes to Knowledge Landscapes

Based on the complexity theory concept of fitness landscapes, this article develops and discusses the concept of knowledge landscapes. A knowledge landscape is a metaphor describing the ever-changing potential knowledge peaks and valleys that surround each one of us. Individuals, communities, and organizations move on their own knowledge landscapes by simultaneously climbing local peaks and exploring other visible peaks. The higher one climbs, the harder it is to climb still higher. Our ability to climb is also limited by our identity, who we are, which on an organizational level is linked to the tightness of organizational interconnectedness. Coevolutionary struggles between individuals and organizations can lead us to climb potential knowledge peaks faster. Moreover, our knowledge landscapes exist on many levels of scale, meaning that what appears to be one peak is actually a series of subpeaks on a smaller level of scale.