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Management Science Vol. 54 No. 7 2008

Learning and Knowledge Depreciation in Professional Services

Tonya Boone1; Ram Ganeshan1; Robert L. Hicks2

1 Mason School of Business, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187 · 2 Department of Economics and Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187

Abstract

Organizational knowledge is a critical source of competitive advantage for professional service firms. Learning from experience and sustaining past knowledge are critical to the success of such knowledge-driven firms. We use learning curve theory to evaluate learning and depreciation in professional services. Our results, based on seven years of project data collected from an architectural engineering (A/E) firm, show that (a) professional services exhibit learning curves, (b) there is virtually no depreciation of knowledge and, (c) the rate of learning accelerates with experience.

DOI
10.1287/mnsc.1070.0849
Volume
54
Issue
7
Pages
1231-1236
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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