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Ideally, the resulting knowledge is universal, affordable and relevant; this inclusiveness is a hallmark of any information or knowledge society.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>The authors first synthesize the related research literature covering the areas of knowledge\u2010based economies, knowledge societies and knowledge policies. A model using 13 dimensions is then developed, which the authors claim is critical for creating a knowledge community in the digital economy. The model is validated against critique from a Delphi panel of researchers in the area.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>While creating a knowledge society encompasses dimensions pertaining to infrastructure, governance, talent and culture,<jats:italic>intangible assets<\/jats:italic>are key to sustaining such societies. Governance and culture are instances of such intangibles. Talent may seem to be tangible but the human capacity for learning and development, which leads to an innovative culture, is less so. In any case, time is the essential ingredient for a knowledge culture to come about.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Knowledge societies are not measurable constructs that can be described quantitatively and benchmarked with weighted summations of scores along prescribed dimensions. It would be a fallacy to treat the notion of a knowledge index as a socio\u2010economic measure of success.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>. conclude with a practical view of how the dimensions may be best exploited in the course of a policy discussion on sustainable knowledge societies.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>It is hoped that the research will provide a framework for policy makers and analysts to conduct qualitative discussions on creating and sustaining knowledge societies.<\/jats:italic><\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/13673270810903000","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2008,9,27]],"date-time":"2008-09-27T07:05:29Z","timestamp":1222499129000},"page":"151-164","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":27,"title":["Beyond the digital divide: a conceptual framework for analyzing knowledge societies"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Ravi S.","family":"Sharma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elaine W.J.","family":"Ng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mathias","family":"Dharmawirya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chu","family":"Keong Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022012520005946300_b2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Baqir, M.N. and Kathawala, Y. 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