As an important resource in an enterprise, knowledge is significantly different from general natural resources or resources in material form. The main differences are shown in the table below.

First, resources in material form are always scarce, even if they are not absolutely scarce, at least they are relatively scarce. The core problem that economics wants to solve is to obtain the maximum output with the minimum input. The reason lies in the scarcity of resources. Knowledge resources are rich, people’s imagination and creativity are unlimited, and the knowledge created thereby is also unlimited.

Second, resources in material form are highly exclusive. However, knowledge resources are not exclusive and can be shared. The wisdom of Easterners can be shared by Westerners and vice versa.

Third, during the process of movement, exchange, and change of material resources, usually only the value form changes, for example, from physical form to monetary form. This is not the case with knowledge resources. In the process of movement, exchange, and transformation, not only the form of value is transferred, but more importantly, increments are generated and value appreciation occurs. The great British writer Bernard Shaw once said: You have an apple and I have an apple. After exchanging with each other, everyone still only has one apple in his hand. You have one thought, I have one thought, and after the exchange, everyone has two thoughts. Apples as a material form remain one in the exchange process; thoughts as a knowledge form increase from "one" to "two" in the exchange process.

Fourth, the input-output relationship of material resources is clear, certain, and predictable. This relationship is so clear that it can be expressed by mathematical formulas. The famous Cobb-Douglas production function in economics is used to describe this input-output relationship. However, the input-output relationship of knowledge resources is not clear and is highly ambiguous and uncertain. The situation may be: huge input but huge output, or huge input but little output. Examples abound. In the pharmaceutical industry, hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars are often invested to develop a certain type of new drug. If the research and development is successful, the profits will be considerable, but if it is not successful, you will lose all your money, and the latter is more likely because the research and development process is full of too many uncertainties. Toxicology experiments, pathology experiments, first-phase clinical trials, second-phase clinical trials... any flaw in any link will lead to investment failure. Of course, there are also examples of the opposite. For example, the design of some trademarks is likely to be the inspiration of a creative artist. It can be said that the investment is almost zero, but the output (their output) is extremely valuable.

Fifth, the replacement cost or marginal cost of material resources is very high, almost equal to the initial cost. If it costs a million to build a building on a certain site, it will also cost a million to build a similar building next to it. However, the replacement cost or marginal cost of knowledge resources is almost zero (although its initial cost is often high, for example, the research and development expenses for developing a certain software or system are by no means small). In most cases, it only needs to be "saved separately". Just click "As" or "Copy".

Sixth, material resources will experience loss, depreciation, and diminishing utility as the number of times they are used increases, until they are exhausted, abandoned, or die on their own. They generally will not be regenerated, and may or may not be regenerated during use. It will cause less harm or even damage to the natural environment and ecology. Knowledge resources will not be lost and can be used multiple times and traded repeatedly, and the utility of knowledge resources increases with the increase in frequency of use, resulting in network externalities. Knowledge resources will not die on their own, they can travel through time and space and last forever; they will not harm the natural environment and ecology when used.

In addition, products formed after processing material resources can usually only achieve a certain function or utility and have a certain use value (Function Value); however, knowledge resources can generate more spiritual value Or Concept Value, which can bring spiritual pleasure and spiritual comfort to users, and can enhance the user's taste and taste.