Chapter 3 Models and Tools of Knowledge Acquisition Rojers P. Joseph and T. M. Arun Abstract The growth of communication channels, personal computers and the internet has radically altered the importance and use of knowledge within an economy, leading to the emergence of a knowledge economy. Digital technologies have transformed the way firms acquire and process external knowledge for effective strategy-making. In a knowledge/digital economy, firms use novel techniques such as Competitive Intelligence (CI) as well as emerging technologies such as Applica- tion Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for knowledge acquisition. In this paper we discuss how CI, AI, and API enhance the effective- ness of the knowledge acquisition process by firms. Overall, the tools, models, and emerging technologies used in knowledge acquisition and knowledge management lead to cost savings at various levels, greater convenience for users, and more effective acquisition and use of knowledge by firms. Keywords Knowledge/digital economy · Competitive intelligence · Artificial intelligence · Application programming interface · External knowledge sourcing 3.1 Introduction Knowledge is identified as a vital force for enhancing the competitiveness of firms in the new millennium. Knowledge acquisition has emerged as a prominent theme in organizations ever since digitalization began transforming the global business landscape through e-commerce and other digital models. This transformation has led to the emergence of a digital economy, amply supported by the accompanying information explosion and the fast-paced growth of information and communica- tion infrastructure [49]. Digital economy is an economy of abundance, as it is not constrained by physical resources, unlike the traditional industrial age economy. Enabled by content digitization, the digital economy, in turn, has led to the formation of a knowledge economy in which the production and consumption of information R. P. Joseph (B ) · T. M. Arun Indian Institute of Management Rohtak, Rohtak, Haryana 124010, India e-mail: rojers.joseph@iimrohtak.ac.in © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 S. Patnaik et al. (eds.), Computational Management, Modeling and Optimization in Science and Technologies 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72929-5_3 53