Knowledge Quality Economics

This paper develops a general economic model for epistemic standard creation — the introduction of a new empirical quality criterion into professional markets. It identifies four monetization layers and four diffusion phases, and introduces the self-cannibalization barrier as a key structural moat: genuine adoption forces incumbents to devalue parts of their existing offerings. The model further introduces the concept of standard-routed share, explaining how a standard can dominate a market while capturing only a fraction of its value directly. While developed through the case of immanait Knowledge Quality (KQ), the framework applies to any epistemic standard entering markets based on authority or convention rather than empirical criteria. Originally published on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20410732 (May 27, 2026). Copyright © 2026 Thomas R. Glueck. All rights reserved. This work is made publicly available for documentation, citation, and public disclosure purposes. No copyright or patent license is granted. No reproduction, redistribution, modification, adaptation, sublicensing, commercial use, or creation of derivative works is permitted without prior written permission, except for short quotations and references as permitted by applicable law and standard scholarly citation, review, or commentary practice.