Distorted Knowledge in the Digital Economy: Reframing the SECI Model to Address Gambling Risks

In the digital knowledge economy, platforms increasingly shape how knowledge is created, shared, and internalised through persuasive design, emotional cues, and gamified incentives. These dynamics can distort learning processes and undermine informed decision-making, trust, and value creation. This study examines the adequacy of the SECI model of knowledge creation in explaining learning under such conditions. Drawing on an integrative conceptual analysis of knowledge management, digital platform governance, and innovation systems, we identify structural limitations of the SECI model in environments characterised by manipulated knowledge flows and defensive reasoning. In response, we propose the SIEC model, which reorders the knowledge creation cycle to prioritise socialisation and reflective internalisation as safeguards against knowledge distortion. By incorporating emotional, rational, and values-based reflection, the model offers a more robust framework for understanding knowledge dynamics in persuasive digital contexts. The study contributes to the knowledge economy literature by extending knowledge creation theory to digitally mediated markets and provides implications for platform governance, ethical design, and public policy aimed at sustaining trustworthy and resilient knowledge ecosystems.