How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. In The Knowledge-Creating Company, Nonaka and Takeuchi provide an inside look at how Japanese companies go about creating this new knowledge organizationally. The authors point out that there are two types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, contained in manuals and procedures, and tacit knowledge, learned only by experience, and communicated only indirectly, through metaphor and analogy. U.S. managers focus on explicit knowledge. The Japanese, on the other hand, focus on tacit knowledge. And this, the authors argue, is the key to their success--the Japanese have learned how to transform tacit into explicit knowledge. To explain how this is done--and illuminate Japanese business practices as they do so--the authors range from Greek philosophy to Zen Buddhism, from classical economists to modern management gurus, illustrating the theory of organizational knowledge creation with case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, Nissan, 3M, GE, and even the U.S. Marines. For instance, using Matsushita's development of the Home Bakery (the world's first fully automated bread-baking machine for home use), they show how tacit knowledge can be converted to explicit knowledge: when the designers couldn't perfect the dough kneading mechanism, a software programmer apprenticed herself withthe master baker at Osaka International Hotel, gained a tacit understanding of kneading, and then conveyed this information to the engineers. In addition, the authors show that, to create knowledge, the best management style is neither top-down nor bottom-up, but rather what they call "middle-up-down," in which the middle managers form a bridge between the ideals of top management and the chaotic realities of the frontline. As we make the turn into the 21st century, a new society is emerging. Peter Drucker calls it the "knowledge society," one that is drastically different from the "industrial society," and one in which acquiring and applying knowledge will become key competitive factors. Nonaka and Takeuchi go a step further, arguing that creating knowledge will become the key to sustaining a competitive advantage in the future. Because the competitive environment and customer preferences changes constantly, knowledge perishes quickly. With The Knowledge-Creating Company, managers have at their fingertips years of insight from Japanese firms that reveal how to create knowledge continuously, and how to exploit it to make successful new products, services, and systems.

The knowledge-creating company

The Study of Man. By Michael Polanyi. Price, $1.75. Pp. 102. University of Chicago Press, 5750 Ellis Ave., Chicago 37, 1959. One subtitle to Polanyi's challenging and fascinating book might be The Evolution and Natural History of Error , for Polanyi is at pains to expunge what he believes to be the false notion contained in the contemporary view of science which treats it as an object and basically impersonal discipline. According to Polanyi not only is this a radical and important error, but it is harmful to the objectives of science itself. Another subtitle could be Farewell to Detachment , for in place of cold objectivity he develops the idea that science is necessarily intensely personal. It is a human endeavor and human point of view which cannot be divorced from nor uprooted out of the human matrix from which it arises and in which it works. For a good while

Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy

Purpose – This research aimed at investigating the influence of organisational culture types on tacit knowledge sharing behaviour in Malaysian organisations.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data was collected from 362 participants from seven organisations. Multiple regression was used to assess the research model.Findings – The research findings indicate that organisational culture types influence tacit knowledge sharing behaviour and that such influences may be positive or negative depending on the culture type.Research limitations/implications – The study only investigated seven organisations. A larger sample size may be necessary for a study of this nature. Aside from this the ipsative rating scale was not clearly understood by the respondents resulting in scoring errors by some.Practical implications – Knowledge is considered the one and only distinct resource and is crucial for an organisation to sustain its competitive advantage. Determining the organisation's culture type will allow managers to...

Organisational culture's influence on tacit knowledge‐sharing behaviour

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a widely applied and useful tool for project management scholars. In this Thoughtlet article, we critically reflect on the measurement philosophy underlying th...

Factors versus Composites: Guidelines for Choosing the Right Structural Equation Modeling Method:

The purpose of the study is to develop a conceptual model of knowledge sharing and how knowledge sharing is linked to business performance. The study proposes basic dimensions of knowledge sharing which seem to be poorly defined in the past literature.,The studies were explored from journals which are indexed (Scopus, Thomson Reuters and ProQuest) and specialized in knowledge sharing and business performance. Majority of the papers were available in electronic format, so that papers could be easily explored using the key terms. Various search engines were used to explore the studies such as Google scholar, Emerald insight and ProQuest. Published theses, conference proceedings, working paper series and work in progress were excluded from the search. The review process included the studies from 1987 to 2017. During the review process, papers were explored on the basis of key word search, namely, “Knowledge sharing”, “Business performance” and “Industry type” to reduce interpretation bias.,Knowledge sharing is the significant predictor of business performance and industry type moderates the relationship between knowledge sharing and business performance. The relationship between knowledge sharing and business performance is important in both manufacturing and service organizations. Knowledge sharing dimensions proposed are elementary in nature and require further refinement and development.,The study was approached from a theoretical perspective and the model proposed can be empirically validated by identifying statements for each dimension. Future research should explore the following: As to what extent these dimensions reflect knowledge sharing? Are dimensions chosen carefully? Or do they emerge as a result of previous studies?,The model can be very helpful for managers and practitioners who want to study how knowledge sharing enhances business performance. Managers will be able to understand how industry-specific differences affect business performance through knowledge sharing.,Proposed conceptual model advances the theoretical base of knowledge sharing by suggesting dimensions based on comprehensive review of the literature. The study contributes to knowledge management and business performance literature.

A conceptual model of knowledge sharing

This paper empirically examines knowledge sharing within innovation teams and explores the relationship between knowledge sharing and trust. This relationship has generally been identified in the literature as an important aspect of knowledge management. However, its pertinence to knowledge transfer within and between teams is less obvious. The case study based on four information technology R&D teams in Taiwan suggests that trust between a knowledge holder and a receiver may not exist. In fact, it can be connected by a mediator, although the use of social relationship in which trust is rooted in both host and visitor's trust of the mediator. Thus, trust may be substituted by the social relationship in certain specific contexts.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.kmrp.8500098.pdf

Knowledge sharing and team trustworthiness : it's all about social ties!

Studies have found the development of transferable skills and the provision of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to be crucial to students who are learning project management. Taking these factors into consideration, this article explores why project management students have emphasized the importance of these two critical learning and teaching parameters in their developmental needs. The study was conducted utilizing focus groups consisting of 88 students in a UK higher education institution. Overall, we found the existence of five critical and applied themes grouped against transferable skills and the provision of VLEs under which students' needs could be classified.

Jaw-Kai Wang

Papers

Knowledge sharing and team trustworthiness : it's all about social ties!

The criticality of transferable skills development and virtual learning environments used in the teaching of project management