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

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Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches

https://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/article/download/14795/13847

Men and Women of the Corporation

User involvement has long been considered a critical component of effective system implementation. However, the perspective has suffered from mixed results of empirical tests and the lack of a theoretical explanation for the relationship (Ives and Olson, 1984; Baroudi, et al., 1986). Our purpose is to present a theoreticallygrounded perspective to account for effects of involving users during implementation, and to provide an initial test of this perspective. We propose that: (1) system implementation represents a threat to users’ perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems; (2) user involvement is effective because it restores or enhances perceived control. Results of a field experiment designed as a preliminary test of this perspective are discussed.

Restoring a Sense of Control during Implementation: How User Involvement leads to System Acceptance.

Operations management is a core organizational function involved in the management of activities to produce and deliver products and services. Appropriate operations decisions rely on assessing and using information; a task made more challenging in the Big Data era. Effective management of data (big data analytics; BDA), along with staff capabilities (the talent capability in the use of big data) support firms to leverage big data analytics and organizational learning in support of sustainable supply chain management outcomes. The current study uses dynamic capability theory as a foundation for evaluating the role of BDA capability as an operational excellence approach in improving sustainable supply chain performance. We surveyed mining executives in the emerging economy of South Africa and received 520 valid responses (47% response rate). We used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The findings show that big data analytics management capabilities have a strong and significant effect on innovative green product development and sustainable supply chain outcomes. Big data analytics talent capabilities have a weaker but still significant effect on employee development and sustainable supply chain outcomes. Innovation and learning performance affect sustainable supply chain performance, and supply chain innovativeness has an important moderating role. A contribution of the study is identifying two pathways that managers can use to improve sustainable supply chain outcomes in the mining industry, based on big data analytics capabilities.

Big data analytics as an operational excellence approach to enhance sustainable supply chain performance

Purpose




This study aims to explore the challenges to knowledge sharing (KS) in the context of public sector universities in developing countries. Furthermore, it explores why knowledge hoarding behaviour is flourishing even when employees are encouraged to share their knowledge in organisations and are rewarded for doing so.




Design/methodology/approach




Research data were collected from vice chancellor, registrar, professors, assistant professors and lecturers using an interview technique. They shared their knowledge, expertise, experiences and understanding about issues relating to KS practices in public universities. These interviews were thematically analysed using the NVivo 11-Plus software and different themes emerged.




Findings




The results reveal that hoard knowledge to gain power, authority, influence, promotion opportunities and employee favouritism negatively influence KS practices. Furthermore, an unsupportive culture and a poor linkage between KS and rewards negatively influence KS practices in public sector universities.




Research limitations/implications




The present study aids academic leadership in designing policies and strategies to enhance KS among faculty staff and to create a supportive KS culture. These results are useful for top management officials of public sector universities, especially in developing countries, and for policy makers, who can plan and execute effective policies to foster KS behaviour.




Originality/value




The originality can be viewed as a new window open towards the motivation of the university staff to hoard their knowledge instead of sharing it. This study gives the novel conceptual model based on why people do not share their knowledge and how KS practices can be fostered among the employees in public sector universities. Few studies have been conducted to explore KS issues in the real context of developing countries, and specifically in the Asian culture.

Exploring the challenges, trends and issues for knowledge sharing: A study on employees in public sector universities

Purpose




The transformation of firms from resource-based-view to knowledge-based-view has extended the importance of organizational learning. Thus, this study aims to develop an organizational learning model through transformational leadership with indirect effect of knowledge management process capability and interactive role of knowledge-intensive culture.




Design/methodology/approach




Different statistical analyses were done to check the direct, indirect and interactive effects on 204 valid responses.




Findings




The results are clearly depicting that transformational leadership has significant positive impact on organizational learning and knowledge management process capability, and partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational learning. Additionally, knowledge-intensive culture has strengthened the relationship between transformational leadership and knowledge management process capability.




Originality/value




This is an overarching and unique conceptual model. After examining the importance of organizational learning in the context of innovative ability, competitive advantage, creativity and organizational performance, management has to initiate steps to induct transformational leaders, develop knowledge-intensive culture and introduce knowledge management processes to boost learning environment in organizations.

Organizational learning through transformational leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the detrimental effects of cynicism on organizational change. It presents an interactive and novel theoretical research model based on organizational cynicism. The study aims to determine the causes of cynicism and suggests remedies for it so that change may be implemented with the consensus of all stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – This is an associational study that aims to test the hypotheses of linear relationships among the variables used in the proposed model. Data have been collected from 417 employees, working for three public sector organizations, by using self-administrated questionnaires. The model proposed in this research has been tested by using regression analysis in Amos 22. The interactive effects have been examined by using Aguinis’s (2004) multiple moderated regression. Findings – The results reveal that dispositional resistance increases the intention of an employee to exhibit withdrawal behavior and that organizational ...

Detrimental effects of cynicism on organizational change: An interactive model of organizational cynicism (a study of employees in public sector organizations)

Purpose




In recent times, organizations and leaders are focusing on new strategies to increase the success rate of organizational change (OC) implementation. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the sources and role of knowledge sharing (KS) to overcome the challenges of OC implementation.




Design/methodology/approach




For this research, data have been gathered from respondents based on their key designations by using unstructured interview method. Thematic analysis was then performed using the NVivo 11-Plus software.




Findings




It has found that employees in public sector organizations are opposing OC because of ineffective communication, and a lower level of employee participation in decision-making and barriers of, for example, a cultural, social, structural and political nature. Therefore, this study suggests how KS can be used to overcome the challenges of OC implementation.




Research limitations/implications




KS has become necessary to ensure incremental and radical changes in the survival of dynamic businesses. The results are useful to enhance understanding regarding the role of KS in the context of OC among change leaders, researchers, academicians and policymakers.




Originality/value




The study provides meaningful and novel knowledge regarding role of KS to overcome the challenges of OC implementation. No prior research that contributes practical and theoretical knowledge in the perspective of KS and OC has been found, especially in the context of developing countries and Asian culture. Therefore, this investigation attempts to explore the role of KS and presented overarching conceptual framework in the real context of OC implementation.

Exploring the sources and role of knowledge sharing to overcome the challenges of organizational change implementation

Purpose




In recent times, progression of technology and growing demands of customers have substantially influenced the services sector to introduce fast real-time mechanisms for providing up-to-mark services. To meet these requirements, organizations are going to change their end-user operating systems but success rate of change is very low. The purpose of this paper is to address one of the practitioners’ complaint “no one tells us how to do it” and uncovers the indirect effects of knowledge management (KM) strategies: personalization and codification, toward organizational change via organizational learning and change readiness. The current study also highlights how organizational learning and change readiness are helpful to reduce the detrimental effects of organizational change cynicism toward success of a change process.




Design/methodology/approach




Temporal research design is used to get the appropriate responses from the targeted population in two stages such as pre-change (Time-1) and post-change (Time-2). In cumulative, 206 responses have been obtained from the banking sector of Pakistan.




Findings




The results of the current study are very promising as it has been stated that KM strategies have an indirect effect on successful organizational change through organizational learning and change readiness. Moreover, change cynicism has a weakening effect on a change process and can be managed through effective learning orientation of employees and developing readiness for change in organizations.




Research limitations/implications




Change agents have to use an optimal mix of personalization and codification strategies to develop learning environment and readiness for change in organizations that are beneficial for implementing a change successfully. Moreover, change readiness and organizational learning in the context of change are equally beneficial to reduce organizational change cynicism as well.




Originality/value




This study is introducing a unique model to initiate a change with the help of KM strategies, organizational learning and readiness for change.

Usman Aslam

Papers

Exploring the challenges, trends and issues for knowledge sharing: A study on employees in public sector universities

Organizational learning through transformational leadership

Detrimental effects of cynicism on organizational change: An interactive model of organizational cynicism (a study of employees in public sector organizations)

Exploring the sources and role of knowledge sharing to overcome the challenges of organizational change implementation

What’s organization knowledge management strategy for successful change implementation?