Book•
The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation
01 Jan 1995-
TL;DR: In this article, Nonaka and Takeuchi argue that Japanese firms are successful precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies, and they reveal how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge.
Abstract: How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.
Citations
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01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: The main finding is that part-timers and respondents with a strong academic reputation form special types of ‘knowledge transferors’, and policy measures are not likely to be effective if they do not include a multitude of incentives and a wide range of channels.
Abstract: This paper explores the channels for knowledge transfer between university and industry. We perform a case study of the faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands), aimed at gaining insight in the relative frequency and perceived importance of different channels of knowledge transfer. The empirical material is based on a survey among university faculty members, supplemented by personal interviews. We use factor analysis and cluster analysis to arrive at a taxonomy of the knowledge transfer channels. The taxonomy distinguishes three types of respondents, and we employ regression analysis to relate the types to respondents’ characteristics. Our main finding is that part-timers (staff that holds both an appointment in industry and university) and respondents with a strong academic reputation form special types of ‘knowledge transferors’. Whereas part-timers rely strong on of personal networks, the latter group of respondents embraces traditional academic values and relies heavily on traditional academic channels of knowledge transfer (academic publications, conferences). On the basis of our findings, we draw a number of policy implications, among others that policy measures are not likely to be effective if they do not include a multitude of incentives and a wide range of channels.
73 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Knowledge may also get articulated from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, but it may also flow the other way as well, converting explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)....
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73 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...However, the knowledge management literature (e.g. Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) instructs us that the impact of digital technology likely will vary between the explicit and tacit forms of knowledge....
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TL;DR: This study conducted a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed papers that described key elements of KM using three databases for a 10-year period (1/1/2004-25/11/2014) and identified barriers for KM implementation, like time restrictions and limited skills.
Abstract: Knowledge is an intangible asset in Organizations, and provides a comparative advantage to those who possess it. Hospitals are complex organizations with unique characteristics because of the heterogeneity of health professionals' orientation, the composite networking and the decision-making processes. A deeper understanding of knowledge management (KM) could streamline productivity and coordinate the use of resources more efficient. We conducted a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed papers that described key elements of KM using three databases (Medline, Cinahl and Health Source: nursing/academic edition) for a 10-year period (1/1/2004-25/11/2014). The included articles were subjected to qualitative content analysis. We retrieved 604 articles of which 20 articles were eligible for analysis. Most of the studies (n=13) used a qualitative methodology. The total sample size was 2155 participants. The key elements that arose were as follows: perceptions of KM, synthesis, dissemination, collaboration, means of KM and leadership. Moreover, this study identified barriers for KM implementation, like time restrictions and limited skills. Healthcare managers ought to cultivate a knowledge environment, operate as role models, provide the tools for KM and reward people who act as knowledge brokers. Opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing should be encouraged. Successful KM should be patient-centered to gain its maximum value. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
73 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...The experts of KM argue that there are two types of knowledge: tacit and explicit (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Smith, 2001; Collins, 2010)....
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...Specifically, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) defined four modes of knowledge: tacit to tacit (Socialization), tacit to explicit (Externalization), explicit to explicit (Combination) and explicit to tacit (Internalization)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the role of individual knowledge and commitment in subsequent engagement in strategy-supportive behavior in a lean manufacturing environment, and found that strategic knowledge and several individual characteristics influence the likelihood of an individual to support a strategy.
Abstract: It may not be surprising that poor organizational strategies often fail, but research in strategy implementation demonstrates that even good strategies fail during implementation (Bonoma, 1984; Huff and Reger, 1987; Wooldridge and Floyd, 1989). Failure of a new strategy or a strategic innovation is often due to the inability or resistance of individual employees to commit to a strategy and adopt the necessary behaviors for accomplishment of strategic objectives (e.g., Heracleous and Barrett, 2001). Failures in this process of strategic commitment lead to strategic misalignment, or individuals failing to engage in behavior that supports the organization's strategic goals (Boswell and Boudreau, 2001). Because strategy implementation is predominantly goal-directed (Barney, 1998) and teleological in nature (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995), strategic misalignment reflects the absence of goal-directed behavior. The problem of strategic misalignment has a considerable history in the management discipline and has been described under numerous labels such as the problem of achieving coordinated action, goal incongruence and non-alignment (Barnard, 1938; Boswell et al., 2006; Labovitz and Rosansky, 1997; March and Simon, 1958). This body of research has provided considerable insight into the challenges that impede collective alignment with strategies. However, little is understood about the mechanisms by which individuals come to be aligned with strategies. The purpose of this study is to understand the antecedents of alignment by examining the role an individual's strategic knowledge and commitment play in subsequent engagement in strategy-supportive behavior. Strategic knowledge represents an individual's global understanding of a strategy being pursued by his or her organization; individuals who agree with statements such as "I understand what strategy X is all about" are demonstrating strategic knowledge as we define it. We propose that strategic knowledge and several individual characteristics influence strategic commitment, which we define as an individual's willingness to support a strategy. Three questions guided our research: (1) how does individual knowledge of the organization's strategy influence commitment to the strategy, (2) what additional antecedents contribute to strategic commitment, and (3) does strategic commitment predict strategy-supportive behavior? For this research we adopt a definition of strategy that reflects what many multi-unit manufacturing firms would call an operating strategy. For example, this definition would include strategic initiatives that are somewhat narrow in scope and yet help to guide the operating units within an organization. We believe our research contributes to management scholarship in several ways. First, we explore a subcomponent of generalized commitment, namely commitment to a particular strategic initiative (cf. Jansen, 2004; Neubert and Cady, 2001). Such a focus seems especially relevant today, given the increasingly short-term bonds between individuals and organizations (Rousseau, 1997). Second, the framework proposed broadens the strategic perspective to include individual actors rather than focus on the organizational level and associated outcomes. Similar strategy-individual linkages have led to breakthroughs in strategic human resource management (Barney and Wright, 1998; Schuler and Jackson, 1987; Wright and Snell, 1998) and the upper echelons perspective (Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). Third, we test the theory in a lean transformation setting, providing greater contextual insight into how commitment to a strategy may be facilitated and its ability to predict strategy-specific behavior. We chose to study an organization that was adopting a strategy built on lean manufacturing in large part because a successful lean strategy necessitates both understanding and involvement from production employees (e.g., Mehta and Shah, 2005). …
73 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Tacit knowledge is described as being difficult to explain or separate from context (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Polanyi, 1967) and plays a key role in decision-making processes in top management teams (Brockman and Anthony, 1998)....
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...However, a widely agreed upon understanding of knowledge within organizational settings is problematic (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)....
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...We refer to this type of strategic knowledge as requisite knowledge, where employees have access to the widest variety of strategy-supportive information relevant to the initiative (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)....
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Dissertation•
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: Business process models representing process knowledge about doing business are necessary for designing Information Systems (IS) solutions in enterprises and interoperability of business process knowl ...
Abstract: Business process models representing process knowledge about doing business are necessary for designing Information Systems (IS) solutions in enterprises. Interoperability of business process knowl ...
72 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Nonaka and Takeuchi [114] argued that a successful knowledge management program needs to, on the one hand, convert internalized tacit knowledge into explicit codified knowledge in order to share it, but also on the other hand for individuals and groups to internalize and make personally meaningful codified knowledge once it is retrieved from the knowledge management system....
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References
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TL;DR: The objective of KMS is to support creation, transfer, and application of knowledge in organizations by promoting a class of information systems, referred to as knowledge management systems.
Abstract: Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has been a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource. Consistent with the interest in organizational knowledge and knowledge management (KM), IS researchers have begun promoting a class of information systems, referred to as knowledge management systems (KMS). The objective of KMS is to support creation, transfer, and application of knowledge in organizations. Knowledge and knowledge management are complex and multi-faceted concepts. Thus, effective development and implementation of KMS requires a foundation in several rich literatures.
9,531 citations
TL;DR: This research suggests that a knowledge infrastructure consisting of technology, structure, and culture along with a knowledge process architecture of acquisition, conversion, application, and protection are essential organizational capabilities or "preconditions" for effective knowledge management.
Abstract: A hallmark of the new economy is the ability of organizations to realize economic value from their collection of knowledge assets as well as their assets of information, production distribution, and affiliation. Despite the competitive necessity of becoming a knowledge-based organization, senior managers have found it difficult to transform their firms through programs of knowledge management. This is particularly true if their organizations have long histories of process and a tradition of business success. This research examines the issue of effective knowledge management from the perspective of organizational capabilities. This perspective suggests that a knowledge infrastructure consisting of technology, structure, and culture along with a knowledge process architecture of acquisition, conversion, application, and protection are essential organizational capabilities or preconditions for effective knowledge management. Through analysis of surveys collected from over 300 senior executives, this research empirically models and uncovers key aspects of these dimensions. The results provide a basis for understanding the competitive predisposition of a firm as it enters a program of knowledge management.
4,646 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of service-dominant (S-D) logic and develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value cocreation.
Abstract: Central to service-dominant (S-D) logic is the proposition that the customer becomes a co-creator of value. This emphasizes the development of customer–supplier relationships through interaction and dialog. However, research to date suggests relatively little is known about how customers engage in the co-creation of value. In this article, the authors: explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of S-D logic; develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value co-creation; and utilize field-based research to illustrate practical application of the framework. This process-based framework provides a structure for customer involvement that takes account of key foundational propositions of S-D logic and places the customer explicitly at the same level of importance as the company as co-creators of value. Synthesis of diverse concepts from research on services, customer value and relationship marketing into a new process-based framework for co-creation provide new insights into managing the process of value co-creation.
3,114 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how aspects of intellectual capital influenced various innovative capabilities in organizations and found that human, organizational, and social capital and their interrelationships selectively influenced incremental and radical innovative capabilities.
Abstract: We examined how aspects of intellectual capital influenced various innovative capabilities in organizations. In a longitudinal, multiple-informant study of 93 organizations, we found that human, organizational, and social capital and their interrelationships selectively influenced incremental and radical innovative capabilities. As anticipated, organizational capital positively influenced incremental innovative capability, while human capital interacted with social capital to positively influence radical innovative capability. Counter to our expectations, however, human capital by itself was negatively associated with radical innovative capability. Interestingly, social capital played a significant role in both types of innovation, as it positively influenced incremental and radical innovative capabilities. It is widely accepted that an organization’s capability to innovate is closely tied to its intellectual capital, or its ability to utilize its knowledge resources. Several studies have underscored how new products embody organizational knowledge (e.g., Stewart, 1997), described innovation as a
3,008 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline a perspective on knowing in practice which highlights the essential role of human action in knowing how to get things done in complex organizational work and suggest that the competence to do global product development is both collective and distributed, grounded in the everyday practices of organizational members.
Abstract: In this paper, I outline a perspective on knowing in practice which highlights the essential role of human action in knowing how to get things done in complex organizational work. The perspective suggests that knowing is not a static embedded capability or stable disposition of actors, but rather an ongoing social accomplishment, constituted and reconstituted as actors engage the world in practice. In interpreting the findings of an empirical study conducted in a geographically dispersed hightech organization, I suggest that the competence to do global product development is both collective and distributed, grounded in the everyday practices of organizational members. I conclude by discussing some of the research implications of a perspective on organizational knowing in practice.
2,670 citations