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.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that to talk about organisations learning is to reify and anthropomorphise organisations, and instead of thinking of an organisation as if it were a thing or a person it is closer to experience to think of an organization as the patterning of peoples' interactions with each other.
Abstract: This paper argues that to talk about organisations learning is to reify and anthropomorphise organisations. Instead of thinking of an organisation as if it were a thing or a person it is closer to experience to think of an organisation as the patterning of peoples' interactions with each other. This paper explores the assumptions that are being made when we talk about organisations or groups that learn, or about individuals learning in groups or organisations. It suggests an alternative to thinking in these ways, namely, that learning is an activity of interdependent people. If one takes the view an organisation is the organising activities of interdependent people, it leads to a particular perspective on learning. Much of the communicative and power relating activities of interdependent people take the form of continually iterated patterns of repetition in which meaning and power figurations have the quality of stability which we call identity. But because of the nonlinear iterative nature of human interaction there is always the potential for small differences to be amplified into transformative shifts in identity. Learning is then understood as the emerging shifts in the patterning of human communicative interaction and power relating. Learning is the activity of interdependent people and can only be understood in terms of self‐organising communicative interaction and power relating in which identities are potentially transformed. Individuals cannot learn in isolation and organisations can never learn.
238 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...The former tends to focus on interventions based on measurement and information systems, while the latter focuses on individual and group learning processes in a normative manner (Senge, 1991; Isaacs, 1999; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined organizational learning from the perspective of social cognition and argued that social cognition explains the organizational learning process better by integrating fragmented studies on the processes of learning.
Abstract: Organizational learning is a popular topic in business and academia and attracts many researchers and practitioners from different fields. Even though organizational learning scholarship is still growing, there are few studies that cross-fertilize social cognition and organizational learning. This investigation examines organizational learning from the perspective of social cognition. It is argued that social cognition explains the organizational learning process better by integrating fragmented studies on the processes of learning, and the study proposes that organizational learning is an outcome of reciprocal interactions of the processes of information/knowledge acquisition, information/knowledge dissemination, information/knowledge implementation, sensemaking, memory, thinking, unlearning, intelligence, improvisation, and emotions - connected by organizational culture. In addition, the implications of social cognition on organizational learning are discussed.
234 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...For instance, many scholars have asserted that a new product development team (NPD) can be perceived as a process of organizational learning (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Moorman & Miner, 1997)....
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...The organizational learning process thus describes a category of activity that is achieved by a collection of people in a social context, such as is found in an organization (Duncan & Weiss, 1979; Kim, 1993; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
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TL;DR: Reinhardt, W., Schmidt, B., Sloep, P. B., and Drachsler, H. as discussed by the authors conducted two empirical studies on knowledge worker roles and actions.
Abstract: Reinhardt, W., Schmidt, B., Sloep, P. B., & Drachsler, H. (2011). Knowledge Worker Roles and Actions - Results of Two Empirical Studies. Knowledge and Process Management, 18(3), 150–174. doi: 10.1002/kpm.378 Online: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/kpm.378/abstract
233 citations
Cites background or methods from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...(1) The first scope of knowledge management has received notable attention with the approaches to differentiate between implicit and explicit knowledge (Polanyi, 1967; Nonaka and Takeushi, 1995; Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Day, 2005; Walsham, 2005), along with research towards the organizational extraction and usage of implicit knowledge....
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...Following the works of Schultze (2000a, 2000b; Hädrich 2008; and Kasching et al. 2010), we believe that knowledge work is characterized by certain knowledge actions and different roles that knowledge workers take on (Nonaka and Takeushi, 1995; Davenport and Prusak, 1998)....
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...Analyze, dissemination, information search, information organization, networking (Davenport and Prusak, 1998) (Nonaka and Takeushi, 1995) (Geisler, 2007)...
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...Analyze, dissemination, information search, information organization, networking (Davenport and Prusak, 1998) (Nonaka and Takeushi, 1995) (Geisler, 2007) Networker People who create personal or project related connections with people involved in the same kind of work, to share information and…...
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...Even if the early knowledge management literature suggested that knowledge was an asset that could be simply externalized, circulated amongst knowledge workers and internalized by them (Nonaka and Takeushi, 1995), we now know that knowledge cannot be stored in a knowledge management system: it being conceived of as rational capacity held by humans prevents that (Nonaka et al....
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TL;DR: Users can expect significant benefits from KM as it develops over the next decades, but the understanding of knowledge and how people use it to work has a long way to go.
Abstract: Globalization has placed businesses everywhere in new and different competitive situations where knowledgeable, effective behavior has come to provide the competitive edge Enterprises have turned to explicit and systematic knowledge management (KM) to develop the intellectual capital needed to succeed Further developments are expected to provide considerable benefits resulting from changes in the workplace and in management and operational practices Changes will partly come from information technology and artificial intelligence developments However, more important changes are expected in people‐centric practices to build, apply, and deploy knowledge and understanding for support of innovative and effective knowledge‐intensive work Much remains to be done Next generation KM methods will still be crude Our understanding of knowledge and how people use it to work has a long way to go We need a“theory of knowledge” and perhaps a new theory of the firm to create a solid foundation for future KM Still, users can expect significant benefits from KM as it develops over the next decades
231 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...…methods; . easier access to intellectual capital assets; . more effective approaches to ascend Nonaka's knowledge spiral by transforming tacit personal knowledge into shared knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995); and can be expected to lead to availability of more highly competitive knowledge....
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TL;DR: It is suggested that user commitment plays a critical role in the volitional acceptance and usage of nonmandatory information and communication systems that escape the conventional behavioral logic of understandingaccept and usage from a normative perspective of compliance with the beliefs of others.
Abstract: In recent years, several organizations have implemented nonmandatory information and communication systems that escape the conventional behavioral logic of understanding acceptance and usage from a normative perspective of compliance with the beliefs of others. Because voluntary systems require users' volitional behavior, researchers have traced recent implementation failures to a lack of user commitment. However, gaps in our understanding of volitional usage behavior and user commitment have made it difficult to advance theory, research, and practice on this issue. To validate a proposed research model, cross-sectional, between-subjects, and within-subjects field data were collected from 714 users at the time of initial adoption and after six months of extended use. The model explained between 44.1 percent and 58.5 percent of the variance in adoption and usage behavior based upon direct effects of user commitment. Findings suggest that user commitment plays a critical role in the volitional acceptance and usage of such systems. Affective commitment--that is, internalization and identification based upon personal norms--exhibits a sustained positive influence on usage behavior. In contrast, continuance commitment--that is, compliance based upon social norms--shows a sustained negative influence from initial adoption to extended use. Theory development based upon Kelman's social influence framework offers new empirical insights about system users' commitment and how it affects volitional usage behavior.
231 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Many have also suggested the theoretical relevance of system users’ affective processes to success of system use [31, 50]....
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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