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The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

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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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The research results show that a leading facilitator and an appropriate managerial support influence interaction processes in CoPs positively, and the importance of the community leader and the influence of management support is analyzed.
Abstract: Purpose – Communities of practice (CoPs) have gained a great deal of attention from practitioners and scholars alike. However, critical antecedents of knowledge sharing in CoPs have not been fully researched yet. Particularly, empirical results are still scarce. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of community members' motivation to participate in CoPs, the importance of the community leader and the influence of management support.Design/methodology/approach – In order to test the proposed hypotheses data from 222 CoP members from different communities of a multinational company gathered in a large sample quantitative survey, using partial least square structural equations modelling.Findings – The research results show that a leading facilitator and an appropriate managerial support influence interaction processes in CoPs positively.Research limitations/implications – The impact of motivational and managerial factors on knowledge sharing processes in CoPs is conceptualized and tested. With regard...

158 citations


Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."

  • ...Particularly, the integration of existing knowledge, e.g. captured in the expertise of employees, and the generation of new knowledge are of paramount importance for the success of organizations (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Teigland, 2003)....

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  • ...captured in the expertise of employees, and the generation of new knowledge are of paramount importance for the success of organizations ( Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995...

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  • ...In the long term, organizations will only be able to survive and maintain their competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy if they manage the organizational and cultural change necessary (e.g., Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the moderating effect of product innovativeness on cross-functional integration in Japanese and U.S. firms and test the contingency model with data from 788 Japanese and 612 U. S. firms.
Abstract: The authors examine the moderating effect of product innovativeness on cross-functional integration in Japanese and U.S. firms and test the contingency model with data from 788 Japanese and 612 U.S...

158 citations


Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."

  • ...Because the Japanese NPD process is technology led and the U.S. process is market led (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995; Song and Parry 1997b), marketing has a more influential role in U.S. firms than in Japanese firms (Song and Parry 1997c)....

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  • ...Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) suggest that the Japanese NPD process tends to be technology led (i.e., the engineering department’s planning section determines new product specifications), whereas the U.S. NPD process appears to be market led (i.e., the marketing department determines new product…...

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  • ...——— and Hirotaka Takeuchi (1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Outsourcing projects have moved from mundane software maintenance tasks to more complex and significant engagements such as innovative product development, complex system development, and large-scale R+D projects.
Abstract: Global software development efforts have increased in recent years. One force fueling these efforts is the worldwide availability of a rich and talented knowledge pool that can be effectively and efficiently mobilized, increasing the prominence of outsourcing initiatives. Outsourcing projects have moved from mundane software maintenance tasks to more complex and significant engagements such as innovative product development, complex system development, and large-scale R+D projects

157 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the impact of expatriate managers on the relationship between the acquirer's industry, host country and acquisition experience and the survival of the acquired subsidiary.
Abstract: Do expatriate managers fulfil the role of ‘value-seeking connectors’ in cross-border acquisitions? Building from the organizational knowledge and the MNC literature, this paper focuses on the use of expatriate managers for transferring experience-based knowledge within the MNC and its impact on the survival of acquired subsidiaries. Using a sample of cross-border acquisitions by Japanese MNCs, we analysed the impact of expatriate managers on the relationship between the acquirer’s industry, host country and acquisition experience and the survival of the acquired subsidiary. Results show that the contribution of expatriation to the acquired firm’s survival varies considerably depending on the type of experience considered. In fact, connectivity through expatriation is costly and only when appropriately sent abroad do expatriate managers build an effective bridge over the troubled water that characterizes the challenging post-acquisition integration.

157 citations


Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."

  • ...Successful transfer of such knowledge requires support from a variety of organizational mechanisms, including people-based mechanisms (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995; Lam 2003)....

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  • ...Like others before, we suggest that transferring experience-based knowledge can only be achieved by bringing actors together to provide for re-embedded interaction (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995; Goodall and Roberts 2003)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate how knowledge acquired from alliance partners affects organizational knowledge creation, which in turn leads to innovative performance and propose that the knowledge-innovation relationship is stronger in international alliances than domestic alliances.
Abstract: Strategic alliances play a critical role in global innovation. Firms can overcome resource constraints and achieve superior innovative performance not only by using internal resources but also by acquiring knowledge-based capabilities from alliance partners. In this study, the authors investigate how knowledge acquired from alliance partners affects organizational knowledge creation, which in turn leads to innovative performance. The authors propose that the knowledge–innovation relationship is stronger in international alliances than domestic alliances. The results from a survey of 127 German firms engaged in strategic alliances confirm that knowledge creation mediates the effect of knowledge acquisition on innovative performance and that international alliances strengthen the effect of knowledge creation on innovative performance. In addition, the authors find that interfirm cooperation and competition coexist in strategic alliances and that both factors increase knowledge acquisition, though f...

157 citations


Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."

  • ...According to Nonaka (1994) and Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), it is the judgment of the value of knowledge that determines the success of knowledge creation and resulting innovation....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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

Journal ArticleDOI
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

Journal ArticleDOI
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

Journal ArticleDOI
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

Journal ArticleDOI
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