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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 process of knowledge sharing and creation for teachers participating in virtual teams of a teachers' professional community is portrayed and the concept of knowledge buckle is derived to connect the knowledge transfer among socialization, externalization, and combination activities.
Abstract: By virtue of the non-profit nature of school education, a professional virtual community composed of teachers provides precious data to understand the processes of knowledge sharing and creation. Guided by grounded theory, the authors conducted a three-phased study on a teachers' virtual community in order to understand the knowledge flows among community members from different organizations. This study also portrays the process of knowledge sharing and creation for teachers participating in virtual teams of a teachers' professional community. The resulting model articulates causal conditions, action/interaction strategies, consequence, and contextual environments. The concept of knowledge buckle is derived to connect the knowledge transfer among socialization, externalization, and combination activities.

143 citations


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

  • ...The SECI model (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka & Konno, 1998; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) was widely accepted in knowledge management studies, which view knowledge creation as a spiraling process of interactions between explicit and tacit knowledge as shown in Fig....

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Posted Content
TL;DR: The questionnaire data suggest that the overall level of knowledge transfer is higher during periods of product redesign than it is during the steady state, whereas the nterview data indicate that there were more mentions of knowledgeTransfer during the Steady state.
Abstract: This study provides a longitudinal empirical examination of the basic elements of Nonaka's (1994) dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. First, the data illustrate the notion that knowledge creation in organizations proceeds through an intertwined four-phase process: (1) socialization (tacit knowledge amplification); (2) externalization (tacit knowledge is transformed into explicit knowledge); (3) combination (explicit knowledge amplification); and (4) internalization (explicit knowledge is transformed into tacit knowledge). Second, the study extends Nonaka's theory by comparing the relative amount of intra-organizational knowledge transfer occurring during periods of product redesign with the amount of knowledge transfer occurring during steady-state periods. The questionnaire data suggest that the overall level of knowledge transfer is higher during periods of product redesign than it is during the steady state, whereas the nterview data indicate that there were more mentions of knowledge transfer during the steady state. Third, the data suggest that there may be benefit in adding tacit error correction as a fifth phase in the learning cycle. This phase is characterized by a dual emphasis on externalization and internalization. Implications of these findings are discussed.

143 citations


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

  • ...…knowledge, Nonaka’s (1994) model of organizational learning (see Figure 1) proposes four knowledge transitions among individuals and groups in organizations: tacit to tacit, tacit to explicit, explicit to explicit, and explicit to tacit (see also, Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka et al., 2000)....

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  • ...During socialization, empathizing yields what Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) refer to as ‘sympathized knowledge’....

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  • ...…like the one in our study has been a popular way of assessing what is going on in the general area called ‘organizational learning’ (see, for example, Fiol, 1994; Geppert, 1996; Miner et al., 2001; Nonaka, 1990; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Schoonhoven et al., 1990; Schroeder et al., 1989)....

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  • ...It is grounded in the work of Nonaka and his colleagues (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; von Krogh et al., 2000), who have developed a theory of organizational knowledge creation which uses the notion of recurring divergent and convergent cycles in the creation of knowledge to build a…...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The causes and effects of knowledge barriers are determined and the use of conversational knowledge sharing as an effective instrument for knowledge sharing is proposed by using HOQ.
Abstract: Knowledge management involves the systematic management of vital knowledge resources and the associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, utilizing and exploiting information. A key challenge emerging for organizations is how to encourage knowledge sharing within an organization because knowledge is an organization's intellectual capital and is of increasing importance in gaining a competitive business advantage. Isolated initiatives for promoting knowledge sharing and team collaboration without taking into consideration the limitations and constraints of knowledge sharing can halt any further development in the KM culture of an operation. This article investigates knowledge sharing bottlenecks and proposes the use of conversational knowledge sharing as an effective instrument for knowledge sharing. And to develop strategies, this paper determines the causes and effects of knowledge barriers and proposes solutions by using HOQ. The article introduces a financial company case study as a best practice example of conversational knowledge sharing. Then, the paper analyzes the case study to provide evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

141 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2005
TL;DR: A knowledge context model, called KC-V, is presented, which facilitates the use of contextual information in virtual collaborative work and four benefits are suggested: evolutionary accumulation of knowledge aligned with collaborative activities, supporting the virtual team lifecycle, improved understanding by rich navigation paths, and searching for knowledge with similar context.
Abstract: The understanding of knowledge can be impaired if it is isolated from the proper context. Despite the importance of contextual information, there has been limited support for utilizing context in current knowledge management and collaborative systems. This paper presents a knowledge context model, called KC-V, which facilitates the use of contextual information in virtual collaborative work. Four benefits of using KC-V are suggested: evolutionary accumulation of knowledge aligned with collaborative activities, supporting the virtual team lifecycle, improved understanding by rich navigation paths, and searching for knowledge with similar context. A web-based collaboration system called VWSS is developed using KC-V.

141 citations


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

  • ...Domain entities can be used for finding knowledge items created under a similar context or searching for experts in a specific expertise domain....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model examining how customer collaboration and openness to innovation act as antecedents of customer knowledge management (CKM) and customer collaboration's effect on marketing results is presented.

141 citations


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

  • ...Lusch, Vargo, and O'Brien (2007) define knowledge as the basis for sustainable development of competitive advantage, by arguing that innovation capacity and competitiveness require knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....

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  • ...Customer collaboration measurement uses Ordanini and Parasuraman's (2011) scale....

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  • ...Customer collaboration measurement uses Ordanini and Parasuraman's (2011) scale. Innovation orientation assessment follows Santos and Álvarez's (2007) scale....

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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