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

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

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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.

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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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Journal Article•DOI•

Models of Innovative Knowledge Communities and Three Metaphors of Learning

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Sami Paavola, Lasse Lipponen, Kai Hakkarainen

01 Dec 2004-Review of Educational Research

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze and compare three models of innovative knowledge communities: Nonaka and Takeuchi's model of knowledge-creation, Engestrom's and Bereiter's models of knowledge building.

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Abstract: The authors analyze and compare three models of innovative knowledge communities: Nonaka and Takeuchi’s model of knowledge-creation, Engestrom’s model of expansive learning, and Bereiter’s model of knowledge building. Despite basic differences, these models have pertinent features in common: Most fundamentally, they emphasize dynamic processes for transforming prevailing knowledge and practices. Beyond characterizing learning as knowledge acquisition (the acquisition metaphor) and as participation in a social community (the participation metaphor), the authors of this article distinguish a third aspect: learning (and intelligent activity in general) as knowledge creation (the knowledge-creation metaphor). This approach focuses on investigating mediated processes of knowledge creation that have become especially important in a knowledge society.

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796 citations

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

...Nonaka and Takeuchi state that new knowledge always starts with an individual (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, pp. 13, 59)....
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...For Nonaka and Takeuchi, tacit knowledge includes the subjective insights, intuitions, hunches, and ideals that are the crucial basis for innovative processes (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, pp. 8–10)....
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...An emphasis on propositional knowledge can lead, for example, to the so-called “paralysis by analysis” syndrome (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 198)....
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...The point is that explication of tacit knowledge was of crucial importance in the genesis of the innovation (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, pp. 63–64, 95–123)....
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...Nonaka and Takeuchi point out that their focus is “on knowledge creation, not on knowledge per se” (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995, p. 6)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Predictors of employees’ perceptions of knowledge sharing cultures

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Catherine E. Connelly¹, E. Kevin Kelloway•Institutions (1)

Queen's University¹

01 Aug 2003-Leadership & Organization Development Journal

TL;DR: The authors investigated whether organizational factors such as employees' perceptions of management's support for knowledge sharing, their perceptions of the organization's social interaction culture, the organisation's size, and the available knowledge sharing technology had a significant impact on employees' perception of a knowledge sharing culture.

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Abstract: This study investigated whether organizational factors such as employees’ perceptions of management’s support for knowledge sharing, their perceptions of the organization’s social interaction culture, the organization’s size, and the organization’s available knowledge sharing technology, as well as whether individual factors such as age, gender, and organizational tenure had a significant impact on employees’ perceptions of a knowledge sharing culture. New measures to assess employees’ perceptions of management’s support for knowledge sharing, their perceptions of the organization’s social interaction culture, and the perceived knowledge sharing culture were developed. We found that perceptions of management’s support for knowledge sharing, and perceptions of a positive social interaction culture were both significant predictors of a perceived knowledge sharing culture. In addition, gender was a significant moderator: female participants required a more positive social interaction culture before they would perceive a knowledge sharing culture as positive as that perceived by their male counterparts.

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796 citations

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

...that evoke actions and impel [people] to action” play an important role in an organizational culture’s development and evolution (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Pettigrew, 1979)....
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...…accepted meanings operating for a given group at a given time” then symbols, which are “objects, acts, relationships ... that evoke actions and impel [people] to action” play an important role in an organizational culture’s development and evolution (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Pettigrew, 1979)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Creating value-in-use through marketing interaction: the exchange logic of relating, communicating and knowing

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David Ballantyne¹, Richard J. Varey²•Institutions (2)

University of Otago¹, University of Waikato²

01 Sep 2006-Marketing Theory

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extend the Vargo and Lusch (2004a) service-dominant (S-D) logic thesis and discuss three linked exchange-enablers and their potential for improving value-in-use.

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Abstract: This article elaborates and extends the Vargo and Lusch (2004a) service-dominant (S-D) logic thesis. Three linked exchange-enablers and their potential for improving value-in-use are discussed: fir...

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787 citations

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

...However, following Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), knowledge takes two forms – tacit and explicit....
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...However, following Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), knowledge takes two forms – tacit and explicit. Tacit knowledge is employee know-how or competencies gained through observation, imitation, and mutual experience. It operates more or less at an unconscious level of application, which means it tends to be under-recognized as a firm-based (collective) resource. This second form of knowledge, explicit knowledge, is media-based and can be digitized, duplicated, and circulated. Both forms of knowledge are valued as resources, but are different. The first is applied directly in creating value. The second is a store of knowledge that can be usefully accessed in creating value. The first is an operant resource and the second is an operand resource, in the way that Vargo and Lusch (2004a: 2–3) use these terms. Many firms have over-invested in building up explicit forms of knowledge, using expensive data-warehousing or customer relationship management (CRM) systems (Kelly, 2005), and at the same time, ignored the active resource within: their operant resource, the employees’ tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is derived especially from learning together as employees work across functional borders to achieve cost efficiencies, or working with customers or suppliers to improve customer value. Vargo and Lusch (2004a: 9) have argued that ‘knowledge is the fundamental source of competitive advantage’. However, as Storbacka and Lehtinen (2001) have noted, a firm’s tacit knowledge (know-how) tends to ‘expire’ at a faster rate than explicit (recorded) knowledge within the firm....
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Social software and participatory learning: Pedagogical choices with technology affordances in the Web 2.0 era

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Catherine McLoughlin, Mark J. W. Lee

01 Jan 2007

TL;DR: The two-way Web has arrived, accompanied by a raft of affordances that expand how the authors communicate, communicate, learn and create knowledge.

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Abstract: School of EducationCharles Sturt UniversityThe two-way Web has arrived, accompanied by a raft of affordances that expand how weteach, communicate, learn and create knowledge. New trends are emerging in the wayinformation is distributed and consumed. Emerging “Web 2.0” services such as blogs,wikis and social bookmarking applications, as well as social networking sites like

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786 citations

Posted Content•

Superman or the Fantastic Four? Knowledge Combination and Experience in Innovative Teams

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Alva Taylor¹, Henrich R. Greve•Institutions (1)

Dartmouth College¹

27 Sep 2008-Social Science Research Network

TL;DR: This paper examined how knowledge and experience affect both the mean and variance values of innovations from individuals and teams in the comic book industry, finding that innovations with extreme success and failure are affected by similar factors as high performing innovations.

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Abstract: We examine how knowledge and experience affect both the mean and variance values of innovations from individuals and teams. We apply and extend theory on innovativeness and creativity to propose that holding multiple knowledge domains produces novel combinations that increase the variance of product performance; and that extensive experience produces outputs with high average performance. We analyzed innovations in the comic book industry, finding that innovations with extreme success and failure are affected by similar factors as high-performing innovations. Multi-member teams and teams with experience working together produced innovations with greater variation in value, but individuals were able to combine knowledge diversity more effectively than teams.

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778 citations

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

...In addition, teams allow individuals who do not hold diverse knowledge to become exposed to it to through interaction with other members (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
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References

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Open Access

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Journal Article•DOI•

Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: conceptual foundations and research issues

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Maryam Alavi¹, Dorothy E. Leidner²•Institutions (2)

Emory University¹, Texas Christian University²

01 Mar 2001-Management Information Systems Quarterly

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.

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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.

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9,531 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Knowledge Management: An Organizational Capabilities Perspective

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Andrew H. Gold, Arvind Malhotra, Albert H. Segars

31 May 2001-Journal of Management Information Systems

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.

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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.

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4,646 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Managing the co-creation of value

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Adrian Payne¹, Kaj Storbacka², Pennie Frow³•Institutions (3)

University of New South Wales¹, Nyenrode Business University², University of Sydney³

01 Mar 2008-Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

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.

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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.

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3,114 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Capabilities

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Mohan Subramaniam¹, Mark Youndt²•Institutions (2)

Boston College¹, Skidmore College²

01 Jun 2005-Academy of Management Journal

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.

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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

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3,008 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Knowing in Practice: Enacting a Collective Capability in Distributed Organizing

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Wanda J. Orlikowski¹•Institutions (1)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology¹

01 May 2002-Organization Science

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.

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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.

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2,670 citations