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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Journal Article•
TL;DR: Sustainable construction is seen as the application of sustainable practices to the activities of the construction sector as a means of overcoming the obstacles of capturing and managing the knowledge required by project teams to effect such change.
Abstract: The 21st century has been a growing awareness of the importance of the sustainability agenda. Moreover for construction, it has become increasingly important as clients are pushing for a more sustainable product to complement their organisations’ own strategic plans. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable construction is therefore seen as the application of sustainable practices to the activities of the construction sector. One of the key factors in making construction projects more sustainable is overcoming the obstacles of capturing and managing the knowledge required by project teams to effect such change. Managing this knowledge is key to the construction industry because of the unique characteristics of its projects, i.e. multi-disciplinary teams, dynamic participation of team members, heavy reliance on previous experiences/heuristics, the one-off nature of the projects, tight schedules, limited budget, etc. Initiatives within the industry and academic research are developing mechanisms and tools for managing knowledge in construction firms and projects. Such work has so far addressed the issues of capturing, storing, and transferring knowledge.
111 citations
Additional excerpts
...Rather than focusing on ICTs as driven by a concern for what people know (or want to know), which in any case proves elusive to describe ( Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995 ), the research reported on in this paper adopted an approach which focuses on what people do (Blackler et al., 1993)....
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...Rather than focusing on ICTs as driven by a concern for what people know (or want to know), which in any case proves elusive to describe (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), the research reported on in this paper adopted an approach which focuses on what people do (Blackler et al., 1993)....
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TL;DR: The authors examined newcomers' cognitive change processes in two investment banks during their socialization, and examined how the two banks managed the duration of junior employees' socialization in a two-year study.
Abstract: This paper examines newcomers' cognitive change processes in two investment banks during their socialization A two-year ethnographic study examines how the two banks managed the duration of junior
110 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...The focus on interactions also differs from taxonomic approaches to identifying discrete knowledge types (e.g., Leonard-Barton, 1992; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), thereby potentially reifying cognition (Tsoukas, 1996; Orlikowski, 2002)....
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TL;DR: Using practice theory and an empirical illustration of reciprocal exchange of knowledge between resource-integrating actors, the authors contributes to Service-Dominant Logic by deepening the undersaving notion of knowledge exchange.
Abstract: Using practice theory and an empirical illustration of reciprocal exchange of knowledge between resource-integrating actors, this paper contributes to Service-Dominant Logic by deepening the unders ...
110 citations
Cites background or methods from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...…script – that mediate resource-integrating actors’ exchange of knowledge, and the activities of this exchange have been identified and labelled using literature on knowledge creation and management (Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) as a point of departure....
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...Theoretically, the process was founded on literature regarding knowledge creation and sharing (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) and knowledge management (e.g. Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Davenport & Prusak, 1998), which generally describes the exchange of knowledge as a sequential process of accessing,…...
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TL;DR: The authors surveys critical discourse studies to the present and claims that, to avoid lapsing into comfortable orthodoxy in its mature phase, CDS needs to reassert its transformative radical teleology.
Abstract: This paper surveys critical discourse studies to the present and claims that, to avoid lapsing into comfortable orthodoxy in its mature phase, CDS needs to reassert its transformative radical teleology. The initial part of the paper reasserts the need for a strong social theory given the materialist and context-bound nature of discourse in daily activity. From this basis, the paper then characterizes the “new times” in which contemporary discourse occurs, and briefly surveys those issues typically analyzed, namely political economy, race and gender, and critical literacy. By considering people's ordinary lives, the paper then suggests that subject and agency, and calculative technologies of management deserve, and new modalities need, more research. Transdisciplinarity is encouraged, particularly with social psychology and critical management studies.
110 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that the perceptions of usefulness, ease-of-use and compatibility significantly affect behavioural intention, and critical external variables, empowering leadership, task-technology fit (TTF) and compatibility are proposed as significant contributors to KMS.
Abstract: Knowledge management system (KMS) is emerging as a powerful source of competitive advantage, and plays an important role in managing an organisational knowledge. Therefore, how to improve the success rate for adopting a KMS becomes important. This study applies a technology acceptance model as its theoretical framework. Critical external variables, empowering leadership, task-technology fit (TTF) and compatibility are proposed as significant contributors to KMS. To test the proposed model, data were collected through a questionnaire survey sent to IT managers of 500 large companies in Taiwan. The results indicate that the perceptions of usefulness, ease-of-use and compatibility significantly affect behavioural intention. Empowering leadership, TTF and compatibility are significant predictors of perceived ease of use (PEOU); however, perceived usefulness is only influenced by compatibility and PEOU. Further, there is a positive and significant relationship between TTF and compatibility. Finally, this study also discusses the implications for practitioners.
110 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...With constantly modifying and updating, the system will be tailored for their organisation, and therefore the individuals can more effectively ‘internalise’ knowledge into their minds (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995 )....
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...With constantly modifying and updating, the system will be tailored for their organisation, and therefore the individuals can more effectively ‘internalise’ knowledge into their minds (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)....
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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