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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22 Jun 2004
TL;DR: Three agile methods developed at Nokia that use facilitated workshops to solve multiteam issues are studied to suggest that workshop practices that amass people from different parts of organizations to perform a specific well-defined task can be used effectively to solve issues that span over multiple teams and to build up communities of practice.
Abstract: Agile development practices respect tacit knowledge, makes communication more effective, and thus fosters the knowledge creation process. However the current agile methods, like XP, are focused on practices that individual teams or projects need, and the use of the methods in organizations consisting of multiple cooperating teams is difficult. The community of practice theory suggests that large agile organizations should have various overlapping, informal cross-team communities. This paper studies three agile methods developed at Nokia that use facilitated workshops to solve multiteam issues. The paper explains using communities of practices theory - why these methods work in multiteam settings. The results of this paper suggest that workshop practices that amass people from different parts of organizations to perform a specific well-defined task can be used effectively to solve issues that span over multiple teams and to build up communities of practice. This result suggests that the community of practice concept could provide a basis for adapting agile methods for the needs of large organizations.
101 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the Schumpeterian notion of resistance is used to describe the context-dependent manifestation of opportunity in, and resistance to, social entrepreneurship, and the organizational, societal, institutional, and market contexts in which the entrepreneur is embedded.
Abstract: Social entrepreneurship emerges from social and historical contexts. These contexts also bring the institutional norms, routines, and conventions that challenge and constrain innovation processes. This article contributes to the emerging theoretical discourse of social entrepreneurship by explicating the Schumpeterian notion of resistance. It discusses the context-dependent manifestation of opportunity in, and resistance to, social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship opportunities are the constructed outcomes of entrepreneurial alertness and motivation, and the organizational, societal, institutional, and market contexts in which the entrepreneur is embedded. Likewise, these contextual forces resist and refine social innovations such that they become the products of the financial, social, cultural, and political expectations of stakeholders of social entrepreneurship ventures. A deeper understanding of how context shapes social innovation will give scholars and practitioners a greater apprec...
100 citations
TL;DR: It can be seen that the ability of people to decodify codes similarly places restrictions on the transferability of knowledge between them, and a new conceptual approach is needed for the role of knowledge codification in knowledge management that emphasizes the importance of knowledge decodification.
Abstract: Purpose - The idea that knowledge needs to be codified is central to many claims that knowledge can be managed. However, there appear to be no empirical studies in the knowledge management context that examine the process of knowledge codification. This paper therefore seeks to explore codification as a knowledge management process. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on findings from research conducted around a knowledge management project in a section of the UK Post Office, using a methodology of participant-observation. Data were collected through observations of project meetings, correspondence between project participants, and individual interviews. Findings - The principal findings about the nature of knowledge codification are first, that the process of knowledge codification also involves the process of defining the codes needed to codify knowledge, and second, that people who participate in the construction of these codes are able to interpret and use the codes more similarly. From this it can be seen that the ability of people to decodify codes similarly places restrictions on the transferability of knowledge between them. Research limitations/implications - The paper therefore argues that a new conceptual approach is needed for the role of knowledge codification in knowledge management that emphasizes the importance of knowledge decodification. Such an approach would start with one's ability to decodify rather than codify knowledge as a prerequisite for knowledge management. Originality/value - The paper provides a conceptual basis for explaining limitations to the management and transferability of knowledge. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
100 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Data were collected through observations of project meetings, correspondence between project participants, and individual interviews....
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...…concurs with this definition, and appears to coalesce around two aspects of such an information creating process: Codification of previously ‘tacit’ knowledge This is what Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) are talking about in their distinction of a movement between tacit and explicit forms of knowledge....
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...…there has been much interesting discussion in the literature about the transferability of „tacit‟ knowledge through processes such as „socialisation‟ (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), in practice many of the recommended approaches and solutions to KM problems are predicated on the need to codify…...
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...This paper therefore explores codification as a Knowledge Management process....
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...Of course it is possible that knowledge can be acquired without codification, for example, as in the assimilation of cultural norms and routines in an organisation (Blackler, 1995), or as in the master-apprentice approach to the learning of craft skills (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)....
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TL;DR: This study draws on Nonaka and Takeuchi's framework to explore how focusing on tacit‐to‐tacit knowledge‐sharing strategies influence early literacy‐based knowledge sharing within and across schools.
Abstract: Purpose – Drawn from a recent research study of the Toronto District School Board, this paper aims to examine how the District employs knowledge management to initiate and improve early literacy instruction and achievement.Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on Nonaka and Takeuchi's framework to explore how focusing on tacit‐to‐tacit knowledge‐sharing strategies influence early literacy‐based knowledge sharing within and across schools. Data collection involved the collection and analysis of documents used and designed by Early Years Listeracy Project (EYLP) staff members. The second phase engaged a cross‐section of 34 EYLP teachers, administrators and senior TDSB superintendents and EYLP management team members in individual semi‐structured interviews. Participants commented on their experience vis‐a‐vis the various knowledge management strategies used to support its implementation. Data from the interviews was codified, analyzed and summarized and summaries were shared with participants for c...
100 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995, 1997) view tacit knowledge in two forms: cognitive and technical....
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...…strategies for managing knowledge (Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Nonaka, 1991; Nonaka et al., 2001); and, case studies of the impact of knowledge management on organizational success (Kreiner, 2002; Morey and Frangioso, 1998; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, 1997; Smith, 2001; Weick and Roberts, 1996)....
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...They state that the ‘‘key to knowledge creation lies in the mobilization and conversion of tacit knowledge’’ (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, p. 56)....
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...PAGE 44 j JOURNAL OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENTj VOL. 9 NO. 6 2005 The framework specifically focuses on tacit and explicit knowledge conversion (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) that, in turn, frames the presentation of the key knowledge management strategies at work within the district....
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...The second phase engaged a cross-section of 34 EYLP teachers, administrators and senior TDSB superintendents and EYLP management team members in individual semi-structured interviews....
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TL;DR: Five attributes of innovative space are presented: collaboration enabling, modifiability, smartness, attractiveness, and value reflecting, which examine the relationship between physical environment and innovation.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how physical spaces intersect with innovation and innovativeness, and what the most relevant attributes of physical space are for innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reflects the changing nature of innovation, from technological advancements to services and meaning changes, and argues that the development of innovative spaces similarly embodies a diverse set of values such as collaboration, openness, and sustainability. Using a literature review, interviews, and benchmarking data, the paper examines the relationship between physical environment and innovation. Findings – The findings from both the literature review and the interviews underline innovation as a communicative and human-centred process. As a result five attributes of innovative space are presented: collaboration enabling, modifiability, smartness, attractiveness, and value reflecting. Originality/value – The results provide perspectives to the challenge of how to support in...
100 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...For example, physical environment is recognised as a significant factor for knowledge creation and learning (Senoo et al., 2007; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)....
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...The existing literature includes both empirical and relevant conceptual and theoretical studies, and it provides an initial impression of the area of space and innovation....
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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