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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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
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...A knowledge-based perspective of the firm has emerged in the strategic management literature (Cole 1998; Spender 1996a, 1996b; Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)....
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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
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...This type of interaction and collaboration is important when attempting to transmit tacit knowledge between individuals or convert tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thereby transforming it from individual to organizational level [84, 85, 86, 87]....
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...Collaboration is seen as one of the key manners in which knowledge is transmitted and created within the organization [49, 74, 87, 89, 98]....
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...The formal organizational structures within an organization may encourage or inhibit interactions among employees, a practice seen as vital in the effective management of knowledge [49, 87, 89, 94]....
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...Nonaka and Takeuchi [87] develop a new organizational...
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...Collaboration between individuals is also the basis for the socialization of knowledge [87]....
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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
Additional excerpts
...Knowledge may also be thought of as ‘tacit’ and ‘explicit’ (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995)....
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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
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...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....
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...Not surprisingly, the process of innovation is commonly equated with an ongoing pursuit of harnessing new and unique knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
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...Several studies have underscored how new products embody organizational knowledge (e.g., Stewart, 1997), described innovation as a knowledge management process (e.g., Madhavan & Grover, 1998), and characterized innovative companies as knowledge creating (e.g., Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
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01 Feb 2009
TL;DR: It is suggested that the competence to do global product development is both collective and distributed, grounded in the everyday practices of organizational members, and not a static embedded capability or stable disposition.
Abstract: Knoving in practice: Enacting a collettive capability in distributed organizing - 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 o\ 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.
2,661 citations
Cites background from "The knowledge-creating company : ho..."
...…examine the various strategies, routines, and techniques through which different types of knowledge are created, codified, converted, transferred, and exchanged (Nelson and Winter 1982, Leonard-Barton 1992, Hedlund 1994, Nonaka 1994, Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995, Winter 1987, Teece 1998, Hansen 1999)....
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...Indeed, “knowledge” has become the watchword of contemporary organizations, and research interest in knowledge, knowledge-based organizations, and knowledge management has accelerated (Kogut and Zander 1992, Starbuck 1992, Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995, Tsoukas 1996, Teece 1998)....
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References
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TL;DR: It is proposed that the effectiveness of knowledge sharing is determined by the maturity of informal and formal social networks and a shared information and knowledge-based artefact network (AN) in a particular work context.
Abstract: Effective knowledge sharing underpins the day-to-day work activities in knowledge-intensive organizational environments. This paper integrates key concepts from the literature towards a model to explain effective knowledge sharing in such environments. It is proposed that the effectiveness of knowledge sharing is determined by the maturity of informal and formal social networks and a shared information and knowledge-based artefact network (AN) in a particular work context. It is further proposed that facilitating mechanisms within the social and ANs, and mechanisms that link these networks, affect the overall efficiency of knowledge sharing in complex environments. Three case studies are used to illustrate the model, highlighting typical knowledge-sharing problems that result when certain model elements are absent or insufficient in a particular environment. The model is discussed in terms of diagnosing knowledge-sharing problems, organizational knowledge strategy, and the role of information and communication technology in knowledge sharing.
93 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The development of .an OWL decisional Ontology built upon set of experience, which would make decisional DNA, that is, explicit knowledge of formal decision events, a useful element in multiple systems and technologies, as well as in the construction of the e-decisional community.
Abstract: Collecting, distributing and sharing knowledge in a knowledge-explicit way is a significant task for any company. However, collecting decisional knowledge in the form of formal decision events as the fingerprints of a company is an utmost advance. Such decisional fingerprint is called decisional DNA. Set of experience knowledge structure can assist on accomplishing this purpose. In addition, Ontology-based technology applied to set of experience knowledge structure would facilitate distributing and sharing companies' decisional DNA. Such possibility would assist in the development of an e-decisional community, which will support decision-makers on their overwhelming job. The purpose of this paper is to explain the development of .an OWL decisional Ontology built upon set of experience, which would make decisional DNA, that is, explicit knowledge of formal decision events, a useful element in multiple systems and technologies, as well as in the construction of the e-decisional community.
92 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and tested a conceptual model that focuses on how managerial controllable variables influence the level of knowledge generation in new product development, and found that information technologies, organizational crisis, individual commitment, the R&D budget, and job rotation increase knowledge generation.
Abstract: Globalization and other rapid changes in markets and technologies increasingly require companies to generate new knowledge in order to remain competitive. In order to innovate successfully, firms must generate knowledge faster than their rivals. This study develops and tests a conceptual model that focuses on how managerial controllable variables influence the level of knowledge generation in new product development. Based on literature and ‘theory-in-use’ field research in seven knowledge-intensive organizations, the authors developed research hypotheses and tested the hypotheses using data collected from 277 firms in high technology industries. The findings suggest that information technologies, organizational crisis, individual commitment, the R&D budget, and job rotation increase levels of knowledge generation, whereas lead user and supplier networks are negatively associated with the level of knowledge generation in new product development, and the influence of co-location of R&D staff is not significant.
92 citations
TL;DR: This paper reflects on European research on IS as presented during the first 10 years of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), and presents the key characteristics of the ECIS conferences, together with a profile of European IS research activity as presented at ECIS.
Abstract: The information systems (IS) community is truly international, yet there is often a sense that different elements of the community have different profiles in terms of their research and publication expectations. This paper contributes to this discussion by developing a profile of European IS research that can be used as a basis for international comparisons. It reflects on European research on IS as presented during the first 10 years of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Based on an analysis of all papers published in the ECIS proceedings during the period 1993–2002, the paper presents the key characteristics of the ECIS conferences, together with a profile of European IS research activity as presented at ECIS. In particular, it highlights the key references and sources used by researchers presenting papers at ECIS. It articulates the research areas presented at ECIS and explores the claim that European IS draws more on social theories than elsewhere. Its contribution in presenting a profile of European research in the IS field lies in identifying particular characteristics of the European style of research that can be compared to that undertaken in other parts of the world.
92 citations
Dissertation•
05 Nov 2007TL;DR: In this paper, a demarche collaborative de comprehension and resolution of problemes decisionnels and informationnels is presented, and notre reflexion se portera sur la modelisation des activites de recherche d'information engendrees par la demande and plus particulierement sur la deuxieme etape de cette demarce : the traduction du probleme decisionnel en probleme informationnel.
Abstract: Qu'est-ce qu'un probleme informationnel ? Comment et par qui est-il defini ? Celui-ci n'existerait jamais seul... Il s'enchâsserait dans une dynamique decisionnelle a laquelle il emprunterait une histoire, une culture et une memoire. Ainsi, pour etre en mesure de le cerner, il faudrait alors se referer a son origine, c'est-a-dire au probleme decisionnel, dont il ne serait qu'une traduction partielle, et a son geniteur, le decideur, qui est aussi son interprete. Dans le contexte de cette etude, nous porterons notre attention sur l'intelligence economique que nous definirons comme etant une demarche collaborative de comprehension et de resolution de problemes decisionnels et informationnels. Tout en considerant cette demarche, a la fois sur ses aspects informationnels et mediationnels, nous circonscrirons l'intelligence economique a travers une methodologie collective de resolution, composee de huit etapes s'etendant de l'identification d'un probleme decisionnel a la prise de decision. Nous verrons que cette demarche s'appuie, au niveau de l'entreprise, sur une harmonisation de processus et de mediations, structuree autour de deux acteurs et d'une composante : le decideur, le veilleur et l'information. Cette representation triangulaire des differentes relations entre acteurs et composante, prises deux a deux, constituera l'originalite de notre approche. En nous placant du point de vue du veilleur, acteur pivot de ce trinome decisionnel, notre reflexion se portera sur la modelisation des activites de recherche d'information engendrees par la demande et plus particulierement sur la deuxieme etape de cette demarche : la traduction du probleme decisionnel en probleme informationnel. Cette these a ete structuree de maniere a presenter la dualite de ces relations entre ces trois protagonistes. Dans ce contexte decisio-informationnel, cette problematique de traduction serait alors bien plus qu'un rapport de langue a langue : elle serait une concordance de probleme a probleme. Elle demanderait de creer une congruence entre les systemes de preferences et de pertinence de nos deux acteurs, l'interpretation de la demande informationnelle se devant etre dans cette situation, affaire de consensus et de compromis. Pour ce faire, le veilleur aura pour tâche de representer le plus fidelement possible les relations entre les donnees de l'environnement et les enjeux du probleme decisionnel afin de les traduire en indicateurs informationnels, c'est-a-dire de trouver une illustration adaptee permettant de les rendre sensibles au cœur et familiers a la raison du decideur. Ainsi, pour repondre dans les meilleures conditions de delais, qualite et couts a cette demande, nous prendrons pour hypothese qu'il faut agir sur trois processus a travers les info-, inter- et cogito- mediations des relations entre le decideur, le veilleur et l'information. Notre etat de la litterature presentera tout au long des quatre premiers chapitres les processus decider, rechercher et cooperer que nous projetterons dans chacun des espaces des problemes decisionnel et informationnel. Nous etayerons chacun de ces chapitres de propositions, tantot pour caracteriser les processus, les mediations, les acteurs et composantes, tantot pour definir des protocoles pour asseoir la collaboration des acteurs ou pour la reutilisation des informations et des connaissances. Les deux derniers chapitres seront, quant a eux, consacres a la description du modele WISP et du prototype METIORE qui l'instancie. Ils constitueront, avec les propositions des precedents chapitres, l'apport de nos travaux dans les domaines de la recherche d'information et de l'intelligence economique. Ils ont ete concus tout deux pour servir d'appui cognitif pour la resolution du probleme informationnel du veilleur et pour etre une interface de communication entre ce dernier et le decideur afin de developper les echanges au sein de la collaboration de resolution de ce, ou de ces problemes...
92 citations