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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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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01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: The concept map tool CmapTools as discussed by the authors is a tool for facilitating meaningful learning, better curriculum development, capturing and archiving tacit and explicit expert knowledge, and enhancing creative production.
Abstract: This text presents the origin of the concept map tool and some of the early history in the development of this tool. Some of the ideas from Ausubel’s (1963; 1968) assimilation theory of cognitive learning that served as a foundation for concept mapping are presented, including the important role that assimilating new concepts and propositions into a learner’s existing cognitive framework plays in meaning making. Epistemological foundations are also presented including the idea that creative production of new knowledge can be seen as a very high level of meaningful learning, and concept mapping can facilitate the process. The wide range of tools available in free CmapTools software and some applications are illustrated, including application for facilitating meaningful learning, better curriculum development, capturing and archiving tacit and explicit expert knowledge, and enhancing creative production. Using CmapTools, WWW resources, and other digital resources provide for a powerful New Model for Education leading to the creation of individual knowledge portfolios that can document signifi cant learning and serve as a foundation for future related learning. CmapTools also provides extensive support for collaboration, publishing and sharing of knowledge models.
68 citations
TL;DR: This paper is the first to examine the managerially assessed structure of KM practices in a cross-country context with multi-firm datasets and provides a novel concept of KM Practices, which is tested in across-national context.
Abstract: Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the emerging discussion on the contextualization of knowledge-oriented research by examining the universality of knowledge management (KM) practices. Knowledge is a firm’s most valuable resource, and KM, or the ability to leverage knowledge resources, constitutes the base for the firm’s competitive advantages.
Design/methodology/approach
A theorized ten-fold conceptualization of KM practices is tested on a sample of 622 firms from four countries (Finland, Spain, China and Russia). Confirmatory factor analysis and principal component analysis are used to test the applicability of the concept in various country contexts.
Findings
The findings provide interesting evidence of variation in the managerial assessment of KM practices among countries. This shows that KM practices are socially embedded phenomena, affected by the managers’ institutional and cultural contexts.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers and managers are advised to be mindful of the differences in terms of KM practices between the studied countries and to display a certain cultural sensitivity when approaching KM.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to examine the managerially assessed structure of KM practices in a cross-country context with multi-firm datasets. The results will help to determine the similarity of KM practices in four economically and culturally distinct countries. It also adds to the discussion about the potential national peculiarities of KM and provides a novel concept of KM practices, which is tested in a cross-national context. Thus, this study provides an outline for future KM studies and increases managerial understanding about the variety of value-creating KM practices.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative case-based analysis of interviews in firms entering foreign markets suggests that the combination of different knowledge types held by a firm is an important factor in reducing the risk of misappropriation of knowledge.
Abstract: Previous work on the choice of mode of entry into foreign markets highlights the central role of knowledge and the attributes of knowledge in choosing an appropriate governance form for its transfer internationally. The literature suggests that protection of knowledge from the threat of opportunism posed by licensees and business partners in other contractual modes is a primary driver of the choice of mode. However, the knowledge construct itself is oversimplified in the entry mode literature and needs more explication to enable a clearer understanding of its implications for entry mode choice. In this article, I examine in depth the variety of different types of knowledge held by firms and how these relate to each other and combine to constitute a source of advantage. A qualitative case-based analysis of semi-structured interviews in firms entering foreign markets suggests that the combination of different knowledge types held by a firm is an important factor in reducing the risk of misappropriation of k...
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, social actors can play a significant role in creating and structuring the "transnational social space" in which the new venture takes shape, exercising strategic choice that can mediate, adapt or even reject the apparently constraining effects of technical or cultural factors.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to develop the foundations of an actor‐centred, processual approach to examining the influence of cross‐border knowledge transfer and management learning on transnational institution building in post‐socialist countries. We argue that there is a need for more research to understand how key social actors go about (re)structuring, (re)defining and sharing knowledge within new international ventures. We contend that social actors can play a significant role in creating and structuring the “transnational social space” in which the new venture takes shape, exercising strategic choice that can mediate, adapt or even reject the apparently constraining effects of technical‐economic or cultural‐institutional factors. The role of social actors is conceptualized as a socio‐political sensemaking process, a perspective that would complement the current structuralist bias in the discussion about the emergence of transnational social space in international management research literature.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine some of the problems associated with the notion of "research by design" and examine the roles of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in theory construction, while clarifying the role of implicit knowledge in reflective practice.
Abstract: Mature theory construction in design research has been hampered by ill-considered ideas. The notion of ‘research by design’ is such an idea, conflating practice and research in ways that make explicit theory development difficult. This article examines some of the problems associated with the notion of ‘research by design’. It also examines the roles of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in theory construction, while clarifying the role of explicit knowledge in reflective practice.
68 citations