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
More filters
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)....
[...]
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]....
[...]
...Collaboration is seen as one of the key manners in which knowledge is transmitted and created within the organization [49, 74, 87, 89, 98]....
[...]
...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]....
[...]
...Nonaka and Takeuchi [87] develop a new organizational...
[...]
...Collaboration between individuals is also the basis for the socialization of knowledge [87]....
[...]
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)....
[...]
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....
[...]
...Not surprisingly, the process of innovation is commonly equated with an ongoing pursuit of harnessing new and unique knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995)....
[...]
...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)....
[...]
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)....
[...]
...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)....
[...]
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the factors that nurture innovation in logistics services, identify the contributions of the new "resources" and, using industry examples, examine the application of these resources to logistics firms as they assume an extended role within the new business model.
Abstract: Service industries hold an increasingly dynamic and pivotal role in today's knowledge‐based economies. The logistics industry is a classic example of the birth and development of a vital new service‐based industry, transformed from the business concept of transportation to that of serving the entire logistical needs of customers. Quantum advances in science, technology, and communication in the new millennium have compelled firms to consider the potential of the so‐called new “resources” (technology, knowledge and relationship networks) that are essential if firms are to operate effectively within the emerging business model, and to utilise the opportunities to innovate and gain market leadership. Through an extensive literature review, this paper examines the factors that nurture innovation in logistics services, identifies the contributions of the new “resources” and, using industry examples, examines the application of these resources to logistics firms as they assume an extended role within the new business model.
430 citations
TL;DR: Using Polanyi's theories, it will be shown how intranet documents can be used to make tacit knowledge tangible without becoming explicit, suggesting that tacitly expressed entities are not necessarily beyond the reach of information technology.
Abstract: Although tacit knowledge constitutes the major part of what we know, it is difficult for organizations to fully benefit from this valuable asset. This is because tacit knowledge is inherently elusive, and in order to capture, store, and disseminate it, it is argued that it first has to be made explicit. However, such a process is difficult, and often fails due to three reasons: (1) we are not necessarily aware of our tacit knowledge, (2) on a personal level, we do not need to make it explicit in order to use it, and (3) we may not want to give up a valuable competitive advantage. During an empirical study of recommender system usage, it was noticed how such technology could be used to circumvent these problems, and make tacit knowledge, in the form of our professional interests, available to the organization as a whole. Using Polanyi's theories, it will be shown how intranet documents can be used to make tacit knowledge tangible without becoming explicit, suggesting that tacitly expressed entities are not necessarily beyond the reach of information technology.
428 citations
TL;DR: A theory of the origins of network structures, specifically of structural holes, is developed and test, building and testing a theoretical framework proposing that network structures emerge from the interplay of two complementary forces: structural constraints and network opportunities.
Abstract: We develop and test a theory of the origins of network structures, specifically of structural holes, building and testing a theoretical framework proposing that network structures emerge from the interplay of two complementary forces: structural constraints and network opportunities. We analyze data on a co-membership network among 501 production teams in the Italian TV production industry tracked over a period of 12 years, explicitly accounting for endogeneity. We find that structural holes spanned by teams originate from the prior status and centrality of teams that members were part of in the past, in addition to structural holes spanned in the past. But a focal team spans fewer structural holes if its members were part of cohesive teams earlier and if the past teams they were connected to produced similar artistic content. We also demonstrate that spanning structural holes is associated with superior team performance in terms of greater viewership. The results support both opportunity exploitation and...
425 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study the trade-off between internal vs. external, amount of prior transactions, and capabilities, and find that when uncertainty is low, the decision is made primarily on the basis of differences in technical capabilities, while at extreme levels of uncertainty, the value of internal supply relationships becomes very high and past relationships lose their significance.
Abstract: How do firms select a supplier for an innovative component? Three literatures speak to this question. Transaction cost economics focuses on the value of internalization, the literature on inter-firm relationships on the value of past relationships, and the firm capabilities literature on the value of superior capabilities. Choosing a supplier means choosing a bundle of these characteristics—internal vs. external, amount of prior transactions, and capabilities—but no study has integrated all three characteristics, making it impossible to understand the trade-offs involved either theoretically or managerially. I propose and test a model integrating all three factors, allowing us to understand the trade-offs involved. I find that when uncertainty is low, the decision is made primarily on the basis of differences in technical capabilities. As uncertainty increases, prior relationships and a supplier being internal take on greater positive significance relative to the importance of technical capabilities. At extreme levels of uncertainty, the value of internal supply relationships becomes very high and past relationships lose their significance. While adherents of each literature have criticized the others for what they omit, this model moves beyond this mutual recrimination by incorporating the key concerns of each literature, setting the stage for future research that draws upon the strength of each. The model provides guidance for any situation where a firm must chose a partner under uncertainty. Lastly, it addresses the strategic question of how companies should organize in the long run to access the capabilities needed for competitive success. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
408 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model of innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in upstream supply chains is proposed, and factors internal and external to the relationship that moderate the link between interaction and innovation generation.
Abstract: Innovation generation has increasingly been recognized as an outcome of interaction between a firm and various outside entities. According to this view, supplier involvement and alliances are routes to innovation generation. Despite this realization, there is a dearth of research, both conceptual and empirical, focusing on innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in supply chains. In an attempt to fill this void, this article develops a conceptual model of innovation generation in buyer-seller relationships in upstream supply chains. The authors propose that innovation generation in supply chain relationships, both incremental and radical, is a consequence of interactions between buyers and sellers. They also delineate factors internal and external to the relationship that moderate the link between interaction and innovation generation. Finally, the authors discuss managerial implications of their research and offer guidelines for future empirical research.
405 citations