scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Book

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

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
Journal ArticleDOI
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)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
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]....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
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)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
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)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
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
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this article, an integrated conceptual framework of employees knowledge sharing capabilities (KSC) which can be used for research enhancement has been proposed, and two capable factors that are considered in this study are technical factor and non-technical factor.
Abstract: Effective managing and sharing of knowledge has the power to improve individual’s lives and society. However, research has shown that people are reluctant to share. Knowledge sharing (KS) involve not only our knowledge, but a process of giving and receiving of knowledge with others. Knowledge sharing capabilities (KSC) is an individual’s capability to share experience, expertise and know-how with other employees in the organization. Previous studies identified many factors affecting KSC either in public or private sectors. Upon a critical review on factors affecting KS and factors affecting KSC, this paper attempts to examine the factors that have been cited as significant in influencing employees KSC within Electronic Government (EG) agencies in Malaysia. Two capable factors that are considered in this study are technical factor and non-technical factor. This paper proposes an integrated conceptual framework of employees KSC which can be used for research enhancement.

56 citations

Proceedings Article
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: This paper draws on the work of Collins and Kusch to introduce notions of polimorphic and mimeomorphic actions before raising implications for the practice of knowledge management.
Abstract: The notion of tacit knowledge has been widely and diversely adopted in the knowledge management literature. It is used to cover knowledge which hasn’t yet been articulated as well as knowledge which various authors argue cannot ever be articulated. This paper seeks to review these differences and proposes a conceptual means of understanding the issues associated with tacit knowledge. It draws on the work of Collins and Kusch to introduce notions of polimorphic and mimeomorphic actions before raising implications for the practice of knowledge management.

56 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identified shared social and social-ecological dynamics, reviewed and categorized in this article, that can create unwanted surprises and problems for conservation efforts, and developed practical solutions that work with group processes and individuals towards shared and positively reinforcing goals, goal structures, and expectations.
Abstract: Successful conservation depends as much on people working together as it does on sound science and good governance. Research on cooperation in businesses, economics, psychology, and natural resource management has identified shared social and social-ecological dynamics, reviewed and categorized in this article, that can create unwanted surprises and problems for conservation efforts. Cooperation may fail when (a) individual and group benefits are in conflict (social dilemmas) or (b) social-ecological systems become caught in problem-causing and problem-enhancing feedbacks (SES traps). Knowing about and recognizing these dynamics can help decision-makers to understand and change key elements of problems and learn from the experiences of others. Social dilemmas have winners and losers, and involve give-some or take-some choices; SES traps are lose-lose situations. Solutions to problems of cooperation in conservation contexts involve identifying the conservation objective and context, diagnosing systemic social dilemmas and SES traps, and developing practical solutions that work with group processes and individuals towards shared and positively reinforcing goals, goal structures, and expectations. Research on cooperation in conservation has largely ignored problems of scale, scaling, and group heterogeneity. The field would benefit from a shift from a probabilistic, empirical approach to a stronger theory-driven, mechanistic, and more diagnostic approach. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

56 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: This paper proposes the design of a two-layer semantic Wiki web, which consists of a content Wiki, largely identical to the traditional web and a semantic layer, also maintained within the Wiki, that describes semantic relationships.
Abstract: E-government webs are among the largest webs in existence, based on the size, number of users and number of information providers. Thus, creating a Semantic Web infrastructure to meaningfully organise e-government webs is highly desirable. At the same time, the complexity of the existing e-government implementations also challenges the feasibility of Semantic Web creation. We therefore propose the design of a two-layer semantic Wiki web, which consists of a content Wiki, largely identical to the traditional web and a semantic layer, also maintained within the Wiki, that describes semantic relationships. This architectural design promises several advantages that enable incremental growth, collaborative development by a large community of non-technical users and the ability to continually grow the content layer without the immediate overhead of parallel maintenance of the semantic layer. This paper explains current challenges to the development of a Semantic Web, identifies Wiki advantages, illustrates a potential solution and summarises major directions for further research.

56 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify and characterise determinants of knowledge transfer and absorption resulting from the specific features of tourism, as well as indicate their consequences for cooperation between stakeholders in a tourist region.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to identify and characterise determinants of knowledge transfer and absorption resulting from the specific features of tourism, as well as to indicate their consequences for cooperation between stakeholders in a tourist region. Applying a created conceptual framework and case study approach (a mountain tourist region in the south of Poland), five groups of determinants are identified: the domination of small and medium-sized enterprises, the fragmentation and diversity of supply, vocational reinforcers, ownership specificity and the regional/local character of tourism. The author shows how these determinants hinder knowledge transfer and absorption, and therefore generally negatively affect cooperation.

56 citations