Extensive literature on organisational knowledge creation exists; foundational in the field is the work of Peter Drucker (1959) who first identified the importance of knowledge as a factor of production. Further research into the relevance of knowledge within an organisation is founded on the resource based view (RBV) of the firm. These studies outline how competitive advantage lies in the application of rare and inimitable resources and knowledge theorists including Drucker (1959; 1993), Nonaka (1994; 2000; 2009), Spender (1996) and Grant (1996) argue that it is an organisation’s ability to create, harness and utilise knowledge that optimises competitive advantage.
IMPORTANCE
Taking a RBV perspective, organisational knowledge can be defined as specific knowledge that a firm possesses and uses to add value to the incoming factors of production in a unique manner in order to gain competitive advantage; while organisational knowledge creation can be described as the process of eliciting, harnessing and amplifying knowledge created within the individual and linking this newly codified knowledge to an organisation’s existing knowledge system. The strategic use of this newly codified knowledge can provide an impetus for innovation and, if difficult to replicate, a firm can lever its use to gain competitive advantage over competitors. Moreover, newly acquired knowledge at an individual level can enhance performances in problem-solving, decision making and developing a standardised approach to specialised tasks.
PAPER PURPOSE
The author reviews the extant literature relating to knowledge creation within an organisational setting and explores the externalisation phase of knowledge creation, with specific focus on the articulation of tacit knowledge into explicit form, in pursuit of new knowledge. The underlying objective is to create a narrative synthesising the historical and current theoretical debates around the externalisation phase of knowledge creation.
THEORETICAL BASE
The most widely accepted knowledge creation model was introduced by Nonaka in 1994, in which he outlined how tacit and explicit knowledge are used interchangeably in a spiraling interaction to create new knowledge in an organisational setting. The four-mode process of socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalization (SECI) is exhibited in a model of knowledge dimensions that explains how tacit and explicit knowledge combine to create new knowledge.
While widespread literature into the relationship between the tacit and explicit knowledge domains in terms of knowledge creation exists (Alipour et al., 2011; Bratianu and Orzea, 2010; Hamieza and Amirreza, 2012; Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Nonaka et al., 2000; Polanyi, 1966; Spender, 1996), these studies consistently identify the difficulty in managing the interchange from tacit to explicit knowledge. Acknowledging how the tacit knowledge domain constitutes a cornerstone in knowledge creation the externalisation mode, which can be defined as the process of articulating tacit knowledge in to a more comprehensible explicit form in order for it to be understood by others (Hoon Song et al., 2011; Janhonen and Johanson, 2011; Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Tee and Lee, 2013), has been identified by theorists as a key area for future research (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka and von Krogh, 2009).
REFERENCES
Alipour, F., Idris, K. and Karimi, R. (2011) 'Knowledge Creation and Transfer: Role of Learning Organization', International Journal of Business Administration, 2(3), pp. 61.
Bratianu, C. and Orzea, I. (2010) 'Organisational Knowledge Creation', Management & Marketing Challenges for Knowledge Society, 5(3), pp. 41-62.
Drucker, P. F. (1959) The Landmarks of Tomorrow. New York: Harper & Row.
Drucker, P. F. (1993) Post-Capitalist Society. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Grant, R. M. (1996) 'Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm', Strategic Management Journal, 17(Special Issue), pp. 109-122.
Hamieza, M. and Amirreza, F. (2012) 'Challenges in Managing Tacit Knowledge: A Study on Difficulties in Diffusion of Tacit Knowledge in Organizations', International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(19), pp. 303-308.
Hoon Song, J., Uhm, D. and Won Yoon, S. (2011) 'Organizational knowledge creation practice', Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 32(3), pp. 243-259.
Janhonen, M. and Johanson, J.-E. (2011) 'Role of knowledge conversion and social networks in team performance', International Journal of Information Management, 31(3), pp. 217-225.
Nonaka, I. (1994) 'A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation', Organization Science, 5(1), pp. 14-37.
Nonaka, I. and Konno, N. (1998) 'The Concept of "Ba": Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation', California Management Review, 40(3), pp. 40-54.
Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nonaka, I., Toyama, R. and Konno, N. (2000) 'SECI, Ba and Leadership: a Unified Model of Dynamic Knowledge Creation', Long Range Planning, 33(1), pp. 5-34.
Nonaka, I. and von Krogh, G. (2009) 'Tacit Knowledge and Knowledge Conversion: Controversy and Advancement in Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory', Organization Science, 20(3), pp. 635-652.
Polanyi, M. (1966) The Tacit Dimension. New York: Doubleday.
Spender, J. C. (1996) 'Making Knowledge the Basis of a Dynamic Theory of the Firm', Strategic Management Journal, 17, pp. 45-62.
Tee, M. Y. and Lee, S. S. (2013) 'Advancing understanding using Nonaka’s model of knowledge creation and problem-based learning', International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 8(3), pp. 313-331.
