A study of knowledge management enablers across countries
Rémy Magnier-Watanabe1, Caroline Benton1 and Dai Senoo2
1Graduate School of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan
2Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence: Rémy Magnier-Watanabe, University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Business Sciences, 3-29-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-0012 Japan. Tel: +81 (0) 3-3942-6929; Fax: +81 (0) 03-3942-6929; E-mail: magnier-watanabe.gt@u.tsukuba.ac.jp
Received 6 November 2009; Revised 5 November 2010; Accepted 9 November 2010.
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Abstract
Knowledge has been long cited as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage for organizations. However, the creation of knowledge is a complex process that is influenced by several factors beyond the typical practice of knowledge management (KM). In this research, we assess the effects of leadership, Ba (shared context in motion), organizational culture, organizational control, and work style on KM defined in terms of the SECI process of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. On the basis of data gathered from a questionnaire survey of a Japanese pharmaceutical company and its subsidiaries in the United States, France, and China, we compare how the aforementioned organizational factors influence the processes of KM in these organizations. The results show that organizational factors affect KM practices differently in each of the targeted countries, and suggest that KM activities need to be tailored to the organizational idiosyncrasies of each local office, without betraying the global vision of the corporation.
Keywords:
organization; Japan; knowledge management; SECI; culture
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Introduction
Knowledge management (KM) has been recognized as being central to product and process innovation, executive decision making, and organizational adaptation and renewal (Earl, 2001). However, existing KM frameworks – that distinguish, for instance, knowledge from information or explicit knowledge from tacit knowledge – do not easily suggest what KM interventions or investments an organization should make. Zack (1998) cites several field studies related to the motivating factors for KM projects (Davenport et al., 1998; Leidner, 1998; Ruggles, 1998), and states that the link between KM and business strategy, although frequently mentioned, has been widely ignored in practice.
In the resource-based view of the firm, internal resources and capabilities are the main source of competitive advantage, and firms should position themselves strategically based on their unique, valuable, and inimitable resources and capabilities rather than on the external positioning of products and services derived from those capabilities (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Grant, 1991; Collis & Montgomery, 1995; Barney, 1996). When viewed as a dynamic organizational capability, KM can help the firm innovate to achieve congruence with the changing business environment (Teece et al., 1997; Kusunoki et al., 1998; Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000).
However, KM is a complex process and Turner & Makhija (2006) suggest that ‘any given control mechanism has the capacity to affect both the nature and flow of knowledge in a firm by the manner in which it processes particular attributes of knowledge’ (p. 213). In addition, organizational climate and organizational structure have been recognized as shaping KM (Chen & Huang, 2007). In fact, previous research has shown that the organization of the firm – such as its structure, membership, relationships, and strategy – constrain and influence the nature of KM (Magnier-Watanabe & Senoo, 2008). There has, however, been little research on how all these factors taken together affect KM, especially in the context of the global business market. This paper investigates the influence of these factors across cultures with a survey of a Japanese pharmaceutical company and its international subsidiaries.
This paper presents in section two the concepts of KM and its enabling factors. Then, section three describes our hypotheses and research model and section four reviews the quantitative analysis conducted on the data set. Section five is a discussion of the study’s findings and section six concludes this research.
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Literature review
Knowledge management
The premise of the ‘knowledge creation theory’ is the supposition that knowledge can be classified as either tacit or explicit (Polanyi, 1966). Tacit knowledge is subjective knowledge that is hard to express with language, diagrams, figures, or numbers: for example, beliefs, points of view, technical skills, and know-how are all forms of tacit knowledge. On the other hand, explicit knowledge is objective and rational and can be expressed with language, numbers, or formulas: texts, equations, technical specifications, and manuals are a few examples.
In the knowledge-creating view of the firm, the conversion process between tacit and explicit knowledge – Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization – helps synthesize subjective knowledge and values into objective and socially shared organizational knowledge (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The knowledge-creation process starts with socialization in which the tacit knowledge of customers and competitors is acquired through the creation of a dense field of interactions. That knowledge is then externalized, or conceptualized, through dialogue into explicit knowledge to be shared within the firm. Next, the explicit knowledge, which is now in a form appropriate for diffusion throughout the organization, is combined with other existing explicit knowledge to form a more complete and practical set of knowledge. Subsequently, organizational members internalize the newly created complex set of explicit knowledge through application and action. Recent empirical studies have shown that there are various styles of managing this organizational knowledge creation process, and that although not all KM styles equally impact performance (Lee & Choi, 2003; Chuang, 2004), both explicit and tacit knowledge should be managed simultaneously toward achieving greater results (Jordan & Jones, 1997). In a survey of Japanese small and medium manufacturing enterprises, Riera et al. (2009) have found that a balance of SECI modes correlated with higher levels of financial performance.
Thus, in today's business environment with its accelerating speed of change, the promotion of the knowledge-creation process expressed by the SECI model is an important method for creating knowledge, and hence innovation, for enhanced competitive advantage.
Several organizational factors have been identified as specifically enabling this process of knowledge creation.
Enabling factors of knowledge creation
Davenport & Prusak (1998) propose that the sharing of knowledge is not a natural act. The knowledge that is held and embodied in the minds of individuals is not usually readily given or received without incentives or an exchange mechanism. The reasons for this reluctance to share knowledge include the characteristics of knowledge itself (e.g. tacit knowledge is very difficult to share), and the individual and organizational barriers such as the reluctance to give away one’s source of power or time and budget constraints, respectively. We focus in this research on the organizational factors influencing KM.
A number of enablers of KM have been recognized in previous research and many of these factors overlap (Von Krogh et al., 2000; Malhotra & Majchrzak, 2004; Baskerville & Dulipovici, 2006). In comparing enablers of knowledge creation across countries, we categorize these organizational factors into five categories – organizational culture, Ba, leadership, organizational control, and work style – consistent with the organizational enabling conditions put forth by Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) and the key success factors of knowledge projects proposed by Davenport & Prusak (1998). The former team of researchers identified five enablers of knowledge creation at the organizational level: intention, autonomy, fluctuation and creative chaos, redundancy, and requisite variety (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The latter team recommended several factors leading to knowledge project success, such as knowledge-oriented culture, technical and organizational infrastructure, senior management support, modicum of process orientation, clarity of vision and language, and multiple channels for knowledge transfer (Davenport & Prusak, 1998).
We focus in this study on Davenport & Prusak’s (1998) enabling conditions and proceed to compare their relative importance for KM across different cultures.
Organizational culture
The first factor, organizational culture, is described as a system of shared meaning held by organizational members that distinguishes one organization from another (Schein, 2004). This system of shared meaning allows members to understand the context and underlying meaning of the knowledge being shared. Organizational culture also serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behaviours of employees (Robbins, 2000). In other words, organizational culture will determine, to a large extent, how members interact with one another. For example, a culture that is open and encourages discussion will promote communication and knowledge sharing, whereas an organizational culture that fuels suspicion and power struggle will greatly inhibit the free sharing and exchange of knowledge, which is a source of power, among organizational members. Von Krogh et al. (2000) propose that a culture of care, where organizational members are mutually interested in the progress and well-being of one another, is necessary for active knowledge sharing. This construct is consistent with Davenport & Prusak’s (1998) knowledge-oriented culture. For the