Knowledge creation involves developing new content or replacing existing
content within the organization’s tacit and explicit knowledge [Pentland 95]. Creating
(or acquisition) refers to the activity of identifying knowledge in the organization’s
environment and transforming it into a representation that can be internalized, and/or
used within an organization [Holsapple 99]. Nonaka has proposed the knowledge
creation model (called SECI model as shown in figure II.2) to explain how the
knowledge is created in the organization [Nonaka 95].
The model implies that the knowledge is created when converted from tacit
knowledge into explicit knowledge and combined with explicit knowledge from
others. Then, the new tacit knowledge is obtained when it was internalized by a
learning process. The new knowledge is created in the socialization mode in the
model. Knowledge creation also refers to ability to combine new knowledge with
experience in order to create new tacit knowledge. This process mostly occurred
inside human. There is no effective information technology that supports creating tacit
knowledge in humans directly, but the collaborative tools such as telephone, live chat,
discussion board, etc. could support knowledge workers to create new knowledge as
well.