The Nonaka and Takeuchi

Knowledge Spiral Model

Cristina Pascari
Rita Nagylaki
22.03.2016

Ikujiro NonakaandHirotaka
Takeuchi
Leading Japenese experts
Create new knowledge to produce

successful products and

technologies
The Knowledge-Creating Company
(1995)

Roots of the model

Holistic

model of knowledge and the

management of serendipity

Tacit/explicit individual/group/
spectrum of organizational
knowledge forms knowledge sharing
and diffusion
are needed to create knowledge and produce innovation

Two types of knowledge

Explicit

(contained in manuals and

procedures)
Tacit (learned by experience)
US managers: explicit
Japanese: tacit key to their success
how to transform tacit into explicit
knowledge
Oneness of humanity and nature, body
and mind

The Knowledge-Creating
Company
How

Japanese companies go about

creating this new knowledge
organizationally
Illustrate it with case studies (Honda,
Canon, GE)
middle-up-down approach

SECI model
First proposed by Nonaka in 1991
How explicit and tacit knowledge is

generated, transferred and recreated

Making personal knowledge available to
others in the company
Takes place continuously and occurs at
all levels of the organization

SECI model
First

was first proposed within the

context of business organizations, the
model was easily applied to education,
as proved by Lin, Lin, and Huang (2008)
and Yeh, Huang, and Yeh (2011)
Making personal knowledge available to
others is at the core of this KM model
and for these reasons its application into
education was easy

SECI model
First

was first proposed within the

context of business organizations, the
model was easily applied to education,
as proved by Lin, Lin, and Huang (2008)
and Yeh, Huang, and Yeh (2011)
Making personal knowledge available to
others is at the core of this KM model
and for these reasons its application into
education was easy

SECI model
More

details of the 4 modes of

knowledge conversion

socialization (tacit to tacit),

externalization (tacit to explicit),
combination (explicit to explicit), and
internalization (explicit to tacit).

SECI model

Socialization is the process of sharing tacit

knowledge through observation, imitation,
practice, and participation in formal and
informal communities. It is usually preempted
by the creation of a physical/virtual space
where a given community can interact on a
social level

Externalization is the process of articulating

tacit knowledge into explicit concepts. Since
tacit knowledge is highly internalized, this
process is the key to knowledge sharing and
creation

SECI model

Combination is the process of integrating

concepts into a knowledge system. Some
examples would be a synthesis in the form of a
review report, a trend analysis, a brief
executive summary, or a new database to
organize content.

Internalization is the process of embodying

explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge

The interplay between tacit and explicit

knowledge looks something like this:

SECI model

SECI model

Ba is an integral concept in the SECI model.

This term from original Japanese is often
described as a context within which knowledge
is shared, created, and utilized

For ex. a teacher virtual community is a ba. As

with the modes of knowledge conversion
delineated by Nonaka (1991), there are four
categories of ba.

SECI model

Originating ba can be the place where individuals

interact (virtually or face to face)

Dialoguing ba can be sharing of tacit knowledge
among professionals to create knowledge. Ex. Proff
chat on a forum, their tacit knowledge used to
inform individual and collective classroom practices.
Systemizing ba the analysis and measure of
created knowledge once it is applied in practice.
Exercising ba based on the findings delineated
above, best practices can be improved

The interplay between the 4 types of ba looks like this:

SECI model

SECI model

Nonaka and Takeuchi also delineated 4 knowledge assets that

are considered indispensable to enhance the value of a firm.
Once again, these 4 knowledge assets can be easily applied to
educational institutions:
Experiential knowledge assets tacit knowledge via common
experience
Conceptual Knowledge assets explicit knowledge expressed
via images, symbols and language
Routine Knowledge assets tacit knowledge routinized in
actions and practices
Systemic Knowledge assets systemized and packaged
explicit knowledge
more details on these assets:

SECI model