Philippe Byosiere

Knowledge domains and knowledge conversion: an empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present evidence of how different domains of knowledge (basic, experiential, emotional and innovative knowledge) relate to knowledge conversion processes (socialization, externalization, combination and internalization) in the firm.Design/methodology/approach – Confirmatory principal component analyses were performed on knowledge domain and knowledge conversion variables. Path analyses, based on stepwise multiple regressions, were performed in order to determine the strength and directionality of the relationships between the four processes of knowledge conversion and the four knowledge domains.Findings – The results indicate that knowledge based on experience impacts the conversion of tacit knowledge within an organization, leading to innovative knowledge and competitive advantage. Emotional knowledge impacts the knowledge conversion process similarly. Only basic knowledge impacts the explicit components of combination.Research limitations/implications – First, t...

Diffusion of organisational innovation: knowledge transfer through social networks

This paper discusses the linkages between Social Network Theory (Granovetter, 1973) and Organisational Knowledge Theory (Polanyi, 1966; Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka et al., 2001) as it relates to the diffusion of organisational innovation within large organisations. The focus is on examining these theoretical interrelationships in three case studies, delving into major change projects in three large telecommunications firms. The findings indicate that weak ties are vital when the focus is on explicit knowledge, while strong ties are vital when the focus is on tacit knowledge. Further, a model is posed to expand this theoretical interrelationship to include a third dimension: the knowledge source.

Japanese corporations: gender differences in re‐defining tacit knowledge

Purpose – This research aims to examine differences in male and female tacit knowledge conversion behaviours in Japan, essentially marrying the studies from knowledge creation and gender‐based management in an Asian context.Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from a sample of 986 junior, middle and senior level managers in a Japanese firm, of which 14 per cent are women, examining socialisation variables from Nonakas SECI model.Findings – The study finds that female managers in Japan believe they attach more importance and perceive that they allocate more time to tacit knowledge socialisation variables than do males for all of the variables in question, although they rank the importance of the variables in much the same way.Research implications/implications – The study concludes that Kingston may be correct in his description of a “demographic time bomb” in Japanese society, as women begin to undertake similar management behaviours as men.Practical implications – Women focus on or show a pr...

Project Management Processes across Borders: A Comparison of Eu-US Corporate Subsidiary Project Activities

This paper examines how project management activities vary in the corporate subsidiary of a multinational enterprise. The results of this case study indicate a pattern of direct, more simplistic activities in European operations, while a more complex pattern of project management activities operates in the North American subsidiary. Implications for this firms efforts to transfer processes between divisions and to become “one global company” are discussed along with directions for future research.

Linking intellectual capital and knowledge management: an analysis of Kyoto and Detroit

The successes and failures of Detroit and Kyoto, from intellectual capital and organizational knowledge perspectives, are compared in terms of their similarities and differences as they both strive to maintain an accepted level of social development, global adjustment and urban quality of life. This paper examines the state of development of the four domains of knowledge in Detroit and Kyoto from a historical perspective, applies that analysis to the current state of knowledge and identifies linkages between intellectual capital and knowledge development.

Honda: Serendipity or Strategy from 1997–2007?

Serendipity or strategy? What Las Vegas bookie could have set the odds that one day in Detroit, the ‘motor city’, a robot called Asimo, developed by Japanese automobile giant Honda, would conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to ‘The Impossible Dream’ from the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha? Yet, such an event took place on 15 May 2008 in order to stimulate interest in mathematics and science among America’s youth. It is a sign of the changing times that with Takeo Fukui at the helm, Honda is back on the track of its innovative, creative and risk-taking roots that exemplified the life of its founder, Soichiro Honda. But not all is rosy at Honda: February 2008 saw the announcement of the closing of its motorcycle plant, opened in 1973 in Marysville, Ohio, despite having a US market share of 25 per cent. Honda also announced the closing of its motorcycle plant in Hamamatsu in order to consolidate heavy motorcycle production under one roof in Kyushu. However, on the other hand, in February 2007 Honda decided to open its aircraft headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, close to the site where the Wright brothers pioneered at Kitty Hawk, to manufacture the Hondajet targeted at an increasingly wealthy customer base in North America and Europe. These two major strategic decisions are strong indications that current CEO and Honda visionary Takeo Fukui is taking the company back to what founder Soichiro Honda envisioned as a global technological innovator pursuing new frontiers.