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In their highly influential book, The Knowledge Creating Company,
Japanese business academics Nonaka and Takeuchi examine the processes
required for effective knowledge creation. They define knowledge
creation as the result of the spiralling process of interaction
between tacit knowledge (or know-how, which is hard to express but
can be demonstrated) and explicit knowledge (which can be articulated
in words).
There are four key processes through which tacit and explicit knowledge
interact, namely, socialisation, externalisation, combination and
internalisation. Together, these processes make up the SECI principles
(see figure below), which provide a set of pointers that can be
used by managers to ensure that they are facilitating effective
knowledge and learning in their ongoing projects and programmes.
 Detailed
description of the process
Socialisation consists in sharing tacit knowledge with others
by way of mentoring (sharing internal knowledge, skills and insights).
Tacit knowledge can be socialised by mentoring, imitation, observation
and practice, all of which result in 'shared knowledge'.
Externalisation creates conceptual knowledge and is the
process of converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. Tacit
knowledge is conceptualised through images or words; in this case,
writing transforms tacit knowledge into an explicit form. This externalised
mode of 'knowledge conversion' is produced as a result of a dialogue
between people who transform tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.
Combination is a mode of knowledge conversion which involves
the combining of different types of explicit knowledge. This happens
when people exchange knowledge, for instance via documents, telephone
and meetings.
Internalisation converts explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge.
It consists in 'learning by doing', which is a process that occurs
when the previous modes of knowledge conversion (socialisation,
externalisation and combination), are internalised in people's minds
as tacit knowledge, which is represented by mental images or models.
Key points/practical tips
- The SECI approach explains in a clear way how knowledge has
first to be generated and codified in order to get transferred.
In other words, there is no way that knowledge can be transferred
if it has not first been generated as well as put into a transferable
format.
- The approach clearly explains how tacit and explicit knowledge
have to be exchanged and transformed in order that new knowledge
is generated.
- Not all tacit knowledge can be converted into explicit knowledge,
and so the principles need to be guided by a clear sense of realism.
Example: The learning partnership for Mindanao
In the Philippines, competition for scarce development funding and
worsening social problems have intensified the need for civil society
to learn from mistakes and generate new knowledge in a timely fashion.
In the latter part of 2003, a learning partnership involving eight
organisations was brought together by the lead institution's interest
in testing and validating the notion that bridging sectors can lead
to increased resources and commitment to reduce poverty and increase
equity. Bridging was defined as a method of coordinating the energy,
interests and resources of multiple and diverse actors/stakeholders
in a way that builds trust and stimulates collaborative action.
One key application was to bring together key actors to address
the conflict issue on the island of Mindanao. Addressing the sources
of conflict and decades of neglect for the welfare of the Muslim
population in Mindanao requires a continued, comprehensive and integrated
approach from all sectors. The collaborating organisations piloted
an approach towards the development of a replicable methodology
that could be applied in other municipalities and regions of the
Philippines, and in other countries. A key element here was how
to establish the connection between experience in the field and
theory development. The system for managing knowledge creation was
built on the SECI principle, which had the benefits of: i) ensuring
that staff participating in the initiative had the opportunity to
reflect on their experience and heighten their own learning; ii)
ensuring that the new approach did not become an isolated process
and that learning permeated within each institution as well as in
the learning partnership; and iii) generating a robust methodology
for replication elsewhere. See: www.cpi.cam.ac.uk/pccp/PartnMatters3.pdf.
Sources and further reading
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