CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 17,809Knowledge Management and SharingInnovation and Knowledge ManagementOrganizational Learning and Leadership

A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation

Nonaka, Ikujiro·1994·Organization Science
DOI 10.1287/orsc.5.1.14
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This paper proposes a paradigm for managing the dynamic aspects of organizational knowledge creating processes. Its central theme is that organizational knowledge is created through a continuous dialogue between tacit and explicit knowledge. The nature of this dialogue is examined and four patterns of interaction involving tacit and explicit knowledge are identified. It is argued that while new knowledge is developed by individuals, organizations play a critical role in articulating and amplifying that knowledge. A theoretical framework is developed which provides an analytical perspective on the constituent dimensions of knowledge creation. This framework is then applied in two operational models for facilitating the dynamic creation of appropriate organizational knowledge.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1287/orsc.5.1.14

Cites

65 of 65 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The SECI model of knowledge creation provides empirically testable design principles for AI agent memory architecture.

    “We propose that the SECI model of knowledge creation (Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995) provides empirically testable design principles for AI agent memory architecture.”

    From From Organizational Knowledge to AI Agent Memory: Empirical Validation of the SECI Model on the LongMemEval Benchmark (2026) · cites this paper as Nonaka 1994

  • The SECI model describes organizational knowledge creation through four modes: Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization.

    “Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) proposed that organizational knowledge is created through a continuous spiral of four conversion modes.”

    From From Organizational Knowledge to AI Agent Memory: Empirical Validation of the SECI Model on the LongMemEval Benchmark (2026) · cites this paper as Nonaka 1994

  • The organizational knowledge creation theory proposes that new knowledge is created through processes of tacit and explicit conversion: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization.

    “The organizational knowledge creation theory proposes that the new knowledge is created through processes of tacit and explicit conversion: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (Erden, Von Krogh, & Nonaka, 2008;Nonaka, Toyama, & Konno, 2000;Nonaka, 1994).”

    From Linking knowledge management, organizational learning and memory (2020) · cites this paper as Nonaka, 1994

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 66 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Nonaka, I.
Affiliations
Hitotsubashi University (JP)
Corresponding author
Nonaka, Ikujiro
ORCID
Nonaka, Ikujiro
Venue
Organization Science
Publisher
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
Published
1994-02
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
14-37
ISSN
  • 1047-7039 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-5455
DOI
10.1287/orsc.5.1.14
OpenAlex
W2132454116
Cited by
17,809
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 506 · 2025: 438 · 2024: 460 · 2023: 529 · 2022: 717 · 2021: 722 · 2020: 732 · 2019: 776 · 2018: 777 · 2017: 820 · 2016: 706 · 2015: 887 · 2014: 922 · 2013: 1016 · 2012: 944
FWCI
409.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Organization Science (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Knowledge Management and Sharing
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Learning and Leadership
Keywords
organizational knowledge creation, tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, knowledge creation process, knowledge management, knowledge articulation

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review