SECI model of knowledge dimensions

The SECI model of knowledge dimensions is a model of knowledge creation that explains how tacit and explicit knowledge are converted into organisational knowledge. The SECI model distinguishes four knowledge dimensions – socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization – which together form the acronym "SECI". The SECI model was originally developed by Ikujiro Nonaka in 1990[1] and later further refined by Hirotaka Takeuchi.[2]

Four modes of knowledge conversion
SECI model of knowledge dimensions

The Assumption that knowledge is created through the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge allows us to postulate four different modes of knowledge conversation. They are as follows (1) from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge, which we call socialization; (2) from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, or externalization; (3) from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge, or combination; and (4) from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge, or internalization. [3]

Four modes of knowledge conversion were identified (Figure 1):

  1. Tacit to Tacit (Socialization) – Socialization is from tacit-to-tacit knowledge. It’s a process of sharing knowledge.  Observation, imitation and practice through apprenticeship. Apprentices work with their teachers or mentors to gain knowledge by imitation, observation and practice. In practice, socialization is about capturing knowledge by physical proximity. Direct interaction is supported method to acquire knowledge. [3] Socialization comes from sharing experience with others. It also can come from direct interactions with customers and from inside your own organization, just by interacting with another section or working group. For example, brainstorming with colleagues. The tacit knowledge is transferred by common activity in the organizations, such as being together and living in the same environment. [3]
  2. Tacit to Explicit (Externalization) – Between tacit and explicit knowledge by Externalization (publishing, articulating knowledge), developing factors, which embed the combined tacit knowledge which enable its communication. For example, concepts, images, and written documents can support this kind of interaction. When tacit knowledge is made explicit, knowledge is crystallized, thus allowing it to be shared by others, and it becomes the basis of new knowledge. Externalization is the one of the four modes of the knowledge conversation which holds the key to knowledge creation, cause it creates new, from tacit knowledge to explicit concepts. [4]
  3. Explicit to Explicit (Combination) – Explicit to explicit by Combination (organizing, integrating knowledge), combining different types of explicit knowledge, for example building prototypes. The creative use of computerized communication networks and large-scale databases can support this mode of knowledge conversion. Explicit knowledge is collected from inside or outside the organisation and then combined, edited or processed to form new knowledge. The new explicit knowledge is then disseminated among the members of the organization. [3]
  4. Explicit to Tacit (Internalization) – Explicit to tacit by Internalization (knowledge receiving and application by an individual), enclosed by learning by doing; on the other hand, explicit knowledge becomes part of an individual's knowledge and will be assets for an organization. Internalization is also a process of continuous individual and collective reflection and the ability to see connections and recognize patterns and the capacity to make sense between fields, ideas, and concepts.[3]

After internalization, the process continues at a new 'level', hence the metaphor of a "spiral" of knowledge creation is often referred to as the SECI model.

Nonaka and Konno subsequently developed the SECI model by introducing the Japanese concept of 'Ba', which roughly translates as 'place'. Ba can be thought of as a shared context or shared space in which knowledge is shared, created and utilized. It is a concept that unifies physical space such as an office space, virtual space such as e-mail, and mental space such as shared ideas.[5]

Advantages
  1. Appreciates the dynamic nature of knowledge and knowledge creation.
  2. Provides a framework for management of the relevant processes.

Disadvantages and Criticism of the Model

Although Nonaka’s and Takeuchi’s SECI model is widely well-known and it has achieved paradigmatic status, it has also been much criticized over the years. [6]

  1. It is based on a study of Japanese organizations, which heavily rely on tacit knowledge: employees are often with a company for life.
  2. The linearity of the concept: can the spiral jump steps? Can it go counter-clockwise? Since the model is bi-directional with only two nodes, the answer is yes, but so what? An example would be an elevator in a two-story building. While it may have numbers for the floor to push to go to, it could just as easily function with only a "go" button.
  3. Gourlay (2006) has considered why knowledge conversion has to begin with socialization if tacit knowledge is the source of new knowledge. Knowledge conversion could also begin for example with combination because new knowledge creation would begin with the creative synthesis of explicit knowledge. [6]
  4. The model does not explain at all how new ideas and solutions are developed in practice. [7]


See also

References
  1. Nonaka, I. (1990). Management of Knowledge Creation. Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shinbun-sha.
  2. Xu, F. (2013). The Formation and Development of Ikujiro Nonaka's Knowledge Creation Theory. In G. von Krogh et al. (Eds.), Towards Organizational Knowledge: The Pioneering Work of Ikujiro Nonaka (pp. 60-76). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillann.
  3. Nonaka, Ikujiro; Takeuchi, Hirotaka (1995), The knowledge creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-509269-1
  4. Nonaka, Ikujiro; Takeuchi, Hirotaka (1995), The knowledge creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-509269-1
  5. Nonaka, I. & Konno, N. (1998). The Concept of Ba: Building a Foundation for Knowledge Creation. California Management Review, vol. 40, is. 3, (pp.45).
  6. Gourlay, Stephen (2006). "Conceptualizing Knowledge Creation: A Critique of Nonaka's Theory". Journal of Management Studies. 43 (7): 1415–1416, 1421.
  7. Bereiter, Carl (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge age. Taylor & Francis Group. p. 177. ISBN 0-8058-3943-7.

Further reading
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