Nonaka's SECI Model

Article 1:Introduction to Nonaka's (SECI) Model

This article is about to discuss and evaluate the Nonaka’s SECI Model. This SECI Model is widely accepted by organization of knowledge creation process. The purpose of this article is to criticise Nonaka’s SECI Model with real life situations.

Before the analysis of the Nonaka’s SECI Model, I would like to explain about two types of knowledge’s, the author used in her knowledge creation model.

Tacit Knowledge: It means the person who has the knowledge internally. It means he has got the knowledge from the experience. So, I could say that this is the one called Internal Knowledge.

Explicit Knowledge: It means the person, who will get the knowledge from out side the environment. So, I could say that this is what called External knowledge.


1. Introduction to SECI Model

Lkujiro Nonaka and Hirakata Takeuvchi (1995), proposed a model of the knowledge creation process to understand the dynamic nature of knowledge creation and how to manage the process effectively within the organization. They proposed four steps of knowledge creation called SECI model. The SECI stand for Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization;
Socialization – “Sharing and creating tacit knowledge through direct experience.” (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)
Reflection: The person, who gaining the knowledge with direct interaction with other people, Eg: Within the Buffalo group each members are sharing their tacit knowledge.

Externalization – “Articulating tacit knowledge through dialogue and reflection”. (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)
Reflection: During the communication a person’s tacit knowledge is understood by other personals. It means that tacit knowledge of a person is converted or transformed into explicit knowledge.
Eg: The Buffalo organization members having discussion with AEGIS organization, the knowledge of Buffalo organization would be the External Knowledge to other AEGIS organization and vice versa.

Combination –“Systemizing and applying explicit knowledge and information”. (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995)
Reflection: Collected explicit knowledge and Information from outside the organization are combined systematically and applied to their organization. It means the explicit knowledge converted into explicit knowledge.
Eg: The knowledge which I gathered from the various journals and books are applied in my articles in this Blog.

Internalization – “Learning and acquiring new tacit knowledge in practice”. (Nonaka and Takeuvchi, 1995)
Reflection: A person is getting the knowledge from various experiences. It means that explicit knowledge gathered by a person by reading, listening, observing, etc…, is converted into tacit knowledge.
Eg: Reading journals, listening lectures, watching news gives me knowledge.

2. Criticism of Nonaka's SECI Model

Before criticising about Nonaka’s views, I would like to discuss some criticisms given by different authors for Nonaka’s SECI Model;
Gourlay (2006) argues that combination and internalization appear to be ambiguous notions that conflate knowledge creation and transfer in Nonaka’s theory.
Kodama, Guerrieri and Pietrobelli, (2004,2005, 2007),they implemented SECI model in the firms based on their research says; “there is no general unique way of creating knowledge because although the underlying processes could be always the same industry, country and / or cluster considerations sculpt organizational learning, and even these contextual conditions face ongoing evolution and change”.

Becerra-Fernandez and Sabherwal (2001), “for example, show that each of the SECI modes is dependent on the presence of appropriate task characteristics and these characteristic unknown”.

Engestrom’s (1999), “Discovery that problem finding is an important part of innovation missing from the SECI model”.


Criticism for Nonaka’s SECI Model in my view

In some situations an expert in a particular job will have difficulties in expressing his/her knowledge of experience as they do not have a good art of teaching.
In some organization like NASA, FBI, and some criminal detectives, the staff members are not allowed to share their expertise with other members of organization due to security and confidentiality purpose. So the knowledge of an organization is not allowed to transform into all process of SECI model.
In my first example Socialization is limited to certain extent. In my second examples Externalization is limited or not applicable, but Socialization process will take place as the knowledge sharing is allowed within the organization.

Some leading companies such as Unilever do not share their knowledge of manufacturing with the other similar companies due to competition of capturing the market. Here Externalization knowledge is not used or restricted to a certain extent.

Patent of an invention by a person or a particular organization restricts or limits the transformation of knowledge or information from a person or from an organization to another organization. In this example SECI model is partly applicable.

Nonaka’s Knowledge Management Model (1995) is mostly discussed based on Japanese working environment. But different countries have different employment culture.

E.g. in Japanese working environment they tend to work in the same organisation for a long period, but in Sri Lanka, people change their jobs frequently, especially in private sector. This type of situations creates problems in the Socialization process, because when people employed in new organization they get their knowledge from direct superior in the working environment. If people keep changing their jobs frequently, the Socialization process will not workout or not gives a success in the organization knowledge creation.


3. Applying SECI Model to My Past Employment

In Sri Lanka when I worked at the government sectors I observed that most of the staff do not share their knowledge with their colleague and they hesitate to do, because of getting higher position in the office. As I joined a junior staff I had to see many colleagues to get simple information to carry out a single task. So in my view socialization process is not fully applicable for this type of organization.

Another thing I observed at government sector is that staffs do not like to socialise with the other organization compare to private sectors. The reason I could say that the private sectors management mainly aim to maximize their profit, but the government sectors just provide service rather than aiming the profit. Therefore the private sectors arrange many joint projects and staff training joined with other organizations. Here Nonaka’s of Externalization process is very rarely applicable at government sectors than private sectors.

Also I would like to discuss another example that in government sectors staffs don’t like innovative ideas coming into the organization. And also they don’t like to apply those innovative ideas in the organizations. For example when I was working at the United Nations in Sri Lanaka, I have been requested to collect and interpret disseminating data within all government, non-government, and private sectors. I maintained a database call Coordination and Planning Systems (CAPS) to all government, non government, and private sectors and allowed to access all the data. And also I had to conduct training for all the staff how to update and access database.
As I observed in this job, private and non government sectors quickly adapted to the system and gave feed back every month but, the government sector did not adapt and response quickly and they faced difficulties to do the task routine basis.
If the government organization cannot apply new innovative ideas in a routine basis even after training, how Nonaka’s knowledge creation process could be applicable in this case?

Another situation I could say is, when I worked at the UN in Sri Lanka, I visited Tsunami and war affected areas with some foreign aid workers. Mostly people in rural areas are shy and hesitate to have conversation with foreign aid workers, and also they could not speak English. So my question is how SECI model is applicable for knowledge creation process in this situation?


4. Conclusion

All four knowledge creation process of the SECI model could completely applicable in very rare situations, but in my experience and my learned knowledge I could conclude that the complete application of SECI model to an organization is not acceptable, but possible to apply partially. There are so many factors such as organization culture, language, competition, security, confidentiality of data, etc.., are influencing the successful application of SECI model.

5. References

Haghirian P., (2003). Does Culture Really Matter? Cultural Influences on the Knowledge Transfer Process within Multinational Corporations

Hamel G., Doz Y. and Prahalad C. K. (1989). Collaborate with your competitors, and win.
Harvard Business Review, 67 (2)

Gregorio Martin-de-Castro, Pedro Lopez-Saez and Jose E.Navas-Lopez. (2007). Process of knowledge creation in knowledge-intensive firms: Empirical evidence from Boston’s Route 128 and Spain.

Nonaka I. & Takeuchi H. (1995), "The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation", Oxford University Press.

Polanyi, M. 1966, The tacit Dimension, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co.

Tom De Geytere (2007), "Unified model of dynamic organisational knowledge creation"
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