The SECI model: the development of the model and the four modes of knowledge

Since the 1990s, knowledge creation has been the subject of theorisation by a number of scholars who base their approach on the work of Nonaka and his colleagues (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka, Toyama and Konno, 2001). The SECI model first emerged in 1993, when Nonaka distributed 105 questionnaires to middle managers in different Japanese manufacturing companies in order to explore how knowledge is created and can be converted between tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka, 1994). The factor analysis of the data suggested four modes of knowledge conversion based on the transformation of tacit and explicit knowledge. It was from this original work that, in 1995, Nonaka and Takeuchi proposed the SECI (socialisation, externalisation, combination, and internalisation) model of knowledge conversion to describe the process of interactions between explicit and tacit knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).

According to the four modes of knowledge conversion, the model is comprised of: (1) socialisation process (converting from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge); (2) externalisation process (converting from tacit knowledge to explicit

knowledge);

(3) combination process (converting from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge); and

(4) internalisation process (converting from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge) (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 61-62).

There are two dimensions considered in the SECI model, which relate to the epistemological and ontological dimensions (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). The first dimension, the epistemological, describes the transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, and the reverse actions, while the ontological describes the transformation of individual knowledge into group knowledge, and group knowledge into organisational knowledge, with possible reverse actions (Bratianu and Orzea, 2010: 15). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) combine these two dimensions, the epistemological dimension (tacit vs. explicit knowledge) and the ontological dimension (individual vs. group knowledge), to explain the spiral process of converting between tacit and explicit knowledge, and moving from individuals to organisation through the SECI model (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).

Nonaka (1994) identifies that new knowledge is essentially created in the transformation between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Moreover, Nonaka and Takeuchi, (1995: 62) consider the SECI model as ‘the engine of knowledge creation’ and they affirm that many Japanese companies have used this model successfully to create new organisational knowledge. The following describes the four processes of the SECI model.

(1) Socialisation

The first stage of the model is the socialisation process, which converts tacit knowledge into new tacit knowledge through shared experiences, ideas or technical skills between individuals, which takes place through everyday social interaction and cultural processes linked to ongoing organisational activities (Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995;Nonaka and Toyama 2003; Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000). Since tacit knowledge is difficult to articulate, formalise, and communicate, the socialisation process typically occurs in apprenticeship type learning such as joint or shared activities, spending time together and working in the same environment rather than through the use of written manuals or textbooks. Equally, it is suggested that it often takes place in informal social meetings both inside and outside the workplace, where tacit knowledge can be created and shared during interaction (Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000). For these reasons, Bratianu and Orzea (2010: 48) believe that ‘the socialisation process is an

opportunity for participating individuals to share their experiences and to learn through a direct exchange of tacit knowledge’.

(2) Externalisation

The next stage in the model is the externalisation process, which converts tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge (Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000). This process occurs when an individual’s tacit knowledge is translated into comprehensible forms that can be understood and expressed by others (Finley and Sathe, 2013: 60). When tacit knowledge is shared amongst others through exchange mechanisms such as two-way dialogue, active listening and the visual depiction of ideas and concepts, it becomes new explicit knowledge, which means such knowledge has been successfully transferred (Little, Quintas and Ray, 2002; Nonaka and Konno, 1998).

It is important to note that Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995: 66) assume that ‘among the four modes of knowledge conversion, externalisation is the key to knowledge creation, because it creates new explicit concepts from tacit knowledge’. When tacit knowledge is made explicit, knowledge is crystallised, allowing it to be shared with others through verbal and nonverbal communication to become the basis of new knowledge such as concepts, images, written documents and manual reports, so that the knowledge can be spread more easily through the organisation (Bratianu and Orzea, 2012; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000). Thus, externalisation is a process of reducing the entropy of the total knowledge, by structuring and integrating new created knowledge into the existing explicit knowledge structures (Bratianu and Orzea, 2012: 17).

(3) Combination

The third stage in the model is the combination process, which converts explicit knowledge into more systematic sets of knowledge (Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000). Through the combination process, explicit knowledge is collected from inside or outside the organisation and then combined, edited or processed to appear as new knowledge and it is then disseminated among the members of organisations. This crucial element of the model has been

and databases can facilitate this mode of knowledge conversion (Little, Quintas and Ray, 2002; Nonaka, Toyama and Nagata, 2000).

The combination process relies on three further processes which include collecting explicit knowledge from inside and outside and combining externalised knowledge, and then sharing this with the members of the organisation (Nonaka and Konno, 1998: 44-45). In brief, the SECI model asserts that the reconfiguration of existing information through the sorting, adding, combining and categorising of explicit knowledge can lead to new knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 67).

(4) Internalisation

The last stage of the SECI model is the internalisation process, which recycles explicit knowledge back into tacit knowledge through direct experience (Nonaka and Konno, 1998; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Through the internalisation process, explicit knowledge is shared throughout the organisation and converted into individual tacit knowledge through practice and practical activity(Easa and Fincham, 2012; Nonaka and Konno, 1998). For this reason, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995: 69) identify that internalisation is closely related to ‘learning by doing’ and/or organisational learning. Examples of internalisation include practical activities based on previous knowledge in real situations such as training, mimetic activities and experiments (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).

The last stage of the model assumes that individuals can broaden, extend and reframe their own tacit knowledge as they internalise from the explicit knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 69). An individual’s tacit knowledge in the last stage of the model can thus set off a new spiral of knowledge creation when an individual’s tacit knowledge is shared through socialisation with other colleagues, thus creating a spiral of knowledge transfer (Nonak, Toyama and Nagata, 2000).