The formation and development of Ikujiro Nonaka's Knowledge-Creating Theory

[要約] これまで百年を超えた世界のマネジメントの歴史に残る日本発ものといえば, トヨタ生産方式と知識創造理論ではないか。前者は理論というより品質改善を基本にする生産手法であり, 1978年公開されたので, すでに広く知られている。後者は本格的な日本発経営理論であるが, 1990年代に誕生したので, まだ前者のように知られていない。しかし, 近年知識創造理論への関心が内外を問わずに高まり, この理論から派生した学問研究の傾向も時々見られる。一方, 知識創造理論を深く理解していない, または誤解・誤用していることもある。そのため, 知識創造理論を一層研究し普及しなければならない必要性が現れる。本稿は, 野中郁次郎の膨大な著書と論文を研究した上で, 知識創造理論の形成と発展にかかわる重要なポイントを抽出して論じたものである。[Abstract] Only the best ideas get permanently inked into the annals of management history and two candidates worthy of inscription are the Toyota System and Knowledge-Creating Theory. The Toyota System, more of a manufacturing methodology based on quality control and precision than actual theory, was put into practice in 1978 and has since become widely known throughout the world. Knowledge-Creating Theory was born in 1990s and has not yet become widely known, although it has heavily influenced Japanese theory on management. In recent years, more attention has been paid to the Knowledge-Creating Theory both in Japan and across the world. As such, a growing body of research has sprung up, derived directly from the theory. At the same time, we have also been able to find cases of misunderstanding or misuse of the theory. Therefore, it is necessary to research and cast greater light on the theory. In this paper, the author has researched a lot of Nonaka's books and articles, and abstracted some key points that relate to the formation and development of Knowledge-Creating Theory.