Systems Thinking on the Dynamics of Knowledge Growth - A Proposal of Dynamic SICI Model -

This paper investigates a dynamic mechanism underlying the process of knowledge creation and evolution with a focus on the SECI model(standing for Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) as proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi(1991) and broadly accepted especially among the practitioners in knowledge management field. The SECI model provides with intuitive logic and clear delineation of knowledge types between the tacit and the explicit, and embodies an interaction dynamic. However explanations of the propelling forces for the knowledge transfer over the four quadrants of the model is yet to be made. And the transmission mechanisms are not prescribed though the model mentions knowledge is created and evolved in a spiral process. This paper, therefore attempts first to extend and elaborate it into a dynamic SECI model by identifying those propelling factors and their relationships(linkages) based on the systems thinking.