Nonaka's Model of Knowledge Creation & Transformation

In 1995, Nonaka coined the terms tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge as the two main types of human knowledge. The key to knowledge creation lies in the way it is mobilized and converted through technology.

• Tacit to tacit communication (Socialization): Takes place between people in meetings or in team discussions.

• Tacit to explicit communication (Externalization): Articulation among people trough dialog (e.g., brainstorming).

• Explicit to explicit communication (Communication): This transformation phase can be best supported by technology. Explicit knowledge can be easily captured and then distributed/transmitted to worldwide audience.

• Explicit to tacit communication (Internalization): This implies taking explicit knowledge (e.g., a report) and deducing new ideas or taking constructive action. One significant goal of knowledge management is to create technology to help the users to derive tacit knowledge from explicit knowledge.