VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER THROUGH CUSTOMER COCREATION: THE CASE OF FUJI XEROX JAPAN

Nowadays, many companies collect Voice of the Customer (VOC) in order to understand more about customers and the way they think about the companies or products/services. Many collection methods are being used to capture those valuable resources. This paper introduces “VOC 3.0”, a new Voice of the Customer (VOC) collection method through customer co-creation. This new method is aiming to create value with customers through co-creation activities and exploit knowledge residing both in customers and company. This study identifies the differences of VOC 3.0 from other traditional VOC collection methods. We also propose a theoretical framework for VOC 3.0 and introduce the case of Fuji Xerox’s Customer Co-creation laboratory’s open laboratory as an example of a successful company with VOC 3.0. From this case study, key activities of the collection method are listed by using Process-Workplace-Tool framework. Findings in this study also show the examples of process, workplace and tool that might be key activities in VOC 3.0

The Effect of Consistent Knowledge Management Behaviors on Competitive Advantage

While Knowledge Management (KM) has been shown to be a strategic source of competitive advantage (CA), processes designed at enhancing the productivity of knowledge do not however equally contribute to the organization’s capabilities. Consequently, this research, using data collected from the entire population of a firm’s personnel in Japan, focuses on the relationship between each mode of the KM process and multiple CAs, and investigates how different perceptions and behaviors on KM affect those CAs. This research-in-progress paper reports preliminary results showing that the perceived importance of KM activities appears as an important source of ‘technical competitive advantage’, and that more time spent on KM activities contributes to an ‘affective competitive advantage’. Further analysis involves a taxonomy of employees based on their perceived importance of and the time they spend on KM. The goal of this research is to identify, among sub-groups by department or function, specific KM processes that can durably increase the firm’s competitiveness, and to examine eventually whether KM behaviors have a uniform effect on CA across national borders within the same company

A Study of the Effect of Knowledge Creating Capabilities on Corporate Performance

In response to the concern regarding the evaluation of knowledge management initiatives, this study introduces the concept of ‘knowledge creating capabilities‘. This concept refers to the balance of the four knowledge creation modes proposed in the SECI Model by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). The relationship of this concept with corporate financial performance is explored using two financial indicators on small and medium Japanese enterprises from the manufacturing sector. The empirical evidence shows the positive association of knowledge creation capabilities with financial performance

Sensor-based Knowledge Discovery from a Large Quantity of Situational Variables

A new methodology called “sensor-based knowledge discovery”, which utilizes wearable sensors and statistical analysis, is proposed and evaluated. This methodology facilitates identifying new knowledge that can improve business outcome. It utilizes wearable sensors to unobtrusively capture people’s location, motion, and social interaction with others. The captured data is converted into multi-dimensional situational variables and then statistically analyzed to deliver a “rule set,” which forms the basis of new knowledge related to business outcome. The methodology was evaluated through a case study at a retail store. A hypothetical rule, that is, a particular area (a so-called “hot spot”) in the store where employee’s presence correlates with average sales per customer, was identified. Based on the identified rule, a measure to concentrate employees in that area was initiated. Consequently, increasing employees’ presence (“staying time”) in the hot spot by 70% increased average sales per customer by 15%. This result demonstrates the effectiveness of the methodology; namely, the new sensor-based knowledge discovery can improve actual business performance

A study of knowledge management enablers across countries

Knowledge has been long cited as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage for organizations. However, the creation of knowledge is a complex process that is influenced by several factors beyond the typical practice of knowledge management (KM). In this research, we assess the effects of leadership, Ba (shared context in motion), organizational culture, organizational control, and work style on KM defined in terms of the SECI process of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. On the basis of data gathered from a questionnaire survey of a Japanese pharmaceutical company and its subsidiaries in the United States, France, and China, we compare how the aforementioned organizational factors influence the processes of KM in these organizations. The results show that organizational factors affect KM practices differently in each of the targeted countries, and suggest that KM activities need to be tailored to the organizational idiosyncrasies of each local office, without betraying the global vision of the corporation

Evaluation of “Virtual Same Room” System in Actual Enterprise: Effect on Worker’s Interaction and Behaviors for Knowledge Creation

These days, company workers have a lot of opportunity to collaborate with remote coworkers. In this study, we focused on “virtual same room” systems which provide a sense of co-existing virtually and enable real time interaction among remote offices. While many systems have been proposed, system effect was not fully evaluated in actual enterprise organization which has diverse workers and work context. To evaluate it, we conducted case study of implementation of SmoothSpace (SS) which is a teleconference type system, in remote offices of a Japanese manufacturing company. Survey was conducted in order to clarify the effects of SS and impact of two worker’s attributes, 1) job position and 2) working location on the effects. Results indicated that SS led frequent interaction between remote offices, and encouraged behaviors for knowledge creation. Frequency of interaction was depended on workers’ job position. Results also suggested that SS implementation had more significant impact on behaviors for knowledge creation of branch offices workers, rather than main office workers. These findings might be valuable to know environmental conditions in order to maximize a benefit of the systems implementation