Developing Knowledge Convergence through a Boundaries Vision—A Case Study of Fujifilm in Japan

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing need for strategies that provide for convergence in the development of products and services and building of business models that integrate different technologies and services and span different industries. The question is: What kind of strategies and organizations should a company construct for R&D activities to develop new products, services, and business models that will be realized through the integration of different technologies and convergence across industries? The key concept in a company's actions for adapting to (or creating) a worldview of such convergence lies in knowledge convergence through a boundaries vision, which this paper discusses. The paper presents a case study that analyzes in detail the R&D framework of Fujifilm as a company that achieved success in new business areas by realizing knowledge convergence through a boundaries vision. In the days of analogue photographs, Fujifilm stood alongside Kodak of the USA as a leading brand in the photo industry. Foreseeing the steady decline of the analogue business, however, it moved into other business sectors such as pharmaceuticals, health care, and cosmetics as a new departure that it refers to as the “second foundation” and, in so doing, achieved spectacular success. The main objective in its R&D strategy for the second foundation was to “create new value.” To do this, Fujifilm sets its sights on achieving what it described as “intellectual fusion” (by combining and integrating different fields and technologies) and “innovation” (by creating new, differentiated technologies) and, as a result, to contribute to society. We will now analyze the mechanism of knowledge convergence through boundaries vision in Fujifilm's R&D and new business strategy for supporting its second foundation, which was a key factor in its successful business transformation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Knowledge Convergence through “MaThinking”

“…This is an innovation dilemma. To successfully develop a new business enterprise, practitioners first need to reach mutual understanding so that they can create new meaning through deep creative dialogue to create SC based on the formation of Ba (Kodama and Shibata, : Kodama, : Nonaka et al, : Nonaka and Takeuchi, ).…”

“…In other words, promoting creative dialogue expands practitioners' dynamic range repeatedly along the changing knowledge boundaries of formal organizations (or communities of practice (CoP) (Wenger, ) as learning organizations composed of members of the same function or specialized field) and SC (called the “dynamic range of knowledge boundaries” in this paper). Practitioners raise their boundaries vision (Kodama and Shibata, ) to their maximum, make use of it, and expand the dynamic range of their thinking and actions to raise their capacity for awareness of dissimilar knowledge. In addition, practitioners also raise their awareness of similar knowledge by sharing knowledge in formal organizations (or CoP) executing daily business, their business territories (Figure ).…”

“…To realize dynamic knowledge convergence at such diverse boundaries, practitioners demonstrate boundaries vision and, in doing so, realize new products, services, and business models. In practical terms, administrators and managers must generate new innovation that will merge different kinds of knowledge through “external knowledge convergence capabilities” focused on diverse boundaries (Kodama and Shibata, ).…”

“…This process can be seen as the formation of Ba for dynamically sharing new contexts among staff members. Ba arising from Ma are the organizational foundations in which strategic communities (SC) (Kodama and Shibata, : Kodama, ) are formed to bring about new innovation through the knowledge convergence process.…”

“…In recent years, there has been a growing need for strategies that provide for knowledge convergence (Kodama and Shibata, ) in the development of products and services and building of business models that integrate different technologies and services and span different industries. The question is: How is it that leading companies, organizations, and talented individuals are able to consistently bring about high‐quality knowledge convergence?…”