A conceptual model of knowledge dynamics in the industry 4.0 smart grid scenario

ABSTRACT

Technological advancements are giving rise to the fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0 –characterized by the mass employment of smart objects in highly reconfigurable and thoroughly connected industrial product-service systems. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory-based knowledge dynamics model in the smart grid scenario that would provide a holistic view on the knowledge-based interactions among smart objects, humans, and other actors as an underlying mechanism of value co-creation in Industry 4.0. A multi-loop and three-layer – physical, virtual, and interface – model of knowledge dynamics is developed by building on the concept of ba – an enabling space for interactions and thee mergence of knowledge. The model depicts how big data analytics are just one component in unlocking the value of big data, whereas the tacit engagement of humans-in-the-loop – their sense-making and decision-making – is needed for insights to be evoked from analytics reports and customer needs to be met.

KEYWORDS:

• Industry 4.0
• tacit knowledge
• humans-in-the-loop
• big data analytics
• internet of things and services
• smart grid

Acknowledgments

The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant from the Research Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University under student account code RTZY. It is as well supported by the ELearnng funds from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University under Work Program code 8CLV. These supports are gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Polanyi`s notion of duality of knowledge was often misinterpreted by his successors, most notably Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). In their knowledge creation theory, they posited that knowledge is explicit and tacit along a continuum (cf. Nonaka & Von Krogh, 2009) and that tacit knowledge can be converted – to some degree – to explicit knowledge, that is, that it can be articulated in a form of concepts, models, hypotheses, metaphors, and analogies. However, such a view of tacit knowledge is not congruent with Polanyi`s, who perceived tacit as indivisible and essentially unspecifiable part of all knowledge. Later, Nonaka and Konno (1998, p. 40) offered a more holistic approach to knowledge by utilizing the Japanese concept of ba, that is, “a shared space for emerging relationships”, however, by that time the tacit-explicit dichotomy already became part of the conventional understanding of knowledge among knowledge management theoreticians and practitioners.

2. Nonaka and Konno distinguished four types of ba (i.e., originating, interacting, internalizing, and connecting) that correspond to the four conversions between explicit and tacit knowledge (i.e. explicit to tacit, tacit to tacit, tacit to explicit, explicit to explicit). Since this line of thought has a rationale in knowledge conversions which we, as stated previously, object, at least in this present study, we don`t attempt to go further into adapting the framework consisting of 4 types of ba to Polanyi`s notion of duality and including it into the knowledge dynamics modeling.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [RTZY and I8CLV].