Knowledge creation through the synthesizing capability of networked strategic communities: case study on new product development in Japan

This paper provides a new point of view regarding the knowledge management of new product development (NPD), a high-tech field requiring the merging and integration of different technologies. As a case study, we examine the dynamism of the knowledge creation process in NPD at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (hereafter referred to as NTT), a traditional Japanese telecommunication company, as it merges and integrates the different elements of broadband network technology, network operation technology, and multimedia processing technology etc., and we analyze the NPD processes of NTT. In a short period of time, a strategic team at NTT, consisting mainly of informal cross-functional middle managers transcending NTT's business divisions, formed strategic communities inside and outside the company, and then formed a network that transcended the strategic communities' boundaries. The synthesizing capability of the leadership-based strategic communities comprising community leaders inside the networked strategic communities enabled NTT to build new business models aimed at customers and achieve successful NPD ahead of other competitors.