Ikujiro Nonaka is the most cited scholar in the field of knowledge management, and is known as "the father of knowledge management theory" and "the pioneer of knowledge management". He is another Japanese management scholar with world influence after Kenichi Ohmae. Although Nonaka's theory, like Chiyo's, is based on Japan's successful experience, he emphasizes that the success of Japanese enterprises is not limited to the well-known characteristics of "Japanese management" such as excellent production technology, lifelong employment system or emphasis on qualifications. He tried to explain that the Excellence of Japanese enterprises lies in their organizational knowledge management ability. Knowledge management is a new management theory and method developed on the basis of information management. According to the definition of American Productivity and Quality Research Center, knowledge management refers to the process of identifying, acquiring and giving full play to knowledge to improve the competitiveness of enterprises.

After observing the changing law of Japanese manufacturing enterprises from weak to strong for more than 30 years, Nonaka found an important similarity, that is, an organization is better or more competitive than other organizations because it can fully mobilize the personal knowledge hidden in the hearts of its members. This is the famous "information processing" paradigm of Simon.

In the mid-1990s, the publication of Knowledge Innovation Company won Nozhong an international reputation, and Kenichi Ohmae called it "the most important Japanese management book ever". In his book, Nonaka deeply studied the knowledge innovation experience of Japanese enterprises, and systematically put forward the mutual transformation model of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to knowledge that is difficult to describe in words. It comes from personal experience and is closely related to personal beliefs, viewpoints and values. Explicit knowledge refers to things that can be expressed in language, including written statements, mathematical equations, technical specifications and manuals. Nuozhong believes that enterprises need to pay more attention to knowledge creation caused by tacit knowledge in order to form the driving force of innovation. This model has become the classic basic theory of knowledge management research.

Nozhong believes that the form of an enterprise is determined by the needs of business strategy. Next, strategy is influenced by the ability to innovate and create sustainable advantages, while innovation is influenced by the ability to create and use knowledge, which is directly influenced by the organizational form of enterprises. From this perspective, successful management requires the ability to understand and control these processes and dynamics.

He thinks that knowledge is a crucial factor. Taking Japanese enterprises such as Sony, Panasonic, Honda, Canon, NEC, Fuji Copier as examples, the research shows that enterprises must constantly innovate, and knowledge is the source of innovation. His views have become the core of knowledge management.

Nozhong emphasized that knowledge and innovation are not the responsibility of "a few specific personnel" such as R&D, planning or sales departments, but the responsibility of everyone in the enterprise. Innovation must have a strong personal belief and sense of responsibility. He believes that "innovation is both an idea and a goal". The renewal of knowledge and the promotion of reform are the central tasks of managers.

Ikujiro Nonaka studied in the United States in his early years, and studied at the famous Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his MBA and Doctor of Business Administration degrees at 1968 and 1972 respectively. 198 1 has been working in hitotsubashi university, and is also a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley.