Exchanges within various professional communities (knowledge, practices, projects), or what we call organisational learning, are a permanent source of innovation.
In this regard, the results of a study conducted by a French team on the technological strategies of 2,000 multinational groups, from the number of patents registered between 1986 and 2005, put Japan at the forefront. With its cultural and historic traditions, where individuals find their purpose in life within communities, Japan is the country where the circulation of information along with its constant, enriching qualities, open up the way to technological innovations.
It is Toyota, a leader of the automotive world, about which I related how it operated in my blog on 9th May, 2007, which dominates. Indeed, thanks to its impressive innovative abilities, (notably, the Pull System) and the implementation of a constant learning organisation allowing for the optimised management of operational knowledge, for the first time, a Japanese firm has been able to knock American automotive companies, particularly GM, off the throne.
Out of the 6 million patents registered by these 2,000 multinational companies, 9 out of the top 10 are Japanese. Only the second was registered by South Korea, a country in which the use of training is the strongest in the world (10% of GDP). The top company, Hitachi, has, for this last 20 year period, registered 130,000 patents, or 12 times more than those of the first French appearance, Alcatel Lucent, with 10, 816. Toyota Motor has 49, 470, 20 times more than Peugeot Citroen with 2,399.
This is an indisputable domination since the total of the top 10 out of the 2,000 global technology companies represents, out of the 6 million patents registered, 13% of the total. The top 10 French companies only take 4% of the patents registered by the 10 leaders and 3 times less than the top 10 American ones which come just behind the Europeans.
This is a striking lead and deserves a reflection on the way we operate. The Japanese, via their social model, have more easily integrated collaborative work practices but they have applied them to a primarily industrial workforce. Will they know, like us, how to adapt to new uses in the post-carbon age and means of information transfer? It is one of the stakes regarding the success of integrating operational knowledge into the heart of management.