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Abstract
The SECI model is one of most popular and systemic models of knowledge creation. However, its main application is in a set of routines (socialization, externalization, combination and internalization) that emphasizes internal sources of knowledge. This thesis explores how and when organizations locate external sources of knowledge. It uses routines as the main unit of analysis for understanding how each stage of the SECI model is impacted by different sources of knowledge. It argues that external sources of knowledge can be discovered and represented by a search routine. A search routine helps us understand, theoretically, why only certain rules (tacit knowledge) and products (explicit knowledge) are reinforced amongst organizational members. This thesis shows how routines are modified by these search routines when organizations take on the risk of acquiring external sources of knowledge, which involves technology unrelated to their own. The SECI model is explored in two stages: the first stage of the methodology explores the search routine outcomes of SECI using 20 small technology companies; and the second stage replicates those findings onto eight large consulting firms. The field study provided insight into the external sources of knowledge in the SECI model by classifying when its search routines arise under different competitive pressures. Findings suggest that organizations began with internal sources of knowledge, but search routines determined which external sources of knowledge should be distributed for SECI: socialization externalization, combination and internalization. The thesis explains what conditions make some search routines more prevalent than others when locating internal and external sources of knowledge. The author recommends that each stage of the SECI model still be explored, but under a different competitive environment. Building on these classifications of search routines would add to the explanation of why the search for knowledge beyond the organization is more necessary for some industries than others.