Hua, Ying: 2012-2013 Seed Grant

The focus of this proposed research is the workplace for knowledge workers, who serve as the engine of the new economy, and whose work features extensive interactions. Through a multiple-site field study at companies in Tokyo and Kansai areas in Japan, this study sets out to identify key elements of the “shared context” in workplace, both tangible and intangible, that are playing an important role to support and stimulate collaboration and social interactions at work. It is the goal of this research to advance the understanding of the impact of physical workplace on organizational knowledge creation and business competitiveness and to identify effective strategies to realize the workplace’s potential to achieve those goals. Japan is purposely chosen for this study, due to the concentration of a variety of pressing social and economic challenges that companies and the work force are facing.