The Open University

Research interests

My first seven years of post-doctoral research (1985-1992) had two core themes: (1) the relationship between technological change and competitiveness; and (2) the evaluation of British government initiatives to foster a more competitive IT industry through knowledge generation across industry and academia. At the time, Japan was stunning the world with its capacity to promote advanced manufacturing technology and set new standards for high-quality, high-reliability products; but outsiders typically knew little about what lay behind Japan’s public profile. My seven-year period working in Japan (1992-1999) provided a rare opportunity to better understand the processes that underpinned Japan’s miracle growth and subsequent stagnation. Along the way, I was helped by some influential figures. My Science and Technology Agency Fellowship (1992-1993) was directed by Professor Ikujiro Nonaka and I became closely involved with research for ‘The Knowledge-Creating Company’ (Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H., Oxford University Press, 1995), which has re-ignited international interest in the nature of tacit knowledge. At RIKEN, I worked on Japanese science policy and related matters under the direction of Professor Akito Arima, who later served as Japan’s Minister for Education. Since joining the Open University Business School in 1999, my research interests have focussed on 'knowing how to make a difference' - the practice of power - in different institutional contexts. This builds on my experience of Japan (as an instructive counterfactual to Anglo-Saxon practice) and has benefited greatly from collaboration with Professor Stewart Clegg at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Publications

Journal articles

Why invisible boundaries matter: imagined institutions and power (2017)
Ray, Tim
Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation, 35(4) (pp. 305-323)

Rethinking Polanyi’s concept of tacit knowledge: From personal knowing to imagined institutions (2009)
Ray, Tim
Minerva, 47(1) (pp. 75-92)

Rethinking Michael Polanyi's realism: from personal knowledge to intersubjectively viable communication (2008-09)
Ray, Tim
Prometheus, 26(3) (pp. 241-257)

Can we make sense of knowledge management's tangible rainbow? A radical constructivist alternative (2007-06)
Ray, Tim and Clegg, Stewart
Prometheus, 25(2) (pp. 161-185)

Power, rules of the game and the limits to knowledge management: lessons from Japan and Anglo-Saxon alarms (2003-03)
Clegg, Stewart and Ray, Tim
Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation, 21(1) (pp. 23-40)

Communication and context: collective tacit knowledge and practice in Japan's workplace ba (2001)
Ray, Tim and Little, Steve
Creativity and Innovation Management, 10(3) (pp. 154-164)

Authored books

Managing Knowledge: an essential reader. 2nd edition (2005-09-15)
Little, Stephen E. and Ray, Tim
ISBN : 1 412912 40 7 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd

Book chapters

What does knowledge work do? (2009)
Ray, Tim
In: Clegg, Stewart R. and Cooper, Cary L. eds. The Sage Handbook of Organizational Behavior (pp. 53-67)
ISBN : 9781412934275 | Publisher : Sage | Published : London

Japanese management (2008)
Ray, Tim
In: Clegg, Stewart R. and Bailey, James R. eds. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies (pp. 731-735)
ISBN : 978-1-4129-1515-1 | Publisher : Sage | Published : Thousand Oaks, CA

Tacit knowledge (2008)
Ray, Tim
In: Clegg, Stewart and Bailey, James R. eds. International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies (pp. 1503-1507)
ISBN : 9781412915151 | Publisher : Sage | Published : Thousand Oaks, CA

Tacit knowing, communication and power: lessons from Japan? (2005-09-15)
Ray, Tim and Clegg, Stewart
In: Little, Stephen and Ray, Tim eds. Managing knowledge: an essential reader (pp. 319-347)
ISBN : 1412912415 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd | Published : London, UK

Making sense of managing knowledge (2005-09-15)
Ray, Tim
In: Little, Stephen and Ray, Tim eds. Managing knowledge: an essential reader (2nd ed.) (pp. 1-20)
ISBN : 1412912407 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd | Published : London

Japan as institutional counterfactual: knowledge, learning and power (2004-05-31)
Clegg, Stewart; Ray, Tim and Carter, Chris
In: Hodgson, Damian E. and Carter, Chris eds. Management knowledge and the new employee
ISBN : 075464040X | Publisher : Ashgate | Published : London, UK

A new look at dispersed leadership: power, knowledge and context (2003-10-23)
Ray, Tim; Clegg, Stewart and Gordon, T.E.
In: Storey, John ed. Leadership in organizations: current issues and key trends (pp. 319-336)
ISBN : 415310334 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London

Managing Japanese organizational knowledge creation: the difference (2001-06)
Ray, Tim
In: Little, Stephen; Quintas, Paul and Ray, Tim eds. Managing knowledge: an essential reader (pp. 102-117)
ISBN : 761972137 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd | Published : London

Collective tacit knowledge, boundaries and the limits to virtuality (2001)
Ray, Tim
In: Hardy, Sally and Maconochie, Alison eds. Regionalising the knowledge economy (pp. 70-73)
Publisher : Regional Studies Association | Published : London

Edited books

Managing knowledge: an essential reader (2001-06)
Little, Stephen; Quintas, Paul and Ray, Tim eds.
ISBN : 761972129 | Publisher : Sage Publications Ltd | Published : London, UK