dSECI: The Event-Driven Mechanism Implicit in Nonaka's Knowledge Spiral for LO

Purpose – This paper identifies encounter—the event of meeting something other than oneself—asthe specific mechanism within ba that drives Nonaka and Takeuchi's SECI knowledge spiral. Itproposes dSECI (event-driven SECI), which treats each encounter as the trigger for knowledgeconversion. Independently, it provides the first systematic SECI analysis of Scrum and ExtremeProgramming as multi-scale knowledge creation architectures.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper. It draws on Shimizu's philosophy ofba, the SECI critical literature, software architecture principles (event-driven streaming), empiricalresearch on serendipitous knowledge sharing, and practitioner literature on Scrum and XP to developthe dSECI framework and the SECI analysis of agile practices.Findings – Three necessary conditions for productive encounter are identified: depth of priorinternalization, intensity of interaction, and heterogeneity between partners. Scrum events mapdirectly onto SECI conversion modes at macro timescales; XP practices extend this to microtimescales. The shu-ha-ri progression reveals that structured SECI operationalization (Scrum) andevent-driven SECI (dSECI) are developmental stages, not alternatives. Practical guidance is providedfor designing knowledge systems that drive the SECI cycle through structured stock, continuoussharing flow, intellectual combat, and self-efficacy as foundation.Originality/value – dSECI identifies the driving mechanism that Nonaka, von Krogh, and Voelpel(2006) acknowledged was "empirically under-explored" within ba. The SECI analysis of Scrumexplains, for the first time in knowledge management terms, why these globally adopted practicessucceed and why they fail when reduced to ritual. The practical implications offer managers anactionable framework for designing knowledge creation systems.