**5.5 Semi-opened infrastructure model (SopIM)'s description**

The Semi-opened Infrastructure was launched to support deployment of new innovative technologies within large French Company, at a time when these technologies had just been developed in universities and laboratories. At first, in 1978, it was dedicated to introduce Computer-Aided Design. Then, under another format, it became the organizational learning structure created and led from 1983 to 1995 in order to introduce the concepts and technologies of Artificial Intelligence and to develop and deploy applications of Knowledge-Based Systems. As an example, we will cite the case of Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS) deployment. In that last case, the aim of the Semi-opened Infrastructure was to encourage the individual and collective apprenticeship, to favor knowledge acquisition, to leverage emergence of new products, and to implement computer applications using artificial intelligence technologies. It is this format that is described hereafter.

We needed to implement poorly known, fuzzy and uncertain emerging computer technologies. We were faced to unknown, uncertainty and doubt. I imagined a new way of leading based on agility and confidence so that I could rely on a strong and involved team with a high degree of trust at all levels: between the manager and his employees, but also between the employees between them. In that case, we used the "Semi-open mode of operation" (**Figure 4**) and Semi-opened Infrastructure Model *(*SopIM) was implemented (**Figure 5**). This typical infrastructure may be thought as a concrete application of SECI model, concept of *Ba* (**Figure 2**), and the *Single-Loop Learning* and *Double-Loop Learning* defined by Argyris & Schön (**Figure 3**).

To develop, the "semi-open mode of operation" requires the presence of a "Leadership Space," place of multidisciplinary group, and the existence of an "Evolution and Progress Space," place of contacts and field of multiple cultures where the potentialities and creativities of the actors are exercised (**Figure 5**).

**Figure 5.** *Semi-opened infrastructure model (SopIM).*

These spaces are described below.

## *5.5.1 Leadership space*

The Leadership Space was a Multidisciplinary Group in charge to deploy knowledge-based systems over the whole company. It gathered engineers, organizers, and sociologists accustomed to doing inductive reasoning.

By comparison with the SECI model and the concept of *Ba,* which are described **Figure 2**, the Leadership Space is an example of the Originating-*Ba,* where faceto-face experiences are the key to transfer of tacit knowledge between people, who complement each other.

### *5.5.2 Evolution and progress space*

The Evolution and Progress Space is a place that was a physical room situated at Headquarter where P1 and P4 came in order to work and learn in interaction with the Multidisciplinary Group. P1 and P4 practicing deductive reasoning had to work and learn with the Multidisciplinary Group practicing an inductive reasoning. So people were interacting following dialogic principle. Learning was effective, and interpretative frameworks of P1 and P4 were evolving. Arrows show: (1) how P1 and P4 evolved in the Evolution and Progress Space; (2) how P1 and P4 disseminated their new knowledge in their own unit, and how organizational learning was deployed.

The Evolution and Progress Space has proved to be a place of contacts, a field of multiple cultures, where the potentialities and creativity of each knowledge owner have been capitalized. The Evolution and Progress Space is an example of the Dialoguing-*Ba* and the Systemizing-*Ba* where all phenomena, described in Subsection 5.2, appeared in practical terms.

### *5.5.3 Working space*

The Working Space represents a Core Competence operational unit A and a Core Competence operational unit B. Individual P1 and P4 are accustomed to deductive reasoning. They are employees whose roles are to communicate on knowledgebased systems and to implement applications in their own unit.

The Working Space is an example of the Exercising-*Ba* where P1 and P4, who worked and learned in the Evolution and Progress space with the multidisciplinary group, transmit their new knowledge (concepts, tools, and methods of the innovative technologies) to the members of their own unit. There is a transfer of explicit knowledge and a continuous conversion of this knowledge to tacit knowledge by its use in the real life and implemented applications.
