Abstract
How do certain leading companies, organizations and individuals consistently achieve high quality innovations? The actions and thinking of leading practitioners (innovators and creators) originate in Ma thinking, the core theoretical concept presented in this book. In this chapter the concept of Ma is explained from the viewpoint of philosophy and beliefs (Shintoism and Buddhism), which have had a deep impact on Japanese culture. Ma is also defined as the holistic relationship that enables connection of continuous and discontinuous events and matters in distinct types of space-time (structured space-time vs. unstructured space-time). Through examples in business and management as well as art and architecture, the concept of Ma is explained as the trigger that promotes the coexistence of creativity and efficiency in people and organizations and achieves innovation.
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Notes
- 1.
A small religious building in the suburbs of Osaka. With design criteria limited by financial constraints, architectural elements were considerably stripped back. By focusing on the light and shade phenomena as the main theme, the architects achieved a strikingly impressive prayer space in a simple box-like structure made of concrete. Ten years after the church was completed, a new Sunday school building was added that complemented the church. For details, see the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Y22LxAnHlWk
- 2.
Known as “Chasei” (Saint of Tea), Sen no Rikyu was the primogenitor of the Senke Tea ceremony tradition. He served under two Daimyo of the Japanese Sengoku Era, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Rikyu’s birth name was Tanaka Yoshiro, and he was given the Buddhist name “Soeki.” He was born in Sakai City, in Osaka, to a fish wholesaler known as Totoya. At the time, Sakai was an international city booming with international trade and was also a cultural center comparable to the capital Kyoto. Sakai was not dominated by the warring states of the time, but was a small, moat-surrounded and independent country with autonomous governance undertaken by merchants and security provided by “Ronin” (samurai warriors with no master). Many of the merchants at the time were also highly cultured.
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Kodama, M. (2017). “Ma” and Innovation Management. In: Kodama, M. (eds) Ma Theory and the Creative Management of Innovation. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59194-4_1
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