Volume 17, Number 1/2

Optimizing Data Interoperability in Agile Organizations: Integrating Nonaka’s Ba and Habermas’s Deliberation for Trust-Based Knowledge Management

  Authors

Marina Özdemir ¹ and Cihangir Deniz Özdemir ², ¹ University of São Paulo, Brazil, ² Ozco Management and Training Ltd., Brazil

  Abstract

Agile methodologies have transformed organizational management by prioritizing team autonomy and iterative learning cycles. However, these approaches often lack structured mechanisms for knowledge retention and interoperability, leading to fragmented decision-making, information silos, and strategic misalignment. This study proposes an alternative approach to knowledge management in Agile environments by integrating Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi’s theory of knowledge creation— specifically the concept of Ba, a shared space where knowledge is created and validated—with Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action, which emphasizes deliberation as the foundation for trust and legitimacy in organizational decision-making. To operationalize this integration, we propose the Deliberative Permeability Metric (DPM), a diagnostic tool that evaluates knowledge flow and the deliberative foundation of organizational decisions, and the Communicative Rationality Cycle (CRC), a structured feedback model that extends the DPM, ensuring long-term adaptability and data governance. This model was applied at Livelo, a Brazilian loyalty program company, demonstrating that structured deliberation improves operational efficiency and reduces knowledge fragmentation. The findings indicate that institutionalizing deliberative processes strengthens knowledge interoperability, fostering a more resilient and adaptive approach to data governance in complex organizations.

  Keywords

Data Interoperability, Knowledge Management in Agile, Deliberative Permeability, Ba, Communicative Rationality Cycle.