Tacit Knowledge Management

Journal of Management Studies, 2001

With the emergence of the resource‐based view of the firm and of the concept of core competencies, intangible resources, and tacit knowledge in particular have been argued to occupy a central place in the development of sustainable competitive advantage. This is because tacit knowledge is argued to be difficult to imitate, to substitute, to transfer and it is rare. However, there is little empirical research to support this theoretical proposition. Tacit knowledge has so far resisted operationalization. This paper sets out to define the term tacit knowledge and proposes to redefine it, within the context of the resource‐based view of the firm, as tacit skills. A methodology (based on causal mapping, self‐Q and storytelling) for empirically researching the subject is outlined.

To manage intangible assets such as knowledge is perceived as an important capability for competition. One of the major issues for managing knowledge resources is diffusion of knowledge within organizations. Knowledge management needs different forms according to the possibility to code knowledge. Internal individual processes like experience and talent obtain tacit knowledge that is difficult to code. Therefore it cannot be managed and shared as explicit knowledge. To rely on personal tacit knowledge is risky. Conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit or at least ability to share it offers greater value to an organization. But what are the difficulties related to sharing tacit knowledge? Different difficulties are to be found related to perception, language, time, value and distance. Keywords: Knowledge management, Tacit knowledge, Organizational learning, Knowledge sharing

Journal of Accounting Research Utility Finance and Digital Assets, 2023

Knowledge is generally divided into two: Explicit (articulate) and Tacit. This article thus explores the concept of tacit knowledge and the role that it plays in learning institutions and business organizations. Evidently, tacit knowledge is linked to knowledge management and as such, the world should utilize it for resilience-building and sustainable development. Notably, due to its complex nature, acquiring and extracting tacit knowledge is not easy as it is an unspoken, unwritten and hidden in people and ultimately leads to the well-being and success of individuals in society. Accordingly, tacit knowledge is very personalised, contextual and hard to communicate or transfer from one person to another by the process of verbal expression or writing and is generally made up of values, perceptions and beliefs. It is obtainable and transferrable through direct interaction amongst individuals and their environments. This paper, thus, explores tacit knowledge and assesses its role and significance in the advancement, enhancement and sustenance of learning and performances in business organisations and learning institutions. Accordingly, approximately 90% of the total knowledge in an organization is held in tacit form, ultimately, impacting the overall output and effectiveness of institutions and organizations.

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. As it’s rightly pointed out it refers to a multi-disciplined approach by making the best use of knowledge to achieve organizational objectives. The immediate issue to be addressed is to capture and share tacit knowledge that is in invisible form in culture. Currently, the various changes taking place in the workforce have posed challenges to organizations with regard to continuous learning and to the updating of employees' competencies. Further, the overall managing of one's own job requires competencies that are tacit in nature, such as appropriate ways of managing social interaction and communication as well as knowledge related to work processes; these tacit competencies are only to be learned in an environment that encourages social exchanges. This paper focusses on how tacit knowledge is captured and shared and in turn its impact on organizational competencies. It also suggests model framework of organizational culture’s impact on improving the competencies of organization through tacit knowledge.

Journal of Knowledge Management, 2012

Purpose-Tacit knowledge is often difficult to define, given its inexpressible characteristics. Literature review highlights the impact of tacit knowledge on certain knowledge management topics and these include organizational learning, intellectual capital, knowledge management strategy and so forth, but some research gaps remain. The paper aims to propose directions for future research in this domain of discourse. Design/methodology/approach-A review of existing studies highlights some gaps in the literature on the role of tacit knowledge, which is followed by questions for future research. Findings-Given the richness of tacit knowledge discourse, the authors believe that the proposed questions offer avenues for scholars to explore and develop greater understanding of the role of tacit know-how in certain knowledge management topics. Research limitations/implications-The authors acknowledge that there are certain limitations to this paper, namely, focusing on the review of tacit knowledge and not on other forms of knowledge. The review presents the role of tacit knowledge and its use in the context of knowledge management related topics. Finally this study proposes only future research directions that are far from being exhaustive, rather than presenting field study results. Originality/value-This paper reviews the existing literature on how tacit knowledge is perceived and used in certain knowledge management areas. Reviewing the current literature uncovers a number of gaps regarding the role of tacit knowledge.

Journal of Knowledge Management, 2007

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the definition and conception of tacit knowledge in existing peer reviewed literature and to suggest how research agendas can be established to clarify understanding for praxis. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology involved an in-depth literature review of tacit knowledge as part of the knowledge management discourse. Findings – There is

Journal of Intellectual Capital, 2020

Purpose This research identifies the forms of tacit knowledge frequently requested in the job descriptions of knowledge workers in a multinational automotive manufacturer's product development department. It then explores how and why the most requested forms of tacit knowledge are used in practice to achieve organizational goals. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a sequential mixed-methods approach to quantify the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge within internal job descriptions and then explores how and why this tacit knowledge is used. The first stage applies manifest content analysis to internal job descriptions to highlight the epitomes of tacit knowledge to identify the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge. The second stage employs semi-structured interviews to explore the use of the most frequently requested forms of tacit knowledge in practice. Findings The research indicated that the organization most frequently requested tacit knowledge in the form of skills and experience in the job descriptions of knowledge workers in the product development department. When the use and application of tacit knowledge in the form of skills were further explored in practice, it was found that tacit knowledge-based socially-focused skills were used, which was underpinned by the need to bring people together and align them towards a common goal to make things work; by enabling people to work together as a team; by developing and using networks; and acting as a required resource to support the development and integration in product development. Tacit knowledge in the form of experience was applied through the application of personally obtained experience to enhance development work by acting as a pacemaker for increasing efficiency and a sense of upcoming issues.

Knowledge plays a key role in the information revolution. Major challenges are to select the``right'' information from numerous sources and transform it into useful knowledge. Tacit knowledge based on common sense, and explicit knowledge based on academic accomplishment are both underutilized. Ways knowledgeenabled organizations acquire, measure, teach, share and apply knowledge are discussed and illustrated. Methods to balance the use tacit and explicit knowledge at work and practical, proven ways to improve the understanding and use of knowledge are presented. Organizations must begin to create worker-centered environments to encourage the open sharing and use of all forms of knowledge.

The paper addresses issues related to the confusion surrounding conceptual understanding of tacit knowledge and its transferability in organization's realm from an original perspective. Lately, at every level: country, industry and organization, attention to knowledge has intensified due to the realization that in "post-capitalist society" knowledge is increasingly replacing traditional driving forces of economy: labor, capital and natural resources as the primary factor in economic growth. Knowledge use is now considered as imperative in all aspects of an organization. In literature there exist various typologies of knowledge, however, in organizational science most common classifications of knowledge include two general types: tacit and explicit. This paper brings clarity to the concept of tacit knowledge, nexus between tacit and explicit knowledge and effects of advances in technologies on the codification capability of tacit knowledge. It argues that many types of tacit knowledge that were considered as inexplicable just recently thanks to new technologies have become transferable. Drawing examples from knowledge science literature the author questions the rigid belief of some scholars in ineffability of tacit knowledge. The author also claims that organizations need to reassess their knowledge related strategy, particularly, in relation to tacit knowledge if they would like to develop sustainable competitive advantage from effective knowledge use. Findings: The author shows how new technologies are changing our perception of tacit knowledge and why it is time for organizations to reevaluate their knowledge strategy.

American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 2011

Problem statement: Organization has to evaluate the competencies of their workers to improve organizational productivity. However, this is difficult because organizations have difficulties to capture and retain knowledge especially tacit knowledge of their employees. Approach: The study reviewed selected literature on management knowledge and employers competencies. It also reviewed existing frameworks in knowledge management focusing on the capturing and storing tacit knowledge. Results: Results of this study will include theoretical concept for capturing tacit knowledge and storing them besides developing a model for measuring employee's competencies in the organization. Conclusion/Recommendation: This study contributes in assessing knowledge workers performance to improve their productivity in an organization.