Communities and Collaboration

Advances in Human Resources Management and Organizational Development

Twenty-first century markets are unstable: technologies rapidly proliferate, competitors multiply, products and services become obsolete almost overnight. It is knowledge that can help the organizations to remain competitive. But as knowledge is the source of competitive advantage for the organization, it is also the source of competitive advantage for individuals. People think that knowledge is power, so sharing the same may lead to losing the power. Moreover, the very nature of tacit knowledge poses many difficulties in sharing the same. But sharing tacit knowledge is a vital part of the knowledge management process because it is tacit knowledge that is inimitable and is unique for the firm and hence provides competitive advantage. Studies found that personal interaction and informal networks work as the most successful means of sharing tacit knowledge. This chapter discusses the concept of tacit knowledge and attempts to discuss and suggest some effective methods of sharing tacit knowledge in organizations.

Advances in logistics, operations, and management science book series, 2018

Collaboration has become a part of our everyday life -including our everyday work life. In addition, our work colleagues are often not in close physical proximity, making face-to-face interactions rare. As a result, we have come to rely on information and communication technologies to connect -in particular, social networking technologies or social media. While traditional technologies are well suited for sharing explicit knowledge that has been articulated and documented as text or other media, tacit knowledge is more challenging. Tacit knowledge is typically experiential knowledge that is very difficult to put into words or document in any way. This chapter investigates the benefits and barriers to using social media with respect to professional communication and collaboration. Recommendations are proposed to help select the best knowledge sharing medium for tacit knowledge.

Global Approaches and Advancements

This chapter explores the concept of 'tacit knowledge' and how organizations can foster the sharing and exchange of tacit knowledge. Various views of tacit knowledge are discussed and a framework is developed distinguishing different conceptualizations of knowledge and how different types of knowledge are acquired, held in memory, and manifested. An understanding of these distinctions can aid in determining the best approach for transferring tacit knowledge and skills at the individual and organizational levels. Finally, I review various tacit knowledge transfer approaches based on the distinctions identified in the framework and discuss their suitability for different aspects of tacit knowledge transfer.

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.

International Journal of Research in Commerce and Management, 2011

How can we identify and estimate workers’ tacit knowledge? How can we design a personnel mix aimed at improving and speeding up its transfer and development? How is it possible to implement tacit knowledge sustainable projects in remote areas? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to distinguish between types of tacit knowledge, to establish what they allow for and to consider their sources. It is also essential to find a way of managing the tacit knowledge ‘stock’ and distribution within the workforce. In short, a conceptual framework is needed to manage tacit knowledge. Based on previous works and 2 years of action research, this paper introduces such a framework and describes its partial application to support the pre-operational training and hiring in a large industrial plant in Brazil. Two contributions emerge from the research. First, the concept of ‘levels of similarity’ is introduced as a means to qualify the experience of workers and estimate the associated tacit knowledge. Second, the capability of carrying out three types of judgement properly and speedily is put forward as being a core ability of those who possess what has been called ‘collective tacit knowledge’ (Collins in Organ Stud 28(2):257–262, 2007). In practical terms, the results indicate the opportunity for companies to capitalize on the experience and tacit knowledge of their workers in a systematic way and with due recognition. Ultimately, positive impacts are expected in their absorptive capacity as well as in their management and human resources systems, accident prevention, productivity and the development of sustainable projects in remote areas.

Annals of Library and Information Studies, 2002

Projects the concept of '~acit Knowledge' [TK]. Further discusses the types of tacit knowledge that exists in any organization and also outlines some of the steps that can be taken to manage this resource. Also discusses some of the expert systems like Kno wledgeMai1 and Group ware used for the management of this form of knowledge.

International journal of innovative technology and exploring engineering, 2019

Tacit knowledge is undocumented knowledge, gained by an individual by virtue of his/her experience on an activity. It rests with the individual, is hard to discover, express and articulate. It is a valuable body of knowledge, hence is essential to solicit, gather and explicate, so as to facilitate its percolation to the younger generation. In this paper, characteristics of tacit knowledge, the issues and mechanisms of explicating have been presented. Seismic data interpretation, as a tacit knowledge domain has been identified, issues faced in its explication and process followed in development of explicit knowledge capsule is detailed. In order to infer the tacit knowledge sharing behavior of an individual a large approximate 5000 survey responses from participant base of individuals from IT firms, Educational Institutions, Government Organizations, Research Organization and Students Community were obtained. The validity and reliability of the measure were verified. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on received valid responses. Based on the analysis, the concrete inference was deliberated.

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