Showing papers on "Tacit knowledge published in 2001"

The role of tacit and explicit knowledge in the workplace

Abstract: 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 knowledge‐enabled 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.

Using Mentoring and Storytelling to Transfer Knowledge in the Workplace

Abstract: The core capabilities of an organization include critical skills of employees, management systems, and norms and values. Core capabilities may be transferred formally and explicitly. However, much knowledge, particularly knowledge with rich tacit dimensions, is transferred informally through processes of socialization and internalization. We focus on two transfer mechanisms - mentoring and storytelling - that can leverage the knowledge of an organization, particularly its tacit knowledge, to build core capabilities. We draw on relevant research in learning and cognitive psychology to clarify the conditions under which mentoring and storytelling can be most effective as carriers of knowledge. Finally, we present recommendations for specific managerial practices that follow from our analysis.

Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization

Abstract: 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.

Determinants of transnational new product development capability: testing the influence of transferring and deploying tacit overseas knowledge

Abstract: Based on a survey of 90 transnational product introductions, we find that the transnational product development capabilities of organizations significantly depend upon their ability to transfer and deploy tacit knowledge concerning overseas markets. Specifically, we find that organizations which use cross-national teams, teams with members who have prior overseas experience, or teams whose members communicate frequently with overseas managers in order to acquire information about tacit differences among countries have greater transnational product development capabilities. This study contributes to our understanding of how organizations transfer and deploy knowledge across borders for competitive advantage and makes an important contribution to the literature on global strategy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Knowledge management technology

Abstract: Selected technologies that contribute to knowledge management solutions are reviewed using Nonaka's model of organizational knowledge creation as a framework. The extent to which knowledge transformation within and between tacit and explicit forms can be supported by the technologies is discussed, and some likely future trends are identified. It is found that the strongest contribution to current solutions is made by technologies that deal largely with explicit knowledge, such as search and classification. Contributions to the formation and communication of tacit knowledge, and support for making it explicit, are currently weaker, although some encouraging developments are highlighted, such as the use of text-based chat, expertise location, and unrestricted bulletin boards. Through surveying some of the technologies used for knowledge management, this paper serves as an introduction to the subject for those papers in this issue that discuss technology.

Information Technology Competence of Business Managers: A Definition and Research Model

Abstract: This research explores the concept of the information technology (IT) competence of business managers, defined as the set of IT-related explicit and tacit knowledge that a business manager possesses that enables him or her to exhibit IT leadership in his or her area of business. A manager's knowledge of technologies, applications, systems development, and management of IT form his or her explicit IT knowledge. This domain further extends to include knowing who knows what, which enables the manager to leverage the knowledge of others. Tacit IT knowledge is conceptualized as a combination of experience and cognition. Experience relates to personal computing, IT projects, and overall management of IT. Cognition refers to two mental models: the manager’s process view and his or her vision for the role of IT. The outcomes expected from IT-competent business managers are chiefly two behaviors: an increased willingness to form partnerships with IT people and an increased propensity to lead and participate in IT projects.

Tacit Knowledge, Trust and the Q of Sapphire

Abstract: Russian measurements of the quality factor (Q) of sapphire, made 20 years ago, have only just been repeated in the West. Shortfalls in tacit knowledge have been partly responsible for this delay. The idea of `tacit knowledge', first put forward by the physical chemist Michael Polanyi, has been studied and analysed over the last two decades. A new classification of tacit knowledge (broadly construed) is offered here and applied to the case of sapphire. The importance of personal contact between scientists is brought out and the sources of trust described. It is suggested that the reproduction of scientific findings could be aided by a small addition to the information contained in experimental reports. The analysis is done in the context of fieldwork conducted in the USA and observations of experimental work at Glasgow University.

Scientific and technical human capital: an alternative model for research evaluation

Abstract: We provide an alternative model for evaluating science and technology projects and programs. Our approach, a "scientific and technical human capital" (S&T human capital) model, gives less attention to the discrete products and immediate outcomes from scientific projects and programs - the usual focus of evaluations - and more attention to scientists' career trajectories and their sustained ability to contribute and enhance their capabilities. S&T human capital encompasses not only the individual human capital endowments but also researchers' tacit knowledge, craft knowledge, and know-how. S&T human capital further includes the social capital that scientists continually draw upon in creating knowledge - for knowledge creation is neither a solitary nor singular event. In sum, it is this expanded notion of human capital when paired with a productive social capital network that enables researchers to create and transform knowledge and ideas in ways that would not be possible without these resources. We review literature contributing to an S&T human capital model and consider some of the practical data and measurement issues entailed in implementing such an approach.

Why Schools Should Teach for Wisdom: The Balance Theory of Wisdom in Educational Settings

Abstract: This article describes a balance theory of wisdom and applies the theory to the context of schooling. First, the article discusses why intelligence-related skills are an important, but not a sufficient, basis for education. Second, the article briefly reviews alternative theories of wisdom. Third, the article presents a balance theory of wisdom, according to which wisdom is defined as the application of tacit as well as explicit knowledge as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among (a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, and (c) extrapersonal interests over the (a) short term and (b) long term to achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing environments, (b) shaping of existing environments, and (c) selection of new environments. Fourth, the article discusses the measurement of tacit knowledge, in general, and of wisdom, in particular. Fifth, the article discusses how wisdom might be nurtured in schools. Sixth, the article describes a concrete project currentl...

Understanding the influence of organizational change strategies on information technology and knowledge management strategies

Abstract: While discussion about knowledge management often centers around how knowledge may best be codified into an explicit format for use in decision support or expert systems, some knowledge best serves the organization when it is kept in tacit form. We draw upon the resource-based view to identify how information technology can best be used during different types of strategic change. Specifically, we suggest that different change strategies focus on different combinations of tacit and explicit knowledge that make certain types of information technology more appropriate in some situations than in others.

Localised knowledge spillovers vs. innovative milieux: Knowledge “tacitness” reconsidered

Abstract: This article provides a critical discussion of the recent econometric literature on “localised knowledge spillovers” and the related notion of tacit knowledge. The basic claim of the article is that the increasing, and more or less automatic reliance of industrial geographers upon such econometric evidence and theoretical concepts to support their work on industrial districts, hi-tech agglomerations and, more broadly, local innovation systems is not well placed and risks to ge nerate conceptual confusion and to distort research agendas. Following some recent advances in the economics of knowledge, the article also suggests that more research efforts should instead be devoted to exploring how knowledge is actually transmitted, among whom, at what distance, and on the basis of which codebooks.

Narrative and social tacit knowledge

Abstract: This paper discusses the role of narrative in the expression and transmission of social knowledge as a specific type of tacit knowledge. Narrative is a central mechanism by which social knowledge is conveyed. Narrative provides a bridge between the tacit and the explicit, allowing tacit social knowledge to be demonstrated and learned, without the need to propositionalize it. Institutions can best maintain their stock of stories by providing occasions on which they can be told. Archival systems such as databases, lessons learned systems, and video records are less effective, particularly when they attempt to store records or transcripts of oral stories. However, they can be improved by attention to key design dimensions, including appropriate allocation of the effort required from system administrators and users, and attention to translation between genres.

Knowledge emergence : social, technical, and evolutionary dimensions of knowledge creation

Abstract: Contributors 1: Ikujiro Nonaka and Toshihiro Nishiguchi: Introduction: Knowledge Emergence Part I Knowledge, BA, and Care 2: Ikujiro Nonaka, Noboru Konno, and Ryoko Toyama: Emergence of "Ba": A Conceptual Framework for the Continuous and Self-transcending Process of Knowledge Development of Business Organizations 3: Georg Von Krogh, Kazuo Ichijo, and Ikujiro Nonaka: Bringing Care into Knowledge Development of Business Organizations Part II Technology and Cooperation 4: Kentaro Nobeoka and Yasunori Baba: The Influence of New 3-D CAD Systems on Knowledge Creation in product Development 5: Stefan H. Thomke: The Impact of Technology on Knowledge Creation: A Study of Experimentation in Integrated Circuit Design 6: The Temporal Dynamics of Knowledge Creation in the Information Society 7: Michael A. Cusumano: Focusing Creativity: Microsoft's "Synch-and-Stabalize" Approach to Software Product Development 8: Giorgio De Michelis: Cooperation and Knowledge Creation Part III Transnational Knowledge Creation 9: D. Eleanor Westney: Multinational Enterprises and Cross-Border Knowledge Creation 10: Kenichi Yasumuro and D. Eleanor Westney: Knowledge Creation and the Internationalization of Japanese Companies: Front-Line Management Across Borders Part IV Interfirm Relations 11: Toshihiro Nishiguchi: Coevolution of Interorganzational Relations 12: Sigrun Caspary and Tishihiro Nishiguchi: "Co-opetition" in the Japanese Aircraft Industry 13: James R. Lincoln and Christina Ahmadjian: Shukko (Employee Transfers) and Tacit Knowledge Exchange in Japanese Supply Networks: The Electronics Industry Case 14: Linsu Kim: Absorptive Capacity, Co-opetition, and Knowledge Creation: Samsung's Leapfrogging in Semiconductors 15: Ikujiro Nonaka and Toshihiro Nishiguchi: Conclusion: Social, Technical, and Evolutionary Dimensions of Knowledge Creation Index

Knowledge management in research and development

Abstract: OVERVIEW:Some R&D organizations have derived significant value from embracing knowledge management (KM) principles in order to promote the flow of both resident knowledge and external information. R&D's innovation charter demands a focus different from that of other functions, specifically, to nurture open access to people's extensive tacit knowledge—that which is “in and between minds.” Your company's culture and structure will be the critical factors enabling knowledge flow, with choice of IT tools of secondary importance. From the many initiatives used by leading companies, there are at least six to choose so that you: 1) instill goals/strategies, 2) access tacit knowledge, 3) provide search tools, 4) promote creativity, 5) capture new learning, and 6) build a supportive culture. This last, most important, initiative—culture change—will take time and involve the entire business. A sustained commitment to the program is thus required. The results will be “worth the wait” in gold.

Self‐transcending knowledge: sensing and organizing around emerging opportunities

Abstract: The paper introduces the concept of not‐yet‐embodied or self‐transcending knowledge. The concept of self‐transcending knowledge proposes a distinction between two types of tacit knowledge: tacit‐embodied knowledge on the one hand and not‐yet‐embodied knowledge on the other hand. The distinction is relevant because each of the three forms of knowledge – explicit, tacit‐embodied, and self‐transcending – is based on different epistemological assumptions and requires a different type of knowledge environment and learning infrastructure. Moreover, the differentiation among markets with decreasing, steady, and increasing returns suggests that, in order to successfully compete for increasing return markets, leaders need a new type of knowledge that allows them to sense, tune into and actualize emerging business opportunities – that is, to tap into the sources of not‐yet‐embodied knowledge.

From Tacit Knowledge to Knowledge Management: Leveraging Invisible Assets

Abstract: Within competitive advantage considerations, knowledge has emerged as one of the more strategic, although invisible, assets for organizations. This is notwithstanding a wider and specifically economistic and cognitive discounting of knowledge as a factor of production — largely ignoring the socially constructed and socially mediated nature of knowledge. Intellectual capabilities and knowledge/information transformations now have a central place within globalizing information economies. Constructing, transforming and commodifying knowledge and information require new organizational understandings and newer cognitive capabilities of strategic management praxis. Part of this cognitive awareness is a deliberate organizational designing for the role of symbolic analysts. As well, there is an emerging need for the Chief Knowledge Officer function going well beyond the Chief Information Officer requirements posited by an information technology-driven restructuring of routine processes, as compared with innovation creation capacities associated with critically non-routine functions within organizations discovered by Cranfield research. The paper considers neglected institutional and organizational dimensions to knowledge creation and knowledge conversion — it reviews the renewed importance of internal recruitment and socialization within institutions and details knowledge codification and application functions within knowledge-creating organizations. Knowledge management, as praxis, inevitably raises concerns about cognitive failure in leadership theory and praxis. Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Learning for sustainable development in tourism networks

Abstract: The present study investigates learning toward sustainable development in multi-stakeholder public–private networks. The evidence is grounded in the data from six tourism networks in four European countries. The process of cooperation appears more important vis-a-vis achievements regarding sustainable tourism than the structure of networks. This process will determine the network's ability to become adept at explicating tacit knowledge among its actors, and to develop the network so it can facilitate the creation of sustainability outcomes. A leading public actor may assume a ‘teacher's’ role in the network. In these instances, the network runs a risk of becoming merely an information dissemination tool. This involves a trap of one-way communication and under-used knowledge utilization opportunities. Receptivity of the teacher actor is low and the partners do not really collaborate. The teacher actor should make a special effort to create feedback loops leading to two-way communication, so that a learning strategy of collaboration can take place. The findings also imply that in some networks with a public leader there is an overly high belief in the ability of information dissemination and classroom education to promote learning about sustainable development although learning about sustainability in the practical level requires concrete results and joint action. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Understanding context: its emergence, transformation and role in tacit knowledge sharing

Abstract: Organizations, especially those adapting to rapidly changing environments, face the challenge of being able to solve complex problems within highly constrained timeframes. Complex problem solving has been addressed by theories of bounded rationality. However, these theories focus on solving complex but structured problems, and thus, context and how it emerges and transforms is not a central issue. More recently, theories of the firm as a knowledge‐creating entity have focused on how organizations solve complex unstructured problems. These theories suggest that context and contextualization are central elements in problem solving. Yet, no understanding of how context emerges and transforms emerges from these theories. The present paper focuses on the emergence and transformation of context in solving complex unstructured problems, attempts to remedy the shortcomings of the theories described above and investigates the nature of context. Concludes by explaining its role in tacit knowledge sharing.

Tacit to explicit knowledge conversion: knowledge exchange protocols

Abstract: In the knowledge management domain, the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge is critical because it is a prerequisite to the knowledge amplification process wherein knowledge becomes part of an organization’s knowledge network. In this article, knowledge exchange protocols are examined as a vehicle for improving the tacit to explicit knowledge conversion process. In an experiment testing the use of knowledge exchange protocols, it is learned that while structure may significantly improve the tacit to explicit knowledge conversion process, it also may matter how the structure is employed in this process.

Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise?

Abstract: This is the first book to present a systematic analysis of specialized clusters of small manufacturing enterprises in the main European economies. Combining knowledge from case-study literature with original analyses of statistical data enables the authors to present full accounts of the role of these clusters in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, showing the considerable diversity of forms they take. Local production systems (as these clusters are termed) are seen to exist where there are either particular competitive advantages for participation by clusters of small and medium-sized, as opposed to large, firms, or where such clusters at least stand as good a chance as large firms. Small firms may work through a diversity of forms of governance: certain forms of market; cooperation among themselves; through associations; with larger firms located in the same area; or by making use of local facilities provided by governmental or other external agencies - or a combination of all five. The introduction shows how previous literature has been divided into two strands. First came optimistic, mainly 1980s, writings, which assumed that the search for flexibility and quality, typical of post-Fordist models of economic organization, would enhance the role of SMEs. In the ensuing decade, a more pessimistic analysis was put forward. It was argued that the increasing globalization of the economy would bring about a demise of local production systems, under pressure from new global large firms. The authors discuss the possibility of more nuanced findings, and propose a combination of the literature on local production systems with theories of economic governance to assist this process. There follows a chapter which surveys overall economic development in the four countries, concentrating on local economies. Then four national surveys take up the theme of the governance of local production systems in Italy, Germany, France, and Britain. A concluding chapter identifies a diversity of forms of clusters of small firms, and on that basis develops a sociological critique of current neo-institutionalist theories of markets. Local production systems are found to be growing, not declining, in importance, as they facilitate the circulation of tacit knowledge - a precious resource in all sectors which depend on both constant innovation and the flexibility of small enterprises. However, the most rapidly growing form of these systems is that where groups of small suppliers depend on a major customer firm - a form that in the long run might undermine the autonomous capacities of local small-firm systems. (Resume editeur)

Method and system for enhanced knowledge management

Abstract: An enhanced knowledge management system (“KMS”) is provided. The enhanced KMS provides a customizable, person-to-person, knowledge sharing portal that manages concurrent one-on-one conversations between requesters and expert resources. Through the knowledge sharing portal, the KMS provides the automatic capture, organization, and reuse of tacit knowledge, as well as integration with existing systems that manage already documented (explicit) knowledge. Example embodiments provide a Conversation Manager, which manages communication in the form of conversations (question and answer sequences) between users (requesters) and experts (expert resources), and allows system administrators to customize the system. Conversations are organized by subject matter categories and experts are ranked preferably by the system and by users, thereby increasing the likelihood of the KMS providing answers to users' questions. The Conversation Manager, in conjunction with managing these conversations, produces a dynamic knowledge base of knowledge that is searchable by other users. In this manner, the KMS enhances the ability in a multitude of environments to capture previously untapped knowledge and to integrate such knowledge with existing data.

Evidence-based care and the case for intuition and tacit knowledge in clinical assessment and decision making in mental health nursing practice: an empirical contribution to the debate.

Abstract: This paper provides empirical evidence that challenges the view that methods of clinical assessment and decision making should not rely solely on logical positivist approaches. Whilst the National Health Service (NHS) Executive currently takes a hard positivist line on what constitutes evidence-based practice, data reveal that it is not always appropriate to disregard the tacit knowledge and intuition of experienced practitioners when making assessment decisions in mental health nursing practice. Data support the case for a holistic approach which may draw on intuition and tacit knowledge, as well as traditional approaches, to meet the requirements of clients with complex mental health problems. A model based on Schon's notion of reflection in and reflection on practice is proposed which demonstrates the value of intuition and tacit knowledge. This model allows the generation of insights which may ultimately be demonstrated to be acceptable and empirically testable. It is accepted that an element of risk taking is inevitable, but the inclusion of a formal analytical process into the model reduces the likelihood of inappropriate care interventions. The cognitive processes which experienced nurses use to make clinical decisions and their implications for practice will be explored.

Corporate initiatives in knowledge management

Abstract: Knowledge is a social construct and cannot be managed as physical assets. The distinction between data, information and knowledge is made. The transformation of raw data and information into useful knowledge requires a sense of trust and reciprocity on the part of people. Knowledge flows involve the translation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in a process of codification. Knowledge produced by individuals reaches its full potential to create economic value when it becomes embedded in organisational routines. It is important to focus upon flows of knowledge, and not simply measure stocks of knowledge. Examples are given of successful corporate initiatives in knowledge management.