DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT FOR TACIT AND EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE: AN EMPIRICAL TEST.

Abstract

This paper explores the roles of explicit and tacit knowledge in performance improvement as experience is gained with a new technology. We propose that the same technology can present simultaneous opportunities for improvement along distinct performance dimensions, such as efficiency and breadth of use. Drawing from research on new technology implementation and knowledge management, we develop a framework relating type of knowledge (tacit or explicit) to type of user of a new technology (individual or group) to suggest implications for performance improvement curves. We then develop propositions to describe patterns of performance improvement obtained using a new technology as a function of the type of knowledge involved in a particular dimension of performance. To explore these theoretical propositions, we analyze data from 311 surgical procedures at 15 hospitals learning to use a new cardiac surgery technology. We find that organizational experience determines efficiency improvement, which relies on tacit knowledge, while industry experience shapes patterns of improvement in breadth of use, which relies on explicit knowledge.