Researching and writing about tacit knowledge: some observations on a case-based book on an elusive phenomenon

Abstract

A professor and practitioner join forces to examine the nature of tacit knowledge in cross-cultural interactions, discussing the outcome with reference to their forthcoming book with case studies on Danish, Japanese and Chinese companies. Their starting point of is that tacit knowledge, which is both elusive, yet context-specific, is crossed-culturally created at all manner of interfaces, and acts a as a subliminal influence on relationships, whilst language and cultural factors 'shape' this knowledge. It is argued that firms which have astute understandings of cross-culturally generated knowledge as a valuable resource gain in what the author's term 'knowledge advantage.'