Abstract
Tacit knowledge – experiences, skills, judgment and even intuition of the employees – as organizational resource, has recently gained significant attention from the organizational researchers. While such knowledge is difficult to identify, exhibit and describe, it can often determine the manner in which public administrators implement public policies. Taking a qualitative strategy of enquiry, this paper aims at identifying the pattern of tacit knowledge sharing among the local government officials in Bangladesh. The key findings suggest that majority of the local government officials are aware of the significance of tacit knowledge. Trust, both cognition-based trust and affect-based trust, determine their knowledge sharing behaviour. The ‘senior-junior’ relationship within the hierarchal structure is perceived to be the key channel of tacit knowledge transfer. In the context of inadequate formal sharing channels, officials perceived trainings to be the key formal mechanism of tacit knowledge sharing within public sector organizations in Bangladesh.
Highlights
IntroductionSharing tacit knowledge in the context of public sector has started to gain attention from the knowledge management scholars more recently
Sharing tacit knowledge in the context of public sector has started to gain attention from the knowledge management scholars more recently. This is largely due to the acknowledgement that public sector organizations are knowledge-intensive organizations, and effective knowledge sharing within and across departments is the prerequisite to better utilization of such resources (Willem & Buelens 2007)
The key themes that emerged from the interviews were: i) awareness of tacit knowledge, ii) channels of sharing tacit knowledge, iii) facilitating factors, and vi) restraining factors in tacit knowledge sharing
Summary
Sharing tacit knowledge in the context of public sector has started to gain attention from the knowledge management scholars more recently. This is largely due to the acknowledgement that public sector organizations are knowledge-intensive organizations, and effective knowledge sharing within and across departments is the prerequisite to better utilization of such resources (Willem & Buelens 2007). The changing context has been giving way to novel opportunities and risks. It has heightened the bar of performance for the public sector organizations, and increased the risk of adverse public reaction as well. Public sector reforms have been emphasizing on knowledge sharing, as an integral part of knowledge management mechanism
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