Using the tacit dimension of knowledge in creating knowledge for innovation: implications for tacit knowledge communication

Abstract

This article is concerned with how the tacit dimension of knowledge is predominantly used in creating knowledge as a sense-making practice, and it discusses how such use brings complexity and specificity to its communicative support. It reports an empirical qualitative and quantitative research on knowledge creation and communication that should ground innovation, drawing on Polanyi’s tacit knowing theory and Dervin’s Sense-Making Methodology. Using tacit knowledge in creating knowledge for innovation has been frequently acclaimed as important. However, the communication of tacit knowledge that supports its use tends to be carried out in disconnection from the knowing situations in which it was created and in which it is to be used. The article contributes to tacit knowledge creation (knowing) and communication, and with a tacit knowledge communication approach that is sensitive to its complexity and that can help anchoring it to individuals’ knowing situations.