Tacit Knowledge Transfer Research Articles

Innovativeness in International Joint Venture: The effect of explicit and tacit knowledge transfer

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, and innovativeness of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) based on knowledge-based and learning theories. In the context of IJVs, explicit and tacit knowledge transfer related to innovativeness still is complicated by many challenges. We conducted a survey of 199 IJVs in South Korea. A structural equation model was used to test hypothesized linkages. Our results confirm that explicit knowledge transfer is positively associated with innovativeness. The explicit knowledge transferred from the foreign parent to the IJV has a stronger impact on innovativeness than tacit knowledge does. Additionally, tacit knowledge proved to not exhibit a direct impact on innovativeness of IJVs. The results provide strong support for the mediating role of explicit knowledge in the relationship between tacit knowledge transfer and an IJV’s innovativeness. Finally, we find that the transfer of tacit knowledge has a significant effect only on the innovativeness of IJVs with a high level of international work experience.

Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Flows in China’s Supply Chains: The Roles of Platforms

Digital transformation has profoundly affected entrepreneurship in supply chains. SMEs and micro entrepreneurial firms are able to start up their business and join larger supply chain networks, enabled by ‘common’ resources provided by platforms. How China’s supply chains evolved, especially how knowledge flows changed from intra-organization to inter-organization supporting entrepreneurship, is the focus of this study. This paper uses a longitudinal case of China’s supply chains over the past twenty years with four embedded cases to investigate knowledge flows in entrepreneurship and roles played by different types of platforms (regional clusters and digital platforms). Social networks and human interactions, mediated by regional clusters, play a critical role in tacit knowledge transfer beyond organizational boundaries in supply chains. In digital ecosystems, system-level features, such as digital infrastructure, enable knowledge sharing and facilitate transactions among strangers. Understanding the distinctive role of platforms in entrepreneurship requires recourse to their antecedents and alternatives.

Organizational agility through outsourcing: Roles of IT alignment, cloud computing and knowledge transfer

This study introduces the concept of outsourcing appropriation based on adaptive structuration theory (AST) to explore how organizations attain IT-dependent organizational agility through outsourcing appropriation. It examines the mediating role of IT alignment and the moderating roles of the adoption of cloud computing and knowledge transfer. The proposed model was tested using survey data from a sample of 170 IT executives. Our results indicate that the consensus of appropriation (COA) and faithfulness of appropriation (FOA) are positively associated with IT-dependent organizational agility, and the relationships are partially mediated by IT alignment. When adoption of cloud computing is high, the positive relationship between IT alignment and IT-dependent organizational agility becomes stronger than when it is low. Interestingly, results also show that the moderating roles of the transfer of explicit knowledge and transfer of tacit knowledge in the relationship between outsourcing appropriation and IT-dependent organizational agility vary significantly. The transfer of explicit knowledge negatively moderates the relationship between COA and agility. The transfer of tacit knowledge positively moderates the relationship between FOA and agility. These findings deepen our understanding of how organizations gain IT-dependent organizational agility in the context of IT outsourcing.

Conceptualising trust as a mediator of pro-environmental tacit knowledge transfer in small and medium sized tourism enterprises

This conceptual paper adds to the theoretical exploration of inter-organisational pro-environmental knowledge transfer in small and medium sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs). It does so by focusing on the role of trust, a concept which has received only scant attention in this context. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research, we argue that the willingness of SMTE managers to engage in the transference of pro-environmental tacit knowledge is based on their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, coupled with the perceived trustworthiness of both the message and social actors involved. It remains a challenge for SMTE managers to receive, absorb and respond to appropriate pro-environmental knowledge, based on organisational needs. The paper makes an important contribution to the work on pro-environmental knowledge transfer in tourism by proposing a model of four key antecedents of trust in the knowledge transfer process – self- efficacy, social norms, credibility of knowledge source and social capital between actors. We identify a future research agenda including the need to assess the weighted impact of each antecedent of trust; establish the influence of tourism networks on trust formation and development; and explore if peer perception intervenes in tacit knowledge transfer between pro-active and reactive SMTE managers.

A Study on Succession Planning, Prospective Successor Selection, Transfer of Idiosyncratic Firm Knowledge in Family Owned Businesses of Hyderabad

This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how the succession planning is undertaken in family owned businesses, most preferred qualities in the prospective successor and the transfer of tacit idiosyncratic firm knowledge from one generation to the next generation. The fact that family businesses contribution to the Indian economy is highly significant as well as the fact that most of the family businesses do not survive beyond three generations makes the study important. This study was conducted by distributing a quantitative survey containing numerous close ended questions to the family business owners, potential successors and successors. The survey asked respondents to explain how succession planning takes place in their firm, the most preferred qualities in the prospective successor and the mode of transfer of tacit idiosyncratic firm knowledge from one generation to another. The survey results provided insight into many important factors of succession planning such as the prospective successor being chosen with consensus of the all the family members, the process of succession being well communicated in the business and possessing leadership values is the most preferred quality sought in a successor. Learning by observing is the most preferred mode of transfer of tacit knowledge from one generation to another.

Managing global knowledge transfer: Inpatriate manager embeddedness and firm innovation

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of tacit knowledge transfer in a particular type of global manager - the inpatriate manager who is typically relocated from the MNC’s subsidiary to headquarter. To do so, we draw on social embeddedness theory. Our paper suggests that if an inpatriate manager becomes embedded within the MNCs headquarter, tacit knowledge transfer will occur resulting in innovative practices and a global mindset within the MNCs headquarters. This study takes the unique approach of studying the barriers that inpatriate managers face in the transfer of tacit knowledge and highlights the role of human resources in facilitating the transfer of knowledge across the MNC. The paper articulates the implications for policy and practice and a future research agenda.

The Effect of Remote Collaborative Work on Design Processes During the Pandemic

At the beginning of 2020, the virus called "COVID-19" spread rapidly all over the world. One of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus was social distance rules. Hence, employees and students had to work remotely using communication tools. In the design field, professionals and students working remotely during the pandemic, were limited to the possibilities of the communication tools they used while developing the design process, and they found ways to use these facilities in line with their practice routines in the physical environment. In this article, the tools used during the collaborative design processes conducted remotely during the pandemic were examined with a questionnaire study. Even though designers worked digitally due to the necessity to continue their work in this period, it was observed that they had positive experiences with the special tools they used. However, the transfer of tacit knowledge to design projects in the collaborative design process has been restricted in the collaborative design process due to limited spatial communication. While many designers were discovering the tailored tools for this purpose they could already use, many improvements were suggested through the unaware needs became explicit ones.

Sharing tacit knowledge in public sector :

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.

A process model of tacit knowledge transfer between sales and marketing

Although an ability to generate and transfer tacit knowledge provides the basis for competitive differentiation, organizations face two primary issues when attempting to achieve this task. First, tacit knowledge, which differs from explicit knowledge in that it can only be gained through experiences, deep interactions, and learning by doing, is highly complex and therefore difficult to transfer. Second, as challenging as tacit knowledge transfer may be under the most ideal circumstances, the issue is exacerbated by the fact that sales and marketing professionals oftentimes have a dysfunctional relationship. Addressing these issues, we present and examine a theoretical model which captures the process through which tacit knowledge transfer occurs across the two functions. Study results, derived from a sample of 215 salespeople, highlight the important role interfunctional communication quality and the development of a mutual understanding play in this process. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications arising from the study, and present opportunities for further research in the area.

The impact of employee training and development on tacit knowledge transfer and the mediating role of trust

The impact of employee training and development on tacit knowledge transfer and the mediating role of trust

Transfer znanja za inovativnost u porodičnim preduzećima

Family businesses (FB) are important in the most of national economies. We explored whether successors' innovativeness is positively associated with the transfer of the founders' innovativeness through knowledge transfer and creation processes in a form of the internal transfer of founders' tacit and experiential knowledge and skills and with the external transfer of knowledge, when potential successors attend educational programs, external training, or gain working experience in other companies. Our research reveals that when the actual forms of internal knowledge transfer are discussed, the positive correlations exist between innovativeness of successors and their early inclusion into FB, apprenticeship, inclusion of successors into meetings with business partners and strategic planning before they get involved in FB. Our survey partially confirmed that regarding external transfer of knowledge, working experiences of successors in other companies and participation in academic courses are positively associated with their innovativeness.

Managing Peer-to-Peer Cooperation Using Knowledge-Based Trust and Encouraging the Willingness to Share Tacit Knowledge

Despite leaders’ investment in knowledge management practices, 76% of U.S. employees are hesitant to share tacit knowledge with co-workers. Researchers have suggested that willingness to share hinders the tacit knowledge transfer process. Employees become unwilling to share tacit knowledge with others due to cooperation and competition. The aim of this research is to understand the role of peer-to-peer cooperation on willingness to share tacit knowledge (WSTK). A total of 250 U.S. employees were sampled to measure knowledge-based trust (KBT) on WSTK. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to investigate KBT and WSTK. Results indicated that KBT significantly predicted WSTK. Employee age and same-gender interactions did not influence the KBT-WSTK relationship. It was concluded that leaders and managers who promote KBT relationships are likely to encourage WSTK and create advantages over competitors.

THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN TACIT KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE NIGERIAN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

The oil and gas industries are knowledge driven industry. The technology deployed in deep water exploration and production involve knowledge-intensive process by highly technical personnel. The problem was that the leadership of the oil and gas industries have not necessitated early recovery of tacit knowledge transfer from experts to employees managing the plant operations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain an understanding of how oil and gas industry leaders in Nigeria facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge from experts to employees managing the plant after exploration activities. The conceptual framework was the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi and Burns’ transformational leadership theory. A qualitative multiple case study design was used by adopting multiple sources of information including semi-structured interviews, field notes, and review of organizational documents. The unit of analysis was leaders in an oil and gas services organization. The data analysis processes involved coding of the data, categorizing the coded data, and subsequently generating themes in line with the research question using NVivo Version 12 software. Findings indicated that leaders facilitated the transfer of tacit knowledge through the creation of a safe working environment and demonstration of care for the employees. The opportunity to facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge from expert to employees managing operations after exploration enhance the organization’s stability and promotes healthy communities. Keywords– Knowledge-Transfer, Leadership Style, Oil and Gas Industry

Knowledge management and humanitarian organisations in the Asia-Pacific: Practices, challenges, and future pathways

While there is growing recognition amongst humanitarians that knowledge sharing and exchange are essential components of organisational efficiency and effectiveness, knowledge management processes in many humanitarian organisations are still inadequate. The review of knowledge management and international relations literature reveals limited research on the institutional memory of humanitarian organisations. This article aims to start filling this research gap by examining the use of explicit and tacit knowledge transfer in the humanitarian sector in the Asia-Pacific. It points to the embryonic stage of knowledge management and the reliance on tacit knowledge management consistent with the early stage of sector professionalization in the region. It reviews and analyses existing scholarly literature and manuals and draws on fieldwork interviews with key humanitarian personnel that primarily focus on natural hazards. The findings suggest institutional memory in the humanitarian sector remains ad hoc with limited long-term capture. There is a broad tendency in the region to rely on tacit knowledge transfer – interpersonal relationships and informal decision-making – as the dominant knowledge management practice. This reliance challenges knowledge management at the institutional level and indicates a weakness in the institutional memory of humanitarian organisations in the region. Our research raises questions about how to improve knowledge management practices within humanitarian organisations in the Asia-Pacific with significant implications for the sector more generally. A recalibration of tacit and explicit knowledge management would build institutional memory in humanitarian organisations. This requires a dual-track approach with codified documentation of experiences and greater emphasis on an institutional culture of knowledge sharing.

Drivers and challenges of tacit knowledge sharing in automotive workshop employees

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the way tacit knowledge (TK) sharing occurred among automotive workshop (AW) employees. Challenges and drivers of TK sharing (TKS), including stakes of experienced employees that hinder the smooth transfer of TK, have been explored.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews have been conducted with experienced technicians using open-ended questions to gain deep insights on the issue of TKS. Data coding has been done for thematic analysis to extract themes.FindingsThis study explains the way TK is shared and transferred among employees in the AW sector. Various drivers and challenges in the smooth transfer of TK have been found. Various stakes of employees in the sharing of TK have been explored.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explored stakes of experienced employees in TKS by exploring challenges in the TKS process among employees. Automotive repair is a complicated technical job that integrates various trade persons for the successful execution of jobs for customer satisfaction. TK is a core value and a sensitive issue among employees, which makes the job of researchers challenging, resulting scarcity of literature on this vital issue.

Public Spaces as Knowledgescapes: Understanding the Relationship between the Built Environment and Creative Encounters at Dutch University Campuses and Science Parks.

The success of university campuses depends on the interrelations between creative encounters and the built environment, conceptualised here as spatial affordances for creativity. Such an interface plays a fundamental role in interactions for knowledge sharing and the exchange of ideas on campus. Due to campus public spaces generally being considered as the leftovers between buildings and classrooms, undermanaged, and overlooked, little is known about the extent to which this built environment enables or inhibits creative encounters in such spaces. The inner-city campuses and science parks (SPs) of Amsterdam and Utrecht, the case-studies of this research, differ in terms of their location relative to the city, their masterplan typologies and the arrangement of buildings. However, they are similar in terms of the aforementioned issues of public spaces. The novelty of this research is the attempt to overcome such issues using an innovative mixed-methods approach that tests the ‘spatial affordances for creativity’ with empirical data collection and analysis. This raises the importance of mapping, quantifying and analysing the spatial distribution of momentary perceptions, experiences, and feelings of people with methods such as volunteered geographic information (VGI). The results show that proximity between multiple urban functions and physical features, such as parks, cafés and urban seating are important when it comes to explaining the high frequency of creative encounters between people. Urban designers of campuses can use the applied method as a tool to plan and design attractive public spaces that provide creativity through the transfer of tacit knowledge, social well-being, positive momentary perceptions, sense of community, and a sense of place.

Tacit knowledge transfer in training and the inherent limitations of using only quantitative measures.

The greatest challenge for many organizations today is not the acquisition, organization, and storage of information, but rather the ability to transform such information into useful knowledge as well as the application and measurement of it. This paper discusses effective knowledge transfer in a training environment and the inherent limitations in using only quantitative measures as a tool of knowledge transfer measurement. By examining the measurement tool of a major U.S.‐based airline, this study identifies disparity in peer and observer behavior assessment to understand other important factors that impact the measurement of knowledge transfer.

What Happens with the New Guy? Tackling the Problem of Tacit Knowledge through Social Networks

Tacit knowledge is the key to business continuity and retaining core knowledge during organizational change. Corporations have recognized its importance and implemented knowledge management strategies to ensure valuable knowledge is preserved. While much of the academic research has looked into the nature of tacit knowledge, the role of social networks in maintaining tacit knowledge has been largely unexplored. The following paper seeks to link existing tacit knowledge theory with social network theory through theoretical analysis and literature review. First, social networks are more important when tacit knowledge cannot be codified and when the nature of that knowledge is process-based. Second, while the strength of relationships tends to increase the effectiveness of tacit knowledge transfer, weaker relationships tend to dominate the actual transfer of knowledge. Third, asymmetry in relationships tends to decrease effectiveness of tacit knowledge transfer. The purpose of the paper is to explore when social networks matter more for tacit knowledge communications and what types of social networks are most effective at transmitting tacit knowledge.

Strategic enablement investments: Exploring differences in human and technological knowledge transfers to supply chain partners

Business-to-business firms have a long history of investing in training their supply chain partners using primarily salespeople. However, advances in technology now allow for elements of sales enablement programs to be automated and run without human involvement. This paper examines how human and technology enablers are suited to transfer tacit and explicit knowledge respectively. It constructs a strategic enablement investment framework that, depending on the mix of investments in human or technology enablers, results in four types of learning environments: self-directed, collaborative, adaptive, and complex. We close by discussing the implications for future research and offer guidance for industrial marketing managers.

Does Knowledge Sharing Increase Innovation Capability? Answer from Indonesian Company

Nowadays, there are a lot of innovations being discussed, conducted in a seminar, written, and explained in a small to a large classroom and also a meeting room. Innovation is related with the essentials of surviving in the middle of industrial era 4.0. Innovation is unable to be separated with the personal knowledge, in which both of them need a good and continuous management. This research aimed to measure the tacit influence and explicit knowledge towards innovation capability as well as answering research questions regarding the impact of knowledge sharing to improve innovation capability in the manufacturing industry. Data collection is done through a simple random sampling technique given to 610 employees in packaging industries in Indonesia. The questionnaire results that were given back and were valid have a number of 393 samples. Data processing was used SEM method with SmartPLS 3.0 software. The result of this research concluded that explicit and tacit knowledge have positive impact towards innovation capability. This new research proposed a model for building innovation capability in packaging industries through tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research could pave the way to improve readiness index to packaging industries in facing the era of industrial revolution 4.0.