Connecting and Sharing Tacit Knowledge

Abstract

Collaboration has become a part of our everyday life – including our everyday work life. In addition, our work colleagues are often not in close physical proximity, making face-to-face interactions rare. As a result, we have come to rely on information and communication technologies to connect – in particular, social networking technologies or social media. While traditional technologies are well suited for sharing explicit knowledge that has been articulated and documented as text or other media, tacit knowledge is more challenging. Tacit knowledge is typically experiential knowledge that is very difficult to put into words or document in any way. This chapter investigates the benefits and barriers to using social media with respect to professional communication and collaboration. Recommendations are proposed to help select the best knowledge sharing medium for tacit knowledge.