Managing Tacit Knowledge in MNCS and the Role of ICT: Review Paper

Abstract

Of late, global economy has forced the organizations, to essentially manage tacit knowledge. On the other hand, a large number of organizations are incapable of coping with the process of tacit knowledge management, as a result of the inexpressible, ambiguous and complex characteristics. This review paper has examined the multidimensional viewpoints of tacit knowledge, types of tacit knowledge and the typical mechanisms used to manage it, from the past and existing studies. Simultaneously, this study has found that, classifying knowledge in terms of transferability and applicability has provided much improved direction to deal with tacit knowledge. Furthermore, this study has also highlighted the current perspectives on transferability and applicability of tacit knowledge and the associated influential factors. Moreover, the role of ICT in managing tacit knowledge has been examined and discussed. Ultimately, this study has proposed future research directions in terms of managing tacit knowledge.

A Review of Tacit Knowledge: Current Situation and the Direction to Go

“…It is now a consensus that tacit knowledge is critical for many different activities [11,15,19,[23][24][25], and some kinds of tacit knowledge can be acquired and reused [7,[26][27][28]. This consensus was formulated with the development of the researches overtime.…”

“…Although tacit knowledge is a natural part of human knowledge [28], the concept is relatively new. The term "tacit knowledge" was first coined by Polanyi in 1966 [29], and popularized by Nonaka [23]. Henceforth, tacit knowledge was studied by many researchers from different areas, including but not limited to philosophy [30], education [14,19,31], psychology [32,33], business [2,18], computer science [34,35], manufacturing [8] and so on.…”

“…By this method, knowledge engineers ask pre-defined questions to experts, and the experts have a certain of freedom to answer the questions [46]. Structured interview is the strictest method [23,124], in which knowledge engineers ask pre-defined questions according to a predefined procedure to experts, and the experts answer the questions by a predefined way. The flexibility of this method is low, but it is easy to be automated in computer.…”

Ready, trainer … one*! discovering the entanglement of adaptive learning with virtual reality in industrial training: a case study

“…Embedding VR-based training systems in an organisational setting, where consolidated organisational knowledge exists in both, tacit and explicit forms within the organisational members (Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009), brings new challenges for the VR-based training systems. Although the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in managing tacit knowledge lacks consensus in the academic community (Al-Qdah & Salim, 2013), Bokhorst et al (2014) and Wang et al (2011) state that by using knowledge maps (realised from collected assessments) and using patterns that contain problem-solution pairs as an established method, tacit knowledge can be accumulated, visualised and exchanged. Similarly, Mitri (2003) points out that technology databases, internet architecture, artificial intelligence, and decision support techniques facilitate tacit assessment management.…”

Advancing knowledge management for system integration : improving the management of lessons learned to enhance organisational learning and railway system performance

“…Moreover, the proper cataloguing of lessons learned requires not only welldocumented explicit lessons but also the conversion of consolidated tacit knowledge, where possible, into explicit forms through externalisation (Nonaka, 1994). However, views are chapter 6 p79 controversial on the management of tacit knowledge through digital means alone in terms of feasibility and effectiveness (Al-Qdah & Salim, 2013). This situation implies that due consideration should be given not only to the technological but also to the cultural, procedural, and social aspects of the proper management of lessons learned (S. Duffield & Whitty, 2015).…”