Working with tacit knowledge: An empirical investigation in glass blowing tradition in Sweden

Abstract

Tacit knowledge is argued to be a crucial resource to organizations' competitive advantage. The majority of research on tacit knowledge is oriented towards the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus assuming that all knowledge can be made explicit and captured in formal ways. These approaches overlook the intangible nature of tacit knowledge by overestimating that explicit knowledge. This study takes a human centered approach with the aim to examine the factors that are necessary for an environment that works with tacit knowledge. A theoretical framework derived from the literature review and served as guidance for the data collection and analysis. Hermeneutics is the underlying philosophy that guides this study. The study is qualitative study conducted in the glass blowing in Sweden, respectively in two sites Pukeberg and Transjö Hytta. Participants of the study were masters and apprentices from these two settings. Data collection methods included literature studies, documents, participant observation, informal interviews and semi-structured interviews.Results from the analysis show the significance of several social factors that need to be present in an environment that involves tacit knowledge. These factors appeared to be related to each other. Data analysis indicated that not all factors are equally important, thus they have been classified into primary and secondary factors. III Executive summaryIn the knowledge-driven society, tacit knowledge is argued to have become the primary resource for sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. The intangible nature that characterizes tacit knowledge is argued to provide organizations with unique market positions. Despite its importance, tacit knowledge has often been an ambiguous notion and often attributed as the opposite of the explicit knowledge. The majority of approaches focus towards the codification of tacit knowledge and ways of storing it into different Information Technology systems. These approaches treat knowledge as an object that can be detached from the humans, stored, transferred and shared.This study has taken a human centred approach aiming to identify the necessary factors that enable effective working with tacit knowledge. The study is conducted in the glass blowing tradition in Sweden, respectively in two glass blowing facilities. The rationale on focusing the study in this tradition relies on the fact that this tradition has preserved the traditional master/apprentice relation. Data is collected from both settings through literature studies, documents, participant observations, informal interviews and semi-structured interviews.Results from the data analysis show the significance of several social factors that need to be present in an environment that involves tacit knowledge. These factors appeared to be related to each other, some contributing to the others. Data analysis indicated that not all factors are equally important. Thus they have been classified into primary and secondary factors. Data collect...

Tacit knowledge transfer from a master to an apprentice among hairdressers

“…Like some previous studies (Jacob and Ebrahimpur 2001; Kurti, 2011; Olsson and Gullberg, 1988), time was found from the interviews a factor influencing tacit knowledge transfer. With Kurti (2011) and Olsson and Gullberg (1988) positing that tacit knowledge transfer requires apprentices spending a prolonged time with their masters, the study supported this; a few participants attested that the amount of time to share all their skills and expertise in a working environment was limited as new styles pop up often. This means that for a successful transfer of tacit knowledge, apprentice requires more time with the master.…”

“…The apprentices surrender to the authority of the master, and by watching him/her, the apprentice captures the rules, even those that are not known to the master himself/herself (Polanyi, 1967). In the case of master/apprentice tradition, Kurti (2011) posits that it requires apprentices spending a prolonged time with their masters. Polanyi (1967) and Olsson and Gullberg (1988) share the same perspective that tacit knowledge is typically acquired through a long tradition and experience; learning tacit knowledge is a long process that involves spending a significant amount of time along the master in a working environment that mainly involves tacit knowledge.…”

“…Polanyi (1967) and Olsson and Gullberg (1988) share the same perspective that tacit knowledge is typically acquired through a long tradition and experience; learning tacit knowledge is a long process that involves spending a significant amount of time along the master in a working environment that mainly involves tacit knowledge. Busch (2008) has a slightly different viewpoint, by claiming that tacit knowledge is not automatically acquired with years of experience, but it is really what one learns from experience that separates one from people who are less capable of making use of their tacit resources of knowledge (Kurti, 2011). Masters are often known for their displayed feelings of displeasure, sometimes even hostility, anger, pride and happiness, fear of losing ownership of knowledge, and a position of privilege and superiority (Szulanski, 1996).…”