It's tacit knowledge but not as we know it: redirecting the search for knowledge

N A D Connell (), J H Klein and P L Powell
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N A D Connell: School of Management, University of Southampton
J H Klein: School of Management, University of Southampton
P L Powell: Centre for Information Management, School of Management, University of Bath

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2003, vol. 54, issue 2, 140-152

Abstract: Abstract A central issue in the knowledge management literature is the definition of the nature of knowledge, and particularly the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. This paper reviews some of the common standpoints on this issue, but argues that, within an organisational context, a useful alternative view is one in which knowledge is viewed as a systemic property of the organisational system to which it belongs. Thus, attempts to codify knowledge, and position it on a tacit-explicit continuum, are sometimes misplaced. Instead, this paper advocates approaches that view knowledge as a holistic system property. The paper considers the practical implication of this stance, from the perspective of knowledge transfer between individuals and between organisations, and investigates the potential that this stance offers OR practitioners.

Keywords: knowledge management; explicit knowledge; tacit knowledge; systemic modelling; cybernetic modelling; soft OR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601444

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