Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice
“Tacit Knowledge” versus “Explicit Knowledge”
Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice by Ron Sanchez
Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School and Linden Visiting Professor for Industrial Analysis, Lund University
Contact information:
Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy
Solbjergvej 3 - 3rd floor
DK 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark email: sanchez@cbs.dk
Abstract
This paper explains two fundamental approaches to knowledge management. The tacit knowledge approach emphasizes understanding the kinds of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization, and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. By contrast, the explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminate articulated knowledge within an organization. The relative advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to knowledge management are summarized. A synthesis of tacit and knowledge management approaches is recommended to create a hybrid design for the knowledge management practices in a given organization.
JEL code: Moo
1
Introduction
Managers concerned with implementing knowledge management in their organizations today face a number of challenges in developing sound methods for this still emerging area of management practice. Both the growing literature on knowledge management and the advice offered by various knowledge management consultants, however, seem to advocate forms of knowledge management practice that often appear incomplete, inconsistent, and even contradictory. This paper suggests that the current lack of coherence in the diverse recommendations for knowledge management practice results from the fact that the development of both theory and practice in this emerging
Approaches to Knowledge Management Practice by Ron Sanchez
Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School and Linden Visiting Professor for Industrial Analysis, Lund University
Contact information:
Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy
Solbjergvej 3 - 3rd floor
DK 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark email: sanchez@cbs.dk
Abstract
This paper explains two fundamental approaches to knowledge management. The tacit knowledge approach emphasizes understanding the kinds of knowledge that individuals in an organization have, moving people to transfer knowledge within an organization, and managing key individuals as knowledge creators and carriers. By contrast, the explicit knowledge approach emphasizes processes for articulating knowledge held by individuals, the design of organizational approaches for creating new knowledge, and the development of systems (including information systems) to disseminate articulated knowledge within an organization. The relative advantages and disadvantages of both approaches to knowledge management are summarized. A synthesis of tacit and knowledge management approaches is recommended to create a hybrid design for the knowledge management practices in a given organization.
JEL code: Moo
1
Introduction
Managers concerned with implementing knowledge management in their organizations today face a number of challenges in developing sound methods for this still emerging area of management practice. Both the growing literature on knowledge management and the advice offered by various knowledge management consultants, however, seem to advocate forms of knowledge management practice that often appear incomplete, inconsistent, and even contradictory. This paper suggests that the current lack of coherence in the diverse recommendations for knowledge management practice results from the fact that the development of both theory and practice in this emerging
References: Sanchez, Ron (2004). “Creating modular platforms for strategic flexibility,” Design Management Review, Winter 2004, 58-67. Sanchez, Ron (2001). “Managing knowledge into competences: The five learning cycles of the competent organization,” 3-37 in Knowledge Management and Organizational Sanchez, Ron (1997). “Managing articulated knowledge in competence-based competition,” 163-187 in Strategic Learning and Knowledge Management, Ron Spear, Steven, and H. Kent Bowen (1999). “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System,” Harvard Business Review, September-October 1999, 97-106. Stein, Johan, and Jonas Ridderstråle (2001). “Managing the dissemination of competences,” 63-76 in Knowledge Management and Organizational Competence,