2009Unpublished venueRequires access

The Problem of Tacit Knowledge --Is It Possible to Externalize Tacit Knowledge?

Ilkka Virtanen

Open publisher page 2 citations

Abstract

Various authors in the field of knowledge management have adopted the view that individuals' tacit knowledge should be externalized and shared in organizations. According to Polanyi's original theory of tacit knowing, an explicit expression of tacit knowledge is, however, considered very difficult, even impossible. We studied this contradiction by analyzing Polanyi's theory of tacit knowing in order to consider the correctness of the idea of externalization of tacit knowledge. Despite the fact that tacit knowing is an essential basis for all knowledge, we claim that tacit knowledge cannot be externalized in a way it is presented in the knowledge management literature.

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What this paper is about

Various authors in the field of knowledge management have adopted the view that individuals' tacit knowledge should be externalized and shared in organizations. According to Polanyi's original theory of tacit knowing, an explicit expression of tacit knowledge is, however, considered very difficult, even impossible. We studied this contradiction by analyzing Polanyi's theory of tacit knowing in order to consider the correctness of the idea of externalization of tacit knowledge. Despite the fact that tacit knowing is an essential basis for all knowledge, we claim that tacit knowledge cannot be externalized in a way it is presented in the knowledge management literature.

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Available abstract

Various authors in the field of knowledge management have adopted the view that individuals' tacit knowledge should be externalized and shared in organizations. According to Polanyi's original theory of tacit knowing, an explicit expression of tacit knowledge is, however, considered very difficult, even impossible. We studied this contradiction by analyzing Polanyi's theory of tacit knowing in order to consider the correctness of the idea of externalization of tacit knowledge. Despite the fact that tacit knowing is an essential basis for all knowledge, we claim that tacit knowledge cannot be externalized in a way it is presented in the knowledge management literature.

Key concepts: Tacit knowledge, Externalization, Knowledge management, Explicit knowledge, Tacit collusion, Epistemology, Computer science, Business

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