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Tacit Knowledge

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management

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Abstract

As emphasized by Michael Polanyi, there are types of knowledge that cannot be conveyed effectively by means of language. The validity of this observation is particularly apparent in the case of the knowledge required to execute psychomotor skills, such as riding a bicycle. In strategic management, tacitness is generally seen as a barrier to the imitation of valuable knowledge, hence as a relevant factor in accounting for firm heterogeneity and potentially for the sustainability of competitive advantage. However, knowledge that is tacit may be transferrable nevertheless, though not by means of words exclusively.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, 2000 Steinberg Hall – Deitrich Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Sidney G. Winter

Authors
  1. Sidney G. Winter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sidney G. Winter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. GSBPP, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA

    Mie Augier

  2. Berkeley Research Group, LLC, Emeryville, CA, USA

    David J. Teece

  3. Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    David J. Teece

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature

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Winter, S.G. (2018). Tacit Knowledge. In: Augier, M., Teece, D.J. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_526

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