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Towards conceptual clarity for ‘tacit knowledge’: a review of empirical studies

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Knowledge Management Research & Practice

Abstract

Tacit knowledge is important for organizations and management, but we lack adequate theory, and find conflicting claims about the concept. A review of empirical studies of tacit knowledge phenomena found the term has been applied to both articulable and inarticulable knowledge. It is suggested that in the interests of clarity use of the term should be limited to the latter. Tacit knowledge appears due to both experience with the particular objects it is applied to, and to general experiences. A solution to the problem of tacit knowledge explication is proposed, and implications of the study for both managerial and academic practice are outlined.

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Acknowledgements

My thanks to two anonymous reviewers and the editors for comments on earlier versions of this article which led me to clarify the argument, and to participants at the 5th Organizational Knowledge, Learning, and Capabilities Conference, Innsbruck, Austria, for comments on an earlier version of the arguments.

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  1. Kingston Business School, Kingston University, Kingston Hill, Kingston upon Thames, UK

    Stephen Gourlay

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Correspondence to Stephen Gourlay.

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Gourlay, S. Towards conceptual clarity for ‘tacit knowledge’: a review of empirical studies. Knowl Manage Res Pract 4, 60–69 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500082

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