Critical analysis on The use of tacit knowledge within innovative companies

By: Unknown on 8:05 AM

Knowledge Management

Critical analysis on

The use of tacit knowledge within innovative companies: Knowledge management in innovative enterprises

Introduction:

“Journal of knowledge Management” Vol. 12 No. 1 2008 published by Ragna Seidler-de Alwis and Evi Hartmann mainly focuses on the use of tacit knowledge within innovation organization. The effort that organization can do to promote knowledge sharing in order to improve successful innovation. How companies make use of tacit knowledge, identification of key levers for tacit knowledge management and the positive impact of tacit knowledge for innovation success.

Innovation is a process of making changes (big or small) to an existing product, process or service which finally adds value to customers. Conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge helps any organization to make changes in their product, process or services leading towards growth. As company growth take place it can generate huge revenue and can increase its productivity rate. So, all this happens when sharing of knowledge take place between individuals. Sharing of knowledge within organization helps to formulate new ideas and these ideas leads your company towards innovation phase.

This article concentrates on the part of inferred information in development administration. How implied information helps organizations further bolstering addition good fortune. The immense scope of chances for organizations towards development. Thus, the article has highlighted creation, accessibility and exchange of inferred learning inside an association. Part of inferred information in affecting advancement transform in organizations which heads towards achievement. As implied information is exchange inside association, hindrance to such learning exchange is likewise portrayed. The article likewise portrays about express information. Such information can be picked up or caught through different sources effectively however unsaid learning for this situation is an exceptional one and is wellspring of point of interest to each organization. The exchange of unsaid learning leads organizations towards advancement stage. It sums up how singular worker thought can together help towards development.

Analysis:

To achieve innovation success a smooth interplay between tacit knowledge and innovation management is required. Tacit knowledge forms the foundation for building sustainable competitive advantage. The objective of this article is to examine how tacit knowledge transfer affects the company’s innovation capability. The role of tacit knowledge in achieving innovation success. The way company creates new knowledge and the way they transfer such knowledge to achieve innovation. The way company defines problems and then actively develops new ideas and knowledge to solve them. Knowledge management is all about the way people manage, share and finally apply knowledge and ideas to bring changes. Knowledge as explicit and tacit. Nonaka et al. (2000) and other authors such as Kikoski and Kikoski (2004) describe explicit knowledge as what can be embodied in a code or a language, and as a consequence it can be verbalized and communicated, processed, transmitted and stored relatively easily. Such knowledge can be shared in the form of data, manuals etc. In contrast, tacit knowledge is not codified, it is not communicated in a “language”, it is acquired by sharing experiences, by observation and imitation (Kikoski and Kikoski, 2004; Hall and Andriani, 2002). 

All that matters is about knowledge creation, sharing and application in a right way to gain competitive advantage. And it can happen through interaction between explicit and tacit knowledge. Kikoski and Kikoski cite two philosophers (H-G Gadamer; H.Lipps) who refer to tacit knowledge as personal knowledge that each individual possesses that is unique and once unlocked can be a creative contribution in an organization. And every creative and unique knowledge leads organization towards success. For every organization who seeks to be successful has to create an environment which encourages each and every employee to verbalize their tacit knowledge. There should be free environment for employees to create, share knowledge among each other and finally link all those knowledge together to innovate something new. New knowledge always begins with the individual and it is individuals who can contribute towards organization innovative process.

To make things happen there should be better communication between employees, there should be interaction among each other to create knowledge. Nonaka et al.(2000) has conversation process into four modes:

Ø  Socialisation (from tacit knowledge to tacit knowledge)

Ø  Externalization (from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge)

Ø  Combination (from explicit knowledge to explicit knowledge)

Ø  And Internalization (from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge)

These four modes of knowledge conversation form a spiral, the SECI process.

Problems:

Szulanski’s empirical analysis came up with three barriers that has encountered problem in the transfer process.

Ø  The ambiguity of tacit knowledge which needs to be transferred.

Ø  Lack of absorptive capacity

Ø  Interconnected obstacle to smooth transfer

Other barrier are the lack of motivation by sender and receiver, emotional factors such as power, trust, like/dislike seem to play an important role within transfer of tacit knowledge (Cook and Cook, 2004)

Recommendation and Conclusion:

The society of the undertaking firmly impacts the exchange exercises in this manner to happen things better there ought to be an atmosphere of openness and trust. There ought to be overseen association structure that empowers correspondence which helps in imparting learning among employee's. Each association ought to have its acceptable objectives and goals. To evacuate obstructions, association ought to concentrate on human-related components, for example, inspiration, duty, trusts and prizes. Representatives must be since its getting late, space, and chance to exchange and impart their implied information. Organizations ought to recognize learning progressive systems keeping in mind the end goal to productively and adequately investigate the exchange of inferred information with association. Thus, proper transfer of tacit knowledge is of great significance for the success of innovation.