Title: Negative knowledge, expertise and organisations

Authors: Jaana Parviainen, Marja Eriksson

Addresses: Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Philosophy, University of Tampere, FIN-33014, Finland. ' Management Studies, University of Tampere, FIN-33014, Finland

Abstract: There has been a particular emphasis on knowledge and competence as increasingly important resources for successful enterprises. This notion of knowledge is based on |positive knowledge|, which considers knowing as merely a constructive, linear and accumulative process. We will introduce the notion of |negative knowledge|, which involves |giving up| or |bracketing| knowledge in certain situations. When experts encounter something that is incompatible with their knowledge, they should be sensitive enough to recognise a new situation by reconsidering or suspending their action. In addition to exploring the idea of |unlearning|, the paper introduces three other aspects of negative knowledge: |to know what we do not know|, |to know what not to do| and |the value of failure|. Negative knowledge seems to be possible, useful and even necessary in expert organisations because old ways of thinking or knowing something often prevent us from seeing new potentials.

Keywords: negative knowledge; expertise; unlearning; failure; new sensitivity; postmodern enterprises; creativity; collaboration; action nets; knowledge management; knowledge creation; organisational knowledge.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2006.010265

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2006 Vol.2 No.2, pp.140 - 153

Published online: 12 Jul 2006 *

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