Title: The difficulty with which tacit knowing is transformed into explicit knowledge

Authors: Sarah Philipson

Addresses: University of Gävle, SE-801 76 Gävle, Sweden

Abstract: This is a conceptual paper giving a fundamental critique of knowledge management, as conceptualised by Nonaka and colleagues by a critical reading of Polanyi, inspired by the Russian psychologist Vygotsky and the US engineering professor Ferguson. The findings are that the externalisation of tacit knowing is much more complex and less prone to be managed than suggested in extant literature. In creating knowledge from such tacit knowing the community pf practice is identified as crucial.

Keywords: tacit knowing; externalisation; explicit knowledge; gestalt; problematisation; innovation; community of practice; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2019.099410

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2019 Vol.15 No.3, pp.346 - 359

Received: 16 May 2017
Accepted: 31 May 2017
Published online: 02 May 2019 *

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