Relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within organizations: an exploratory study

Abstract

Resumo: O conhecimento tem sido estudado há bastante tempo dentro da área de Gestão. Entretanto, a partir da década de 1990, com o crescimento da economia baseada em ativos intangíveis, as empresas passaram a preocupar-se com o conhecimento existente em suas organizações, assim como com o seu gerenciamento. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é identificar, exploratoriamente, por meio de um estudo de caso, quais são os fatores relevantes à transferência de conhecimento tácito em uma grande empresa petrolífera brasileira. A presente pesquisa analisa parte relevante da bibliografia acerca da transferência de conhecimento tácito em organizações e, usando abordagem quantitativa baseada em análise fatorial exploratória, coleta evidências visando a identificar, exploratoriamente, os fatores-chave de sucesso à transferência de conhecimento tácito nessa organização em questão. Como resultado final do trabalho, fatores idiossincráticos, a estratégia de gestão do conhecimento adotada pela empresa e a sua estrutura organizacional são identificados como elementos-chave ao sucesso na transferência de conhecimento tácito na organização. Por fim, são consolidadas e apresentadas proposições derivadas dos resultados obtidos -de modo que sejam testadas em estudo explanatório ulterior -, assim como elencadas as limitações da pesquisa em questão.Palavras-chave: Conhecimento tácito. Transferência de conhecimento. Gestão do conhecimento. Estrutura organizacional. Ativos intangíveis.

How to Overcome Barriers to Sharing Tacit Knowledge in Non-Profit Organizations?

“…In this line of thought, Davenport and Prusak (1998) mention that in the organizational context, time is a scarce resource and should be spent on tasks that bring added value to the organization. Sharing tacit knowledge still needs more time to take effect, and the results arise from the exchange of experiences, reflections, and dialogue (Lemos & Joia, 2012). The availability of time is one of the fundamental characteristics to share tacit knowledge (Leonard & Sensiper, 1998;Roberts, 2000).…”

“…According to Szulanski (1996), for a tacit knowledge transfer process to be effective and efficient, there should be no communication failures between the sender and the receiver. Another relevant factor for the success transfer of tacit knowledge is the language used to communicate (Lemos & Joia, 2012). Davenport andPrusak (1998) Haldin-Herrgard (2000) also refer that the terminology and expressions used in the transfer process often assume their own connotation depending on the organizational context on which they are used.…”

Sharing of tacit knowledge in volunteer Portuguese firefighters – paths to diagnosis

“…Thus, to be able to ascertain the existence of tacit knowledge sharing within an organisation, it was possible to compile a set of indicators that are echoed in the literature, and that we adopted for the present study (Oliveira and Pinheiro, 2019) Once the indicators are presented, it is important to reflect on factors relevant to the sharing of tacit knowledge in which these indicators can be grouped, such as the organisational culture, the individual characteristics and the organisational structure. First, people in an organisational context, interact with each other and the organisational context or culture where this occurs, according to Lemos and J oia (2012), is determinant for the sharing of tacit knowledge. Creating a culture conducive to their sharing is, according to Davenport and Prusak (1998), increasingly a critical success factor for organisations.…”

“…In this respect, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) tell us that updating knowledge within an organisation can be achieved through the admission of new people with specific knowledge or skills that can be shared later. For Lemos and J oia (2012), the more the person is open to others, the more likely they are to be willing to share tacit knowledge, as their action will be oriented to spend more time with their colleagues, to deposit more confidence in their relationship with them, greater appreciation of peers' insights and heuristics and greater interest in developing the common language of other professionals.…”

“…First, people in an organisational context, interact with each other and the organisational context or culture where this occurs, according to Lemos and Jóia (2012), is determinant for the sharing of tacit knowledge. Creating a culture conducive to their sharing is, according to Davenport and Prusak (1998), increasingly a critical success factor for organisations.…”