Collective tacit knowledge generation through play

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature by examining the generation of collective tacit knowledge (CTK) in organizations through social ludic activities (SLAs) as a specific form of playful micro-practice carried out by employees. Design/methodology/approach This paper builds upon socially distributed cognition (SDC) and transactive memory systems (TMS) to analyze SLAs’ contribution to CTK creation in the workplace. These theories provide conceptual underpinnings for comprehending how workers self-organize shared activities to store, retrieve and use each other’s tacit knowledge within the collective. An example is provided to illustrate SLAs’ manifestation in an agile-based software development firm. Findings SLAs may facilitate collective members’ knowing and learning whereby different solutions are sought and potential tactics to cope with work issues are attuned to changing conditions by the collective members at work. Four moderating factors, namely physical proximity, psychological safety, richness of communication pathways and intensity of interactions, are identified and propositions to conceptualize their role in CTK generation through SLAs are formulated. Practical implications SLA players’ efforts to solve dysfunctionalities at work are not merely prompted by interdependencies among work-related tasks but also driven by high levels of social embeddedness and interaction among employees. Managers should become more supportive of collective playful activities in their organizations by building a propitious corporate climate for the mobilization of CTK in the workplace. Understanding SLAs as a soft group device where CTK resides, transits, is enacted and continuously metamorphosed represents an important complement to hard devices offered by information systems. Originality/value Relying on the notion of SLAs as a means to cope with work concerns, the authors integrate insights from organizational play, knowledge management, SDC and TMS literatures to advance the authors’ understanding of CTK creation through collective playful undertakings at work.

Salespeople’s innovativeness: a driver of sales performance

“…These findings extend Chen et al's (2015) finding that salespeople's innovativeness is a type of strategic input with the potential to empower the ability to articulate value for the customer and that the ability to articulate the value proposition is a prerequisite for new product sales performance. The current study's finding strengthens the argument that in tacit knowledge exchange process, member of sales peer group will knowing who knows what, where expertise is and what expertise is required (Spraggon and Bodolica, 2017), and what expertise is transplanted for enhancing a collective members' cognition and produce novel ideas for tackling work-related concerns especially in the very competitive and dynamic situation of selling activity.…”

Is it possible to share tacit knowledge using information and communication technology tools?

“…Online forums and chat rooms may facilitate tacit knowledge sharing, and according to Reamy (2002), storytelling is the best way to transfer tacit knowledge. Spraggon and Bodolica (2017) also suggested that social ludic activities such as games may aid knowledge transfer.…”

Communication in Theory and Research on Transactive Memory Systems: A Literature Review

“…For example, Wegner et al (1985, p. 191) described TMS as a group-level memory system that "involves the operation of the memory systems of the individuals and the processes of communication that occur within the group." What is theorized to make TMS "transactive" are the communicative interactions among group members that make possible the encoding, storing, retrieving, and updating of information from individual memory systems (Gomez & Ballard, 2015;Hollingshead & Brandon, 2003;Palazzolo, 2005;Palazzolo, Serb, She, Su, & Contractor, 2006;Singh, Dong, & Gero, 2013;Spraggon & Bodolica, 2017;Su, 2012). Building on Wegner (1995), Lewis, Belliveau, Herndon, and Keller (2007) went a step further by arguing that TMS has a structure-(i.e., directory of who knows what) and a process component (i.e., transactive communication), emphasizing the importance of communication in TMS development and functioning.…”