Tacit and explicit knowledge in construction management

Abstract

In construction better practice has been sought through the employment of knowledge management. Interest in tacit knowledge has grown due to its importance for raising performance at all organisational levels. Aspects of the limits which tacit knowledge places on knowledge management approaches in construction are considered with the focus being upon broad knowledge management categories rather than the details of particular methods. The distinction between knowing how and knowing that coupled with examination of whether the main mode of knowing is tacit or explicit is used to analyse the relationship between tacit and explicit knowledge in construction. There are significant general theoretical difficulties with incorporating tacit knowledge into the objectivist knowledge management approaches which predominate in construction particularly since methods for converting tacit to explicit knowledge are problematic. Improving performance requires appreciating the limitations of objectivist and practice based knowledge management within the context of construction projects as consideration of performance management measures illustrates.

Horseplay, care and hands on hard work: gendered strategies of a project manager on a construction site

“…Gender disappears as a matter of relevance, and focus shifts onto strategies that employ caring, horseplay and hard work. Focusing attention on the specific management strategies may ease the theoretical problems that Addis (2014) identify regarding incorporating tacit management of expertise with the objectivist knowledge management approaches which predominate in construction currently.…”

“…Although it is widely agreed that such an approach is oversimplified, focus on technical and explicit knowledge and expertise aligned with rational management prevails (Boyd and Addis, 2011). Not only is tacit knowledge more difficult to manage in practice as it cannot be codified, stored or distributed easily; there are significant theoretical problems with incorporating into it the objectivist knowledge management approaches which predominate in construction (Addis, 2014). Tacit knowledge is person specific and context dependent (ibid: 1247).…”

Is the evolution of building sustainability assessment methods promoting the desired sharing of knowledge amongst project stakeholders?

“…The last decade has seen the emergence of the sustainability professional (advisors, consultants, assessors, managers) which has seen projects source directly sustainability expertise to supplement the knowledge base and literacy levels. Reflecting on renewed exploration of the role of expertise in construction management (Addis 2016) this research links to Stribbe and Luna (2009) arguing that these individuals provide the intelligence both emotional and technical through their training and also through their experience to supplement knowledge gaps, guide decisions to help clients deliver the best BSAM rating but also facilitate the two types of learning required to promote learning and improved sustainability literacy amongst project stakeholders.…”

Knowledge Management and its Impact on Organizational Performance: Evidence from Pakistan

“…During 1998s, to 1990s, its demand has been on top and organizations have pursue to its quality and importance warmly. (Addis, 2016;Holtshouse, Borghoff, & Pareschi, 2013).…”