The potential of hermeneutics in information systems research

Cole, Melissa; Avison, David

doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000725

Cited by 72 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Nevertheless, this research will adopt hermeneutics as a mode of analysis, as well. For analytic purposes, hermeneutics provides means to understand textual data, by attempting to disclose the meaning of the text (Butler, 1998;Myers & Avison, 2002;Cole & Avison, 2007). Data analysis process was informed by the use of hermeneutic circle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working with tacit knowledge: An empirical investigation in glass blowing tradition in Sweden

Kurti¹

2012

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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Tacit knowledge is argued to be a crucial resource to organizations' competitive advantage. The majority of research on tacit knowledge is oriented towards the conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus assuming that all knowledge can be made explicit and captured in formal ways. These approaches overlook the intangible nature of tacit knowledge by overestimating that explicit knowledge. This study takes a human centered approach with the aim to examine the factors that are necessary for an environment that works with tacit knowledge. A theoretical framework derived from the literature review and served as guidance for the data collection and analysis. Hermeneutics is the underlying philosophy that guides this study. The study is qualitative study conducted in the glass blowing in Sweden, respectively in two sites Pukeberg and Transjö Hytta. Participants of the study were masters and apprentices from these two settings. Data collection methods included literature studies, documents, participant observation, informal interviews and semi-structured interviews.Results from the analysis show the significance of several social factors that need to be present in an environment that involves tacit knowledge. These factors appeared to be related to each other. Data analysis indicated that not all factors are equally important, thus they have been classified into primary and secondary factors. III Executive summaryIn the knowledge-driven society, tacit knowledge is argued to have become the primary resource for sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. The intangible nature that characterizes tacit knowledge is argued to provide organizations with unique market positions. Despite its importance, tacit knowledge has often been an ambiguous notion and often attributed as the opposite of the explicit knowledge. The majority of approaches focus towards the codification of tacit knowledge and ways of storing it into different Information Technology systems. These approaches treat knowledge as an object that can be detached from the humans, stored, transferred and shared.This study has taken a human centred approach aiming to identify the necessary factors that enable effective working with tacit knowledge. The study is conducted in the glass blowing tradition in Sweden, respectively in two glass blowing facilities. The rationale on focusing the study in this tradition relies on the fact that this tradition has preserved the traditional master/apprentice relation. Data is collected from both settings through literature studies, documents, participant observations, informal interviews and semi-structured interviews.Results from the data analysis show the significance of several social factors that need to be present in an environment that involves tacit knowledge. These factors appeared to be related to each other, some contributing to the others. Data analysis indicated that not all factors are equally important. Thus they have been classified into primary and secondary factors. Data collect...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working with tacit knowledge: An empirical investigation in glass blowing tradition in Sweden

Kurti¹

2012

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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“…In addition, the analysis of qualitative data obtained from the interviews was based on a hermeneutical approach [1,2]. As such, each interview was fully transcribed into text.…”

Section: The Case and The Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Not-So-Open Wikis: Structures of Collaboration At Work

Mansour

2012

From Research to Practice in the Design of Cooperative Systems: Results and Open Challenges

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“…The final analytical stage was "another stage of interpretation" as portrayed by Cole & Avison (2007). We were intrigued by some observations in the data of certain dynamics underlying the enactment of structure.…”

Section: "We Have the Ability To Make Certain (Wiki) Pages Visiblementioning

confidence: 99%