Knowledge
tacitness is assessed using a three-item scale that measures the extent of the relative difficulty of transferring and imitating the technology (Kogut and Zander, 1993).
Due to the
tacitness of part or even most of this knowledge, decisions concerning the retention of executives are challenging.
In a loosely coupled system, groups have internal coherence but lack rigid ties to other groups: "loose coupling also carries connotations of impermanence, dissolvability, and
tacitness all of which are potentially crucial properties of the 'glue' that holds organizations together" (p.
'Differences in entrepreneurial opportunities: the role of
tacitness and codification in opportunity identification', Journal of Small Business Management, 47(1): 38-57.
There exists many definitions of tacit knowledge which differ with regard to the degrees of
tacitness and capacity to articulate, its embodied or cognitive nature, and its subjective (individual, I) or objective (collective, tradition based) dimensions.
It is the
tacitness of this knowledge that actually leads to MNE advantages over competitors (Harzing, 2000; Kogut & Zander, 1993), by enabling differentiation from competitors through its inimitability (e.g., Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001).
(97.) But see Robin Cowan et al., The Explicit Economics of Knowledge Codification and
Tacitness, 9 INDUS.
"The explicit economics of knowledge codification and
tacitness", Industrial and Corporate Change, 2000, 9 (2), pp.
Some characteristics of knowledge are not covered by the metaphor and remain hidden, like the non-rivalry and non-additiveness of knowledge (Lev, 2001) and the
tacitness of knowledge.
As the role of knowledge and the learning organization has grown, the
tacitness and explicitness of knowledge in the organization will become the key strategic consideration in shaping a competitive strategy (Abdullah and Ahmad, 2009).
Balconi M (2002)
Tacitness, codification of technological knowledge, and the organisation of industry.
