Skip to main content

Tacit knowledge, organizational learning and societal institutions: An integrated framework

Lam, Alice (2000) Tacit knowledge, organizational learning and societal institutions: An integrated framework. Organization Studies, 21 (3). pp. 487-513. ISSN 0170-8406. (doi:10.1177/0170840600213001) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:16292)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840600213001

Abstract

The importance of tacit knowledge in organizational learning and innovation has become the focus Of considerable attention in the recent literature. Our understanding of the nature of the links between tacit knowledge and organizational learning, however, has been hampered by the lack of a conceptual framework integrating micro-level learning activities with organizational forms and macro-level societal institutions. This paper seeks to achieve such an integrative task. It argues that there is an interactive relationship between dominant knowledge types and organizational forms. Further, the extent to which tacit knowledge constitutes the knowledge base of the firm, and how it is formed and used are powerfully shaped by the broader institutional context. The paper develops a four-fold typology at the cognitive, organizational and societal levels, as an analytical framework to explain the links between knowledge types, organizational forms and societal institutions. It shows how the three levels interact to shape the learning and innovative capabilities of firms. The theory developed in this paper represents the first attempt to integrate the diverse strands of literature and different levels of analysis into a single coherent framework.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0170840600213001
Uncontrolled keywords: tacit knowledge; organizational learning; innovation; societal institutions; learning economy
Subjects: A General Works
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Kent Business School (do not use)
Depositing User: O.O. Odanye
Date Deposited: 02 Apr 2009 17:17 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:54 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/16292 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.