Relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within organizations: an exploratory study

Abstract

Knowledge and management of such knowledge have been studied for some time now in the field of Management. However, in the 1990s, with the growth in the economy based on intangible assets, companies needed more than an unstructured approach to corporate knowledge management to succeed in this new competitive environment. Therefore, this article aims to identify, in an exploratory way, the relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within a major Brazilian oil company trough a case study. This study reviews the literature concerning tacit knowledge transfer within organizations, and using a quantitative approach based on exploratory factorial analysis, it collects facts in order to identify the relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within the organization under study. It can be said that idiosyncratic factors, the knowledge management strategy adopted by the company, and its organizational structure are the critical elements for the success of tacit knowledge transfer within the organization under analysis. Finally, three propositions arising from the results obtained are then consolidated and presented in order that they may be tested in a future explanatory study and the research limitation are unveiled.