Support of IT-Mediated Tacit Knowledge Transfer –A Process View

Support of IT-Mediated Tacit Knowledge Transfer –

An Exploratory Study from Process View

吳建興

Agenda



Background



Theoretical Concepts



Method



Results and Discussion



Concluding Remarks

1. Knowledge Creation 1. Knowledge Creation 2. Knowledge storage 2. Knowledge storage 3. Knowledge Sharing 3. Knowledge Sharing 4. Knowledge adoption 4. Knowledge adoption

Knowledge Cycle

Knowledge Cycle

Knowledge Cycle

海眠寶寶的創意

海眠寶寶的創意

3. Knowledge Sharing 3. Knowledge Sharing 先看一下內隱知識的特性 先看一下內隱知識的特性 可以轉移嗎可以轉移嗎??

蟹堡Tacit K

From: http://www.google.com.tw/search?q=%E6%B5%B7%E7%B6%BF% E5%AF%B6%E5%AF%B6&hl=zh-TW&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=

u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-MczT-zBJ8_tmAX02-iZAg&ved=0CEIQsAQ &biw=1024&bih=460

Background-1



Tacit knowledge is ineffable

₍

Tsoukas & Vladimirou, 2001, Tsoukas, 2003

) ?



Tacit knowledge is transferrable

(Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Nonaka & Konno, 1998; Garavelli et al., 2002; D’Eredita & Barreto, 2006

) ?



The current study regards that tacit

• The tacit knowledge development process

happens through various ways (e.g., SECI, Nonaka). However, conveniently receiving knowledge does not ensure a successful

knowledge development.

 The knowledge transfer process is influenced by

(1) the characteristics of knowledge being

transferred, (2) technology used, (3) knowledge provider and (4) knowledge receiver. (Helic, et al., 2004; Gosain, 2007; Murray & Peyrefitte, 2007)

Background-3

 Garavelli et al. (2002) indicate that knowledge

transfer is basically a cognitive process which

creates a system that facilitates knowledge flow from its provider to the receiver.

 There are five stages considered in the process:

(1) the knowledge provider’s cognitive system, (2) knowledge externalization,

Background-4

 IT codification and interpretation can describe ways

regarding how to represent knowledge objects.

 IT has its own characteristics, and in turn, may have a

dissimilar support suitability with the knowledge transfer process.

 Research purposes:

(1) To rank importance of knowledge transfer process for transfer efficacy.

(2) To better utilize IT in the knowledge transfer process

Theoretical concepts-1

Knowledge transfer is a cognitive

process. This cognitive process

can be further divide into two

stages, which are called

10/30

Theoretical concepts-2

Receiver

Provider

Knowledge transfer process

Cognitive system Cognitive system (receiver) Knowledge object construction Knowledge compilation Knowledge interpretation

Theoretical concepts-3

 To examine transfer efficacy and IT’s suitability in supporting

knowledge transfer process is a complex decision issue.

 IT supporting characteristics, and the analysis technique

used are issues that have to be considered in depth.

 AHP is utilized to derive suitability of knowledge transfer

Method-1

(1) According to Garavelli et al. (2002), knowledge process was divided into five stages

(2) IT was classified into four types.

(3) AHP was utilized to derive the importance ranking of IT support suitability.

(4) The domain specialists and scholars were invited to group IT types and their associated items.

(5) The output included

(1) the importance ranking of knowledge transfer stages on knowledge transfer efficacy.

(2) the importance ranking of ICT support suitability on knowledge transfer stages.

groupware system (group decision support system, document management system, video conference system, collaborative filtering system, workflow system), decision support system, enterprise system Interaction & Collaboration information system applications

Internet forum (electric community of practice, community of knowledge, chat room, blog, e-learning), enterprise Internet (enterprise portal, intranet, extranet), Internet search (cookies, hypertext, search engine, www, portal)

Networking &

Communication

Internet

technique

Database (knowledge base, model base, relational database), data warehouse, FAQ

Storage &

Management

Database technique

media tool (flash, virtual reality), application tool (knowledge map, online analysis process, case-based reason tool, simulation, brainstorm

software, computer-aided design), artificial intelligence software (intellectual agent, expert system, data mining tool)

Presentation & Analysis Software tool IT items Use IT types

Method-3

Method-4



Sampling plan and interview

The invited participants were domain scholars,

consultants, or specialists with more than 5 years

experiences.

– They are basically scholars or experts in the field of cognitive

psychology and cognitive behavior.

– 40 participants (10 in the domain of cognition science, 20 in

KT and IT and 10 in education), through e-mail and telephone calls.

Method-5

 Two steps to complete the assignment

– One was the review of knowledge transfer process and

the explanation of research purpose.

– Another was to conduct pair-wise comparisons.  To use the AHP, the decision problem has to be

decomposed into a hierarchy of the more easily

comprehended sub-problems which can be analyzed independently.

 The hierarchy had three levels, including knowledge

Method-6

Knowledge object Knowledge object Externalization Externalization Interpretation Interpretation Efficacy of knowledge transfer Efficacy of knowledge transfer Provider’s cognitive system Provider’s cognitive system Receiver’s cognitive system Receiver’s cognitive system Software tool Software tool Database technique Database technique Internet technique Internet technique Information system applications Information system applications

Method-7

 The generated questionnaire which was based on an

antithesis comparison served as an appraisal method.

 There are nine scales: 1 –equal importance, 3 –

moderate importance, 5 –strong importance, 7 –very strong importance, 9 –extreme importance,

2、4、6、8 was intermediary.

 Data analysis technique

– After a pair-wise comparison of each level factor was

carried out, a quantification to conveniently establish a pair-wise comparison matrix was given.

Method-8

 For the reliability of the questionnaire’s content, the consistence

index (C.I.) was used for the questionnaire’s hierarchies. C.I. equal to λmax－n / n

When C.I.<0.1, they are acceptable.

C.R. is C.I./R.I, where R.I. is the random index.

Results and discussion-1

(Process level)



The valid questionnaires available are 21.

(28 returned, 2 are incompletely filled, 5

have a C.R.>0.1 )



It indicates that the cognitive systems of

both knowledge provider and receiver

obtain higher importance.

Priorities with respect to:

Combined

Goal: which information technology

Cognitive system of receiver

.251

Cognitive system of provider

.233

Externalization

.215

Interpretation

.171

knowledge object

.130

Inconsistency = 0.01

Results and discussion-2

0.303 0.258 0.168 0.270 RCS (0.251) 0.235 0.226 0.201 0.337 Intp (0.171) 0.232 0.198 0.319 0.251 KO (0.130) 0.318 0.218 0.239 0.225 Ext (0.215) 0.239 0.227 0.327 0.207 PCS (0.233) Efficacy of knowledge transfer ISA InT DT ST Support level Process level Goal level

Results and discussion-3



Based on the participant’s evaluation results, the

cognitive system

has a higher impact on the

knowledge transfer efficacy.



It is also found that the knowledge receiver’s

cognitive system has a higher importance than

that of the provider.

Results and discussion-4

 Participants regard the knowledge object to be the least important.

For transfer process

 Issue: Theoretical view Vs. Practical view

To further examine this argument, there would be some issues that need to be considered: (1) to identify cognitive systems for both provider and receiver, (2) to define a sampling plan, (3) to model cognitive characteristics knowledge objects, (4) to develop a test environment, (5)to define a suitable data collection method,(6) to define a measure of transfer efficacy, and (7) to analyze and compare the collected data.

Results and discussion-5

(Supporting level)

For IT support



Second, a summary of IT supporting suitability in Table.

(1) interaction and collaboration： for providers and receivers

performing knowledge transfer,

(2) storage and management for data of provider’s cognitive

characteristics and multi-formed knowledge objects, and

Results and discussion-6



The knowledge provider and receiver can

conduct the knowledge exchange, discussion

or interaction via groupware.



Most participants regard Internet technique

as the fundamental infrastructure and could

be treated together with the information

Results and discussion-7

 The database is used to store and manage data

which records the provider’s cognitive characteristics while using information system application and

performing externalization.

 This study’s finding indicates that the database

technique is quite important in storing and managing a provider’s cognitive characteristics.

Results and discussion-8

Issue: Investigation of the usefulness:

(1) to define the techniques of acquiring tacit knowledge from experts, such as concept map, decision tree, causal map, and

metaphors

(2) to define attributes of the database used to model and manage knowledge object, relations, and individual cognitive

characteristics

Concluding remarks-1

 Knowledge transfer efficacy is evaluated according to the

amount of knowledge sources obtained by the knowledge receiver, which has not yet conducted in the current study.

 The major results obtained indicate that both the

knowledge receiver’s and provider’s cognitive system

obtain the highest importance while knowledge objects is of least importance.

 In terms of IT types, the database technique and

information system applications are found highly important for the providing part.

Concluding remarks-2

 Experiments for examining the impact of context similarity

and cognitive system consistency on knowledge transfer efficacy are necessary to be the focus of further research.

 Participants biasness exist, and consequently may

weaken the research observations and suggestions in our study.