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

Sammanfattning: 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.