Tacit Knowledge Transfer in Australian Universities: Exploring the Barriers and Enablers

Abstract

As organisational knowledge is greatly dependant on the tacit knowledge that its employees possess, it is important to pursue strategies that encourage sharing of employees' tacit knowledge. However, tacit knowledge sharing can be better promoted by understanding the barriers and enablers of tacit knowledge transfer. As universities are seen as the flag-bearers of knowledge creation and dissemination, this paper focuses on identifying the barriers and enablers of tacit knowledge transfer in universities. A qualitative research method was utilised for this study in which interviews of academics from four Australian universities were carried out. The reporting of data is based on a structured interpretative approach drawing demonstrative examples from the interview transcripts. The findings suggest that human, social and culture factors are addressed to ensure successful transfer of tacit knowledge. For effective transfer of tacit knowledge, universities need to create conditions that strengthen the enablers and suppress the barriers.