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Knowing as Semiosis: Steps Towards a Reconceptualization of ‘Tacit Knowledge’

In: Organizations as Knowledge Systems

Author

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  • Stephen Gourlay

Abstract

The importance of tacit knowledge in and for organizations is widely attested to. As Baumard (1999: 8, 22) wrote, tacit knowledge is the basis of expertise, it is critical to daily management activities, and is a firm’s source of competitive advantage (see also Wagner and Sternberg, 1986; Lubit, 2001; Ambrosini and Bowman, 2001; Johannessen et al., 2001; Berman et al., 2002; Marwick, 2001). Nevertheless it appears that there are flaws in the argument for tacit knowledge, and that we lack agreement on what the phrase refers to, which bode ill for any attempts to manage it. This chapter will argue that Polanyi has largely been misunderstood, but that his focus on knowing, an activity, and Dewey and Bentley’s (1949) treatment of knowing as semiosis opens the way for a potentially more coherent approach to tacit knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Gourlay, 2004. "Knowing as Semiosis: Steps Towards a Reconceptualization of ‘Tacit Knowledge’," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Haridimos Tsoukas & Nikolaos Mylonopoulos (ed.), Organizations as Knowledge Systems, chapter 4, pages 86-105, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-52454-5_5
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230524545_5
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