A critical discourse on tacit knowledge management and the performative agenda: Implications for industry training and development

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the relationship between the tacit knowledge held by learning and development professionals and performance measurement regimes of post-modern organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on Polanyi’s (1958; 1968) influential ideas about tacit knowledge and Lyotard’s (1984) theory of performativity with regard to criteria such as profit-performance, it assesses the applicability and relevance of tacit, working knowledge in the internet age to the daily working lives of industry training and development personnel. A central question for the study is whether such professionals can still tap into and use their tacit know-how without having it reduced by contemporary performance-oriented regimes of “knowledge”.

Findings

It is argued that there is a powerful interaction between tacit knowledge and narratively produced performance regimes – which are now supported by digital-age technologies including developments in artificial intelligence (AI). It has also been argued that fostering organisational environments that encourage open communication and allow a role for critique remains vital.

Research limitations/implications

With systems of knowledge production including AI at the point of potentially overriding human decision-making processes, more research is required into possible implications of uploading workers’ tacit, working knowledge in different contexts and ways to foster open communication and critique in organisations.

Originality/value

The overt linking of classic theories – Polanyi and Lyotard – and applying these to contemporary (digital-age) training and development contexts is original.

Citation

Garrick, J. (2018), "A critical discourse on tacit knowledge management and the performative agenda: Implications for industry training and development", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 42 No. 3/4, pp. 210-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-12-2017-0107