Knowledge Networks – an integrated approach to managing explicit and implicit knowledge

From Polanyi [1967] we know that it is not, for example, the exchange of documents, but the exchange of experiences and individual cognition that represents the highest value for a company. It was Polanyi who first mentioned the differences between implicit and explicit knowledge and the inherent varying value of implicit knowledge. But implicit knowledge is difficult to manage or externalise. Within companies, knowledge management activities to manage and improve their organisational knowledge base are manifold, but most of them lead to the managing of explicit knowledge. One can differentiate between ICT oriented measures, e.g. the development and implementation of knowledge data bases, or knowledge portals which aim to manage mainly explicit knowledge such as documents or guidelines, and organisational activities such as the support of Communities of Practice or the forming of networks which aim to support the transfer and share of implicit knowledge. If we can combine an organizational form like a Knowledge Network, which represents a device for the storage for and transfer of implicit knowledge with ICT tools like e.g. portal components as device for the storage for and transfer of explicit knowledge, we can create a powerful knowledge management instrument that will be able to manage both implicit and explicit knowledge. Both instruments can be combined to provide the foundation of a balanced knowledge management approach. The paper firstly describes briefly the limitations of the current knowledge management approaches and the potentials of ICT, especially portals and organizational forms like communities of practice for knowledge management. It subsequently proposes a compound approach to deliberately balance implicit and explicit knowledge management within the organization. It then introduces the