Framing the externalisation phase of knowledge creation in an organisational setting

Organisational knowledge can be defined as specific knowledge that a firm possesses and uses to add value to the incoming factors of production in a unique manner, while organisational knowledge creation can be described as the process of eliciting, harnessing and amplifying knowledge created within the individual and linking this newly codified knowledge to an organisation's existing knowledge system. The strategic use of this newly codified knowledge can provide an impetus for innovation and, if difficult to replicate, a firm can lever its use to gain competitive advantage. This paper explores the externalisation phase of knowledge creation, with specific focus on the articulation of tacit knowledge into explicit form in an organisational setting. Acknowledging how the process of converting tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge can be difficult, studies have shown how externalisation significantly increases perceived organisational knowledge satisfaction and suggest that this is an area where improvements in the conversion process are required. Based on the foregoing call for research, the aim of this paper is to contemplate the ways in which organisations manage the externalisation phase of knowledge creation in order to harness organisational knowledge. The paper identifies both articulation enabling conditions and externalisation enabling conditions based on the extant literature. Guided by the literature review, the researchers present an externalisation phase framework for organisational knowledge creation, representing the flow of tacit knowledge through the articulation process that leads to explication of said knowledge in an organisational setting. Next steps are proposed in relation to the exploration of the proposed framework in the production sector.