TY - JOUR
T1 - Thinking along
T2 - A process for tapping into knowledge across boundaries
AU - Berends, Hans
AU - Garud, Raghu
AU - Debackere, Koenraad
AU - Weggeman, Mathieu
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The knowledge management literature offers knowledge 'transfer' and 'transformation' as mechanisms to tap into the diversity of knowledge that lies dispersed over organisations. However, it is difficult to transfer and transform knowledge across epistemic boundaries and, even if these processes were to unfold, specialisation could well be compromised. Based on in-depth studies carried out within two industrial research organisations, we describe an alternative mechanism for tapping into knowledge across boundaries. We call this 'thinking along', an interactive process that allows a person with a problem to tap into someone else's knowledge base without them having to get involved in each others' ways of knowing. In contrast to knowledge transfer and knowledge transformation, thinking along circumvents interpretative barriers, while retaining specialisation.
AB - The knowledge management literature offers knowledge 'transfer' and 'transformation' as mechanisms to tap into the diversity of knowledge that lies dispersed over organisations. However, it is difficult to transfer and transform knowledge across epistemic boundaries and, even if these processes were to unfold, specialisation could well be compromised. Based on in-depth studies carried out within two industrial research organisations, we describe an alternative mechanism for tapping into knowledge across boundaries. We call this 'thinking along', an interactive process that allows a person with a problem to tap into someone else's knowledge base without them having to get involved in each others' ways of knowing. In contrast to knowledge transfer and knowledge transformation, thinking along circumvents interpretative barriers, while retaining specialisation.
KW - Communities-of-practice
KW - Industrial research
KW - Knowledge management
KW - Knowledge sharing
KW - Organisational knowledge
KW - Specialisation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649697896&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1504/IJTM.2011.037238
DO - 10.1504/IJTM.2011.037238
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649697896
SN - 0267-5730
VL - 53
SP - 69
EP - 88
JO - International Journal of Technology Management
JF - International Journal of Technology Management
IS - 1
ER -