How to utilize tacit knowledge in health organizations: An Iranian perspective

Ensiyeh Jamshidi; Sima Nedjat; Saharnaz Nedjat; Sima Nikooee; Narges Rostamigooran; Reza Majdzadeh

doi:10.14196/mjiri.32.116

How to utilize tacit knowledge in health organizations: An Iranian perspective

Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2018 Nov 22:32:116. doi: 10.14196/mjiri.32.116. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Ensiyeh Jamshidi¹, Sima Nedjat², Saharnaz Nedjat³, Sima Nikooee², Narges Rostamigooran⁴, Reza Majdzadeh⁵

Affiliations

¹ Community-based Participatory Research Center, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, School of Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Secretariat of Supreme Council of Health and Food Security, MOH & ME.
⁵ School of Public Health and Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Head of Iran's National Institute of Health Research, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Studies show that 90% of an organization's knowledge is embedded and synthesized in its employees' minds. Thus, when employees leave the organization or their positions change, their valuable knowledge, skills, and experiences are lost, however, if used properly, tacit knowledge can be a source of innovation and competitive advantage in an organization. This study aimed at exploring the methods for sharing and utilizing tacit knowledge in health organizations. Methods: In this study, qualitative approach was adopted to explore ways of utilizing tacit knowledge in health organizations. Tacit knowledge experts, who had published at least one relevant article, conducted 17 individual and 2 group interviews. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants. Methods for sharing and utilizing tacit knowledge were explored by holding in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The results were summarized into 5 categories and 18 themes. The categories included 'identification of different dimensions of organizational knowledge', 'prerequisites of tacit knowledge utilization', 'defining the process of tacit knowledge utilization', 'converting tacit to explicit knowledge', and 'converting tacit to tacit knowledge'. Participants believed that the process of converting tacit to explicit knowledge was a cyclical process that included the understanding the existing situation and detecting knowledge entry points, identifying knowledge items and harvesting them, assessment, codification, and standardization, entry into knowledge repository, and updating. Conclusion: Our results revealed that health organizations need the prerequisites of tacit knowledge sharing to acquire the capacity to utilize this kind of knowledge. Because the themes extracted in this study are rarely used in health organizations, the results will be helpful in guiding the development of knowledge utilization strategies and planning in these organizations.

Keywords: Health organizations; Knowledge utilization; Tacit knowledge.