THE GREY AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND THE LONG SHADOW OF THE TACIT-EXPLICIT DICHOTOMY A Working Paper Submitted to the 4th International Conference for Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management (London, Ontario) Theme: Theorizing and representing Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management

In its current state of early development, the field of knowledge management (KM) is increasingly characterized by a small number of recurrent dichotomies. Chief among these is the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge that Nonaka and others seem to have borrowed from Polanyi’s educational theory. The reverence this dichotomy is now accorded is considerable, and nearly every work written on KM seems compelled to pay it dues to it, or at least cite it. Stepping back to pose a useful if irreverent question, this working paper argues that the much cited tacit-explicit dichotomy may be overused; going further, we even raise the possibility that this dichotomy may be casting a “long shadow” on the field and is thus hampering its development. * William Acar, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242 (330) 672-1156, fax: (330) 672-2448, [email protected].