The role of SHRM in turning tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge: a cross-national study of the UK and Malta

Abstract

We propose that strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices nurture a context of knowledge sharing where tacit knowledge can be turned into explicit knowledge and that this type of knowledge sharing promotes innovative behaviours. We draw on the fields of knowledge management and international human resource management to show why organisations need to turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge to gain most from their workforce skills and creativity. Findings from a couple of cross-national case studies show how SHRM promotes employees to interact and share knowledge so that there is a conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge that informs innovative behaviour. In Case Study 1, the focus is on a UK local authority that implemented a bundle of SHRM practices through a people management programme, which resulted in a flattened management structure. In Case Study 2, the focus is on a geriatric hospital in Malta that introduced a management presence to an interdisciplinary team working to improve patient care. The analysis also highlights the methodological contribution of qualitative research for enabling inductive enquiry that yields emergent themes – an approach not typically seen in SHRM innovation studies.

Keywords::

• explicit knowledge
• innovative behaviour
• strategic human resource management (SHRM)
• tacit knowledge

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all of the respondents for their participation, good will and knowledge, as well as the management from both the organisations for their comments on this paper. All errors are our own.