4.4 Tacit knowledge in product development

Tacit knowledge is the opposite of explicit knowledge, which is knowledge that can be expressed in words or numbers, in a formal, systematic language, and easily stored and communicated. Tacit knowledge is much more difficult to define (Madhaven and Grover, 1998). It is essentially personal knowledge and therefore is communicated person to person or within a group of people (Nonaka et al., 1996).

Tacit knowledge in the product development team and the company is a combination and reinforcement of the many individuals' tacit knowledge caused by their interactions. Madhaven and Grover (1998) called this embedded knowledge in product development. Evangelista (1999) combined the tacit and explicit knowledge in the group and called it disembodied technology. The results of using disembodied knowledge is embodied knowledge, in this case the product and the other outcomes of the product development. So knowledge is brought into the product development project, knowledge is generated as the project progresses, and finally the knowledge passes from the project as a new product, production specifications, marketing strategy, financial predictions. This knowledge is not only used in the production and marketing of the product, but can be stored for future projects - either as tacit knowledge in people's heads or preferably stored as an explicit knowledge base.

Often tacit knowledge is specific to a context or area; for example some product developers have tacit knowledge of consumers, products and processes, but may have no tacit knowledge of product testing techniques or of process reactions and would need to rely on explicit knowledge in books and manuals. An important tacit knowledge is the understanding of the defining company situation: where the company is, what it wants to achieve and what are its restrictions/limits on product development, and how does it want to achieve product success.