Where does all the ‘know how’ go? The role of tacit knowledge in research impact

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions are increasingly called upon to demonstrate their real world impact, which, in many instances, remains elusive. We believe this is partly due to the under-counting and under-estimation of the importance of tacit knowledge by researchers and regulators. We propose this as a missing contingency in the research-impact relationship. To better acknowledge and utilize tacit research knowledge in the impact process, we emphasize processes of praxis, reflexivity and dialogical sense-making, which help externalize implicit tacit knowledge, and socialization processes, which facilitate enactment, emulation and feedback to develop inherent tacit knowledge. Examples from management research are used to exemplify these processes. The implications of accepting the importance of tacit knowledge in creating impact call for changes in how researchers, universities, funders, assessors and governments, fund, create and assess real world research impact.