Sharing Managerial Tacit Knowledge: A Case Study of Managers Working in Malaysia’s Local Government

Abstract

This chapter analyses the practices of sharing managerial tacit knowledge, which has been the preferred approach by local government managers in Malaysia. The data is based on the findings of questionnaires distributed among 308 middle managers. The chapter focuses on the government’s concern around knowledge and the importance of sharing tacit knowledge in order to reduce knowledge loss.The insights of this chapter have important implications for national and local governments in other empirical contexts. In particular, knowledge sharing practices can help management to share managerial tacit knowledge before staff retire or move to other departments and organisations. This is vitally important because if organisations are committed to investing in their human capital through attraction, retention and development initiatives then it is equally important that they are committed to strategies to capture knowledge.