2 - Forms of knowledge

Summary

In this and the following chapter on network analysis I will concentrate on building a foundation for what is to follow. I start this work by defining the key concepts associated with knowledge, drawing careful distinctions between them. Needless to say these terms are at times used interchangeably and at times are taken to be quite different things in the burgeoning literature in this area. I then move on to a discussion of various classifications of types of knowledge, starting with the foundational one between tacit and explicit knowledge. These types could serve as the starting point for the definition of relationships in network analysis, the most critical move in any project relating to it. Finally, in part to serve as counterpoint but also to focus on critical dilemmas and questions of balance in organizations, to which managerial judgment must be applied, I discuss ignorance and the positive role it plays in organizations.

What is knowledge?

Knowledge runs the gamut from data, to information, to wisdom, with a variety of distinctions being made between these terms in the literature. While there is a generally recognized ordering among these terms (see Figure 2.1), with wisdom having the least coverage of any of the sets in the figure, they are often used interchangeably and in conflicting ways in the literature, resulting in some confusion (Boahene and Ditsa 2003).