Interoperability of implicit and explicit firm‐level knowledge accumulation

Purpose – The essence of core competitiveness in an enterprise is the ability to embed knowledge into the routine work of the enterprise and to transform personal knowledge into corporate assets. The purpose of this paper is to explore this area. Design/methodology/approach – This study reviews three interoperated variables of external knowledge acquisition, enterprise knowledge accumulation, and knowledge accumulation mechanism to construct a model of knowledge interoperability within firms. Findings – This study finds that in the thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT‐LCD) industry, implicit knowledge collected through the interactive coordination mechanism has a significant impact on the knowledge accumulation of the enterprise, where knowledge is accumulated in real technology systems and employees’ skills. The more willing companies are to invest resources in the shaping of knowledge and the environment, the more successful they will be in transforming implicit knowledge into explicit knowledge. Research limitations/implications – This study points to a new direction of interchanging implicit and explicit knowledge within firms. Practical implications – This study argues that an improved interoperability of firm‐level knowledge can mitigate problems of knowledge integration and sharing, leading to better decisions and greater partner synergies. Social implications – Knowledge transformation allows employees to share and transfer valuable experience and knowledge within the enterprise and forms a knowledge‐intensive corporate culture or work environment, creating so‐called learning‐ and innovation‐oriented enterprises. Originality/value of paper – This study provides the impetus of valuable experience and knowledge of employees to be fully shared and passed on, resulting in a corporate culture and working atmosphere that creates the so‐called learning‐oriented enterprise or innovative enterprise.