Towards tacit knowledge sharing over social web tools

Purpose – Researchers debate whether tacit knowledge sharing through information technology (IT) is actually possible. However, with the advent of social web tools, it has been argued that most shortcomings of tacit knowledge sharing are likely to disappear. The purpose of this paper is two‐fold: first, to demonstrate the existing debates in the literature regarding tacit knowledge sharing using IT; and second, to identify key research gaps that lay the foundations for future research into tacit knowledge sharing using the social web. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews current literature on IT‐mediated tacit knowledge sharing and opens a discussion on tacit knowledge sharing through the use of the social web. Findings – First, the existing schools of thought in regards to IT ability for tacit knowledge sharing are introduced. Next, difficulties of sharing tacit knowledge through the use of IT are discussed. Then, potentials and pitfalls of social web tools are presented. Finally, the paper concludes that whilst there are significant theoretical arguments supporting the notion that the social web facilitates tacit knowledge sharing there is a lack of empirical evidence to support these arguments and further work is required. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the review include: covering only papers that were published in English, issues of access to full texts of some resources, and the possibility of missing some resources due to search strings used or limited coverage of databases searched. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the fast growing literature on the intersection of KM and IT particularly by focusing on tacit knowledge sharing in social media space. The paper highlights the need for further studies in this area by discussing the current situation in the literature and disclosing the emerging questions and gaps for future studies.