How to share what you cannot see : A study of the sharing of tacit knowledge within PricewaterhouseCoopers

The necessity of managing the tacit knowledge sharing is becoming more significant because of the upcoming demographic changes facing companies all over the industrialized part of the world. The so called baby boomers born in the middle part of the 20th century will soon reach the retirement age and this is anticipated to create an extensive loss of knowledge. In light of that, companies face a dilemma when over bridging the knowledge gap between their more experienced senior employees who have accumulated plenty of knowledge and the novel ones. It opens the discussion concerning how to “capture” that knowledge since it is the competitive advantage in the contemporary world. This is particularly sensible for knowledge-based firms which are the main focus of this study. Scholars have developed different approaches of the knowledge sharing phenomenon, but still there is a lack of understanding regarding how this abstract process should be supported in a daily basis. This work investigates the factors that aid or hinder the knowledge process within consulting firms as a prerequisite to reach a greater awareness of the particular setting that will foster the sharing. Supported by a theoretical background, this was accomplished by following a systems approach, favoring qualitative methods. The empirical data was collected using semistructured qualitative interviews within the headquarter offices of Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Stockholm, Sweden. The exploratory results suggest that by converging specific aspects, consulting firms can overcome the most common barriers when sharing knowledge transfer. Furthermore, it is pointed out the positive conditions a firm has to develop as well as Theoretical and Managerial implications