VINE

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the individual employee's role in the process of knowledge retrieval in a US high-technology research, engineering and consulting company, using a constructivist perspective.

Design/methodology/approach – A case study design was used and employed three methods of data collection: interviewing, observation, and document analysis. Using these data gathering methods provided data triangulation and supported the validity of the study. The unit of analysis is individual action. This is an embedded strategy because it involves more than one subunit of analysis. Data are collected across five practices (sections) of one division of this company.

Findings – This study found that people generally followed five steps to retrieve knowledge and that the type of work to accomplish and structure of the team were critical to what knowledge was retrieved and shared. Explicit and tacit knowledge retention structures were identified and revealed that three or fewer individuals were usually involved in the search process of tacit knowledge.

Research limitations/implications – This study does not focus on the process of knowledge storage but only on the process of knowledge access and retrieval. This study only looks at the process of knowledge retrieval during decision-making or problem-solving activities. It collects data through individual interviews at the consultant level. It does not focus on other hierarchical levels, e.g. managerial level, which might have given different perspectives or results.

Practical implications – This finding suggests the need to promote a culture to support knowledge sharing through the help of managers. Leaders should thus focus on strengthening the attitudes of employees to share tacit knowledge, making their own knowledge accessible to other coworkers not only through one-to-one communication but also through the use of explicit knowledge retention structures such as electronic databases. This will be essential for those organizations where employees' day-to-day decisions are not routine decisions and people's expertise represents a decisive source of knowledge to best accomplish a work task. Another implication is that, when an organization wants to preserve its memory, rules and templates should be implemented to teach employees how to convert their own tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge to make it available to the other members. In addition organizations must integrate this activity into work structures, i.e. billing for hours.

Originality/value – This research develops a framework for conceptualizing structures and processes of knowledge retrieval among individuals in organizational contexts. It also identifies and classifies which factors are likely to influence the knowledge retrieval process.