Tacit knowledge acquisition in virtual teams

Each year more organizations shift from costly brick-and-mortar assets to low-cost cyber equivalents which enable geographically spread teamwork via Social Networking Applications (SNAs). While explicit knowledge exchange is densely represented in the literature, there seems to be a lack of sufficient research on the dynamics of tacit knowledge among virtual team members in SNAs. This research paper outlines the results of an international Global Chemical Warfare Team Collaboration (GCWTC) experiment which suggests that tacit knowledge does not flow between people as traditionally prescribed, but is rather only partly inoculated followed by spontaneous self-generation as a factor of trust levels, time exposure and personal communication and comprehension traits. This research triangulates upon a new and exciting theoretical model with which to understand tacit knowledge acquisition. An invitation is extended to utilize the results of this mixed methods study as a foundation to build and test hypotheses for future quantitative research.