| With the increasingly complex problems that organizations face every day in this global economy, knowledge has become the currency of competitiveness and success. Knowledge as an asset is beginning to merge into the traditional factors of production: land, labor, and capital. Developed and developing nations are devoting more resources to knowledge creation, thus increasing the global pool of knowledge. Knowledge has become an important determinant of competitiveness and, by extension, of a nation's economic well-being (Pinelli et al., 1997). Knowledge can be tacit or explicit. Although initially conceived of at the individual level, tacit knowledge has been recognized as existing in the organization as well.; The present study focused upon the process of within-firm transfer of tacit knowledge and proposed a unified conceptual model which captured the seven dimensions of the learning organization (Watkins & Marsick, 1993) as determinants of the process of within-firm transfer of tacit knowledge and its impact on performance. It did this in the context of Latin American corporations—specifically eight firms in Bogota, Colombia.; The argument advanced in this study was that the process of internal transfer of tacit knowledge is influenced by an organizational environment in which continuity of interaction, information redundancy, and trust are fostered. The determinants of this environment are the seven dimensions of the learning organization. The process of tacit knowledge transfer is also assumed to have a direct influence on performance improvement.; The results suggest that the influence of the dimensions of the learning organization on knowledge performance are mediated by the tacit knowledge transfer process. Linear structural relations analysis revealed the significance of the dimensions ‘empowerment’ and ‘provide leadership’ in the implementation of a learning organization.; Although this research is focused on firms in the manufacturing industry, other types of industries can benefit from the findings. Since this is the first effort in Colombia to relate the dimensions of the learning organization, tacit knowledge transfer, and performance improvement, this research contributes to the enrichment of the learning organization, organizational learning, knowledge management, and adult education research particularly in Colombia and generally in Latin America. |
