Tacit Knowledge Acquisition and Codification in Construction Industry: Evidence from Indonesia

Tacit knowledge that dominantly exists in the construction project and embed in humans’ minds could disperse after the project team is disbanded at the end of the project. As the result, repeated mistakes could occur, and lesson learned from the previous project is not optimally utilized for the benefit of future projects. Previous studies show that tacit knowledge is still not successfully managed in the construction industry. Hence, this study aims to (1) explore the process and method of tacit knowledge acquisition and codification and (2) explore the barriers of tacit knowledge acquisition and codification in the construction industry. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with employees from two leading construction companies that are classified as grade-7 (highest grade) in Indonesia. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings are expected to enrich the existing project knowledge regarding tacit knowledge acquisition and codification in which could become the basis for future research in the tacit knowledge management areas.