Uncovering Tacit Knowledge in Construction Industry: Communities of Practice Approach

The ability to capture and manage project knowledge in a systematic manner has always been a significant challenge to the construction industry due to its fragmented and transient nature. The issue is compounded by the fact that most of the knowledge resides in people's heads and exists in the form of tacit knowledge. The objective of this paper is to explore how Communities of Practice (CoPs) can facilitate construction-related organizations to capture and manage project knowledge with particular attention given to tacit knowledge by critically reviewing the literature on the relationship between knowledge, the construction industry and Communities of Practice.