The problem of eliciting management knowledge: A case of research into hospitality management knowledge

The paper describes in conceptual and theoretical terms one approach to the difficult problem of eliciting from managers what knowledge they apply to situations and activities they are involved in. A small qualitative study is described which uses a technique that works backwards from behaviour towards knowledge. The aim of the study is to describe how accumulated knowledge is transmitted from education or experience to the moment it is actually used in the context of the hospitality industry. The analysis was interpretative and found that knowledge structures mirrored vocational educational structures and that subjects recall prior knowledge through a categorisation process. A key finding was a set of modes of transmission, which include prototypical examples, pivotal and role model examples and scenarios, which have been built from accumulated experience. The research demonstrated both the usefulness and the difficulty of designing and implementing a reliable knowledge elicitation procedure but suggests that the backwards-facing approach can be fruitful.