Towards advancing theorization of knowledge exchange processes: unpacking linkages and sequences among concepts via tacit-explicit knowledge conversion notion

Knowledge Exchange (KE) bridges the gap between science and practice. Situated in the context of Knowledge Management for Development, this study proposes a theoretical advance in understanding KE processes by leveraging on the notion of tacit-explicit knowledge conversion, and the SECI model. Using a case concerning climate change adaptation planning in Botswana, it examines how KE processes combine and sequence to drive effective engagement in an empirical setting. Results reveal a partial SECI spiral of Externalization, Combination, and Internalization modes, with these modes offering insights for understanding and interrogating the combination and sequencing of the KE process concepts. We identified a horizontal (chronological) linkage including knowledge integration, and practice and learning, which provided insights into how the process-related concepts are sequenced. This was found to be built on what we termed a ‘Knowledge Foundation’ comprising linked concepts of trust, information usability, boundary objects, and research capacity (from knowledge broker to campaigner). Together, they comprise a proposed framework by which key KE process-related concepts can be organized,. demonstrating how the KE process-related concepts combine and sequence over time. These findings suggest that the perspective of knowledge as dynamic, coupled with the consideration of the notion of tacit-explicit knowledge conversion, is invaluable for understanding, and ultimately driving, effective knowledge exchange. The study thus advances KE theory, and calls for future exploratory works to consider other interfaces, levels of governance, and context-transcendence of the findings.