The impact of distance learning on the transfer of tacit knowledge in universities

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated many thoughts around distance education. This exceptional setting highlighted the challenges of effectively transmitting not only explicit knowledge but also those that are difficult to articulate or formulate, essential for the complete training of students, namely tacit knowledge. In this context, the present article examines the impact of distance learning on the transfer of tacit knowledge in academia, our objective is to highlight the different results of the writings clarifying the possibility of transmitting this type of knowledge in an online environment, while highlighting the concepts that relate to our research question.

In this perspective, we have opted for a review of conceptual literature, moving away from the theory of Polanyi for whom the transmission of tacit knowledge proves difficult (Polanyi, 1966)to the connectivist theory which gives more importance to the influence of new technologies in the learning process(Siemens, 2004). Furthermore, the type of media used in distance learning can have a positive or negative impact on the transfer of tacit knowledge, depending on their ability to provide real-world interactions between individuals, such as virtual reality (BEN SAGA & ELMQADDEM, 2023). However, it should be noted that research in this area remains largely theoretical and requires more empirical studies to validate the results and provide practical recommendations.  

Keywords: Distance learning, tacit knowledge, transfer of knowledge, type of media, virtual reality.

Classification JEL : I23, M15, O32.

Paper type: Theoretical Research.