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Knowledge Capture and Codifi cation 107

experts were interviewed for the same procedure or subject, then confl ict resolution
may be needed. Usually, each individual will be interviewed more than once. This
allows interviewers to validate their understanding of the knowledge that has been
elicited, to fi ll in any missing gaps, and to better conceptualize the content in an
organized manner. Each interview will raise additional questions, whether these are
aimed at clarifying, correcting, or expanding upon critical elements. After a number
of interviews and follow-up sessions, the interviewer will be able to start identifying
key themes and have a preliminary framework for organizing these. Unlike the initial
interview sessions, where new content is generated and captured, subsequent inter-
views are more focused and target a more detailed level.
The best test of whether enough content has been captured is to switch roles: the
interviewer can take on the role of a novice practitioner and verbally or physically go
through the key tasks that have been discussed to date. The interviewee can then vali-
date until such time that both are satisfi ed that the knowledge has been understood
and captured in as complete and valid a manner as possible.

Stories Stories are another excellent vehicle both for capturing and then subsequently
coding tacit knowledge. An organizational story is a detailed narrative of management
actions, employee interactions, and other intraorganizational events that are com-
municated informally within the organization. A story can be defi ned as the telling
of a happening or a connected series of happenings, whether true or fi ctitious ( Denning
2001 ). An organizational story can be defi ned as a detailed narrative of past manage-
ment actions, employee interactions, or other key events that have occurred and that
have been communicated informally ( Swap et al. 2001 ). Conveying information in a
story provides a rich context, remaining in the conscious memory longer and creating
more memory traces than information not in context. Stories can greatly increase
organizational learning and communicate common values and rule sets. Further,
stories remain an excellent vehicle for capturing, coding, and transmitting valuable
tacit knowledge.
However, there are a number of conditions that must be in place in order to ensure
that storytelling in its various enacted forms creates value in a particular organization.
Sole and Wilson (1999) argue that while all stories are narratives, not all narratives are
good knowledge-sharing stories. They use the example of movies that tell stories that
are designed primarily to entertain and therefore need not necessarily be authentic — or
even believable. In contrast, in organizational storytelling, stories are often used to
promote knowledge sharing, inform, and/or prompt a change in behavior, as well as
to communicate the organizational culture, and create a sense of belonging. In order to