Which statement about explicit knowledge is true?

Which statement about explicit knowledge is true?

• A. Explicit knowledge is thought to have a stronger impact on competitive advantage than tacit knowledge.
• B. Tacit knowledge can be easily codified into manuals.
• C. Explicit knowledge is more easily communicated and codified than tacit knowledge.
• D. Tacit knowledge has no relevance to competitive advantage.

Answer: (C)

Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be written down, documented, and readily shared. The statement that is true is that explicit knowledge is more easily communicated and codified than tacit knowledge because it can be captured in manuals, databases, procedures, and other formal records. This makes it straightforward to transfer to others through training, documentation, or digital systems. Tacit knowledge, by contrast, is deeply personal, experience-based, and context-specific, making it hard to articulate and convert into explicit instructions. You can think of explicit knowledge as the stuff you can write down and teach from a manual, while tacit knowledge lives in skills and know-how learned through doing and observation. While explicit knowledge can influence performance, tacit knowledge often underpins unique capabilities and competitive advantage, which is why the other statements don’t fit as well.

Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be written down, documented, and readily shared. The statement that is true is that explicit knowledge is more easily communicated and codified than tacit knowledge because it can be captured in manuals, databases, procedures, and other formal records. This makes it straightforward to transfer to others through training, documentation, or digital systems. Tacit knowledge, by contrast, is deeply personal, experience-based, and context-specific, making it hard to articulate and convert into explicit instructions. You can think of explicit knowledge as the stuff you can write down and teach from a manual, while tacit knowledge lives in skills and know-how learned through doing and observation. While explicit knowledge can influence performance, tacit knowledge often underpins unique capabilities and competitive advantage, which is why the other statements don’t fit as well.