Knowledge Management

Performance Is Not Always Transferable

The basic skill of a taxi driver is driving. Taxi driving, though, is not universally applicable, for a London taxi driver will have to learn another type of driving—right-side driving—to earn a living in the United States. Equally, the additional tacit knowledge that makes the cabbie a better driver in London is quite irrelevant in New York. The logic is deafening. A decision maker, however good in one situation or location, is not necessarily of the same quality in another. This conclusion was borne out empirically by three academics from Harvard Business School who were investigating the phenomenon of corporate poaching, which represents a large proportion of executive and vocational churn in the mercurial ...