Bridging individual and organizational learning through a systemic approach: toward a double helix knowledge creation model

How should we understand knowledge creation in organizations ? A wide body of empirical and theoretical research aims to identify different types of conversion processes framed by organizations. Stressing the discontinuity of knowledge, the paper argues that conversion processes face tacit traps that do not always allow externalisation. Because of different types of tacit knowledge, related to the way organizations deals with ignorance and to the various nature of complexity emerging from the simple presence of humans inside organized systems, knowledge creation should not be understood as a single spiral conversion but rather as a double helix, referring to the biological DNA model. This double helix process allows the recombination of basic elements, such as knowledge, relation, emotion and object, having specific valences embodied in personal and contextual backgrounds. On the basis of these results, we discuss some implications for innovation and actionable knowledge creation.