Data underlying the publication: Do Gaming Simulations Substantiate That We Know More Than We Can Tell?

Revealing tacit knowledge often is seen as very valuable for organizations, although it is usually challenging to enunciate and share this type of knowledge.This study uses a participatory design and the application of a board gaming simulation as instruments to extract tacit knowledge. To illustrate this application, the gaming simulation is played with entrepreneurs from horticulture. Horticulture represents a complex social system where tacit knowledge plays a major role in the trade process. A participatory design process is used to explore whether the design and play of gaming simulations enable participants to explicate their tacit knowledge. Participants’ participation in designing the gaming simulation explicated that reconstructing reality was a prerequisite for their commitment.The results from playing simulation sessions show that participants were able to: (1) narrow down the anecdotic behaviour to a few factors; (2) to structure these factors; (3) explore how these factors relate to trade barriers and (4) to explain which tactics are applied to foster trade.The educational value of this study is that it helped entrepreneurs in understanding complex real-life situations.

对于各类组织而言，挖掘隐性知识（tacit knowledge）通常被视作极具价值的工作，但这类知识往往难以清晰阐述与共享。本研究采用参与式设计（participatory design）与桌游模拟（board gaming simulation）作为提取隐性知识的工具。为说明该应用路径，研究团队面向园艺业创业者开展了桌游模拟实验。园艺业属于复杂社会系统，隐性知识在其交易流程中发挥着核心作用。本研究通过参与式设计流程，探究桌游模拟的设计与实施能否帮助参与者阐明自身的隐性知识。参与者在参与桌游模拟设计的过程中发现，重构现实场景是他们投入参与的必要前提。模拟实验的结果显示，参与者可达成以下目标：(1) 将零散的经验性行为归纳为若干核心影响因素；(2) 对这些影响因素进行结构化梳理；(3) 探究这些因素与贸易壁垒之间的关联；(4) 阐明用于促进贸易的各类策略。本研究的教育价值在于，它能够帮助创业者更好地理解复杂的现实经营场景。