Academic Librarianship and Information Research

Academic Librarianship and Information Research

Intuitive Knowledge Management: A Framework for Adding the Third Dimension of Knowledge

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Rouhollah Tavallae 1
Ali Rezaeian 2
Mohammad Hossein Shadmanfar 3
1 : Department of Knowledge Management, Faculty of Management and Strategic Planning, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Knowledge Management, Faculty of Management and Strategic Planning, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/jlib.2026.406098.1803
Abstract
Objective: Although classical knowledge management models have explained the interaction between explicit and tacit knowledge, a deeper layer of knowledge has received less attention. Accordingly, in the present study, an attempt has been made to introduce a third dimension of knowledge, called "intuitive" knowledge, alongside the dimensions of explicit and tacit knowledge.
Method: The research was designed based on a qualitative approach and an interpretive paradigm. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with experts and the analysis process included three stages of open, axial, and selective coding, which ultimately led to the extraction of a paradigmatic model of intuitive knowledge management.
Results: The findings showed that intuition is not only an individual and unconscious experience, but can also be managed as organizational knowledge capital. Conditions such as environmental pressures and uncertainty provide the basis for the activation of intuition, and factors such as trust-based culture, flexible structures, and a supportive organizational environment provide the possibility of its actualization. Also, mechanisms such as narrative, collective reflection, and socialization of experiences transform individual intuitive knowledge into collective knowledge. From a cultural and philosophical perspective, intuitive knowledge also arises from inner inspiration and a heartfelt understanding of the truths and realities of the universe.
Conclusions: Organizational knowledge consists of three dimensions of explicit, tacit, and intuitive knowledge, and for each issue and problem, one or more knowledge cells from the existing organizational knowledge set are used. Therefore, a one-dimensional or even two-dimensional view of organizational knowledge will not be sufficient to solve the organization's real problems, and attention to all three dimensions of organizational knowledge is necessary.
Keywords
intuitive knowledge
intuitive knowledge management
third dimension of knowledge
explicit knowledge
tacit knowledge
decision making
intellectual capital
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Academic Librarianship and Information Research
Volume 59, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 1-24