Abstract:

In organizations, knowledge exist in both tacit and explicit forms, and it is usually utilized by individuals and groups to achieve organizational objectives. Whereas, much research has been done to examine explicit knowledge utilization in organizations, fewer studies exist on tacit knowledge especially with respect to the use of individuals’ tacit knowledge in achieving organization’s strategic objectives, such as customer satisfaction. This research is therefore focused on testing empirical relationship between individual-tacit knowledge and customer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry. Data was gathered using quantitative research approach. This involved the use of structured questionnaire from 230 managers and other administrative & technical employees and 520 customers of the four major firm in the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) sub-market of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry. Descriptive statistics, Correlation, Regression and T-Test analysis was carried out as means of testing the hypothesis for this research study. The findings showed a significant relationship between individual-tacit knowledge and customer satisfaction. Customers’ level of satisfaction was also found to be significant but with the respondents’ views was not in total agreement. The study recommended that managers in the telecommunication industry should encourage employees to regularly document their experiences about their most prominent challenges encountered on the job.