Firms can create expert systems, databases, flow
charts, and reports on any part of their operations. They can stimulate intraunit communica-
tion, create cross-functional teams, develop specialized languages and technical lingo, install
training programs, expand organizational documentation, and, if everything else fails, they can
hire consulting firms to extract and elucidate hidden capabilities and obstacles. Thus, the level
of codification (and the level of tacitness) of organizational knowledge is not exogenous to
organizations. Rather, it increasingly is a decision variable for organizations.