The Nature and Role of Tacit Knowledge in Independent Music Festivals

This thesis examines how tacit knowledge is understood, experienced and valued by practitioners in the independent music festival sector and how it contributes to individual expertise and organisational capability. Tacit knowledge is described as difficult to articulate, intuitive, skills and knowledge gained through experience and extended practice (Ambrosini & Bowman, 2001; van Houten, 2023). Drawing on knowledge-based organisation theory (e.g. Barney, 1991; Nonaka, 1995; 2000) the study explores the types of knowledge that underpin festival planning and delivery, the extent to which practitioners recognise the tacit dimensions of their knowledge (Polanyi, 1967; Collins, 2010; Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009) and the organisation environments that impact its development and transfer. Semi-structured interviews with independent music festival practitioners were analysed through Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) to demonstrate that experiential knowledge, mainly developed through immersive practice, plays a far more critical role in festival organisation and delivery than is acknowledged in the existing festival and events literature. Whilst tacit knowledge is discussed more widely in organisation theory as a valuable organisational resource (Yang & Farn, 2009), literature on festivals and events has primarily focused on operational, economic, societal and environmental aspects. Therefore, this study addresses an underrepresented research area about the value of tacit knowledge in the context of independent music festivals and is applicable to the wider events sector. The findings indicate that the complex and uncertain operating environment of independent music festivals, combined with their characteristic annual event business model, amplifies their reliance on tacit, intuitive forms of expertise. Unlike many traditional businesses, independent music festivals typically operate with a small core team that draws on contractors and temporary staff to build and deliver the event. This ‘pulsating’ nature of festival organisations (Stadler, 2021) brings discrete challenges, highlighting their susceptibility to operational discontinuity, and the value of experiential, tacit knowledge as fundamental to intuitive decision-making and problem-solving. This study advances understanding of tacit and experiential knowledge by clarifying the boundaries of authentic tacit knowledge and identifying experiential knowledge-in-action, an intuitive, enacted and embodied form of expertise, central to independent music festival practice. It also introduces the Experiential Knowledge Value and Risks model, which highlights the organisational and personal significance of experiential knowledge and the vulnerabilities associated with its loss or lack of recognition. From a practical perspective, this study provides practitioners with frameworks and activities to identify and nurture experiential knowledge, providing opportunities to strengthen learning cultures, enhance continuity and support motivation and wellbeing, including for temporary staff. These contributions demonstrate that experiential knowledge is both a strategic resource and human asset, with an important role to play in the long-term sustainability of independent music festivals.