mercredi 10 novembre 2010

Abstract Alice LAM

Alice LAM (Royal Holloway, University of London): « The learning organisation and societal institutions ».

There is a growing understanding that knowledge is at the core of economic development. The last decades have been characterised by an acceleration of both knowledge creation and knowledge destruction. In this context, the learning capability of firms becomes a major concern for national governments and, vice versa, the national infrastructure supporting knowledge creation and diffusion becomes a concern for management and employees. To get the two to match and support each other becomes a prerequisite for economic success for firms as well as for the national economy. This paper seeks to explain how societal institutions, which may exist at the national or regional levels, shape the types of organisational learning predominating at the level of the firm. It focuses on education and training systems, and labour markets as key societal institutions shaping the micro-level processes of learning and knowledge creation within and between firms. The analysis illustrates the logic of institutionalised variation in patterns of learning and innovation. It argues that tacit knowledge, which is difficult to create and transfer in the absence of social interaction and labour mobility, constitutes a most important source of learning and sustainable competitive advantage in the knowledge economy. Learning builds on trust and social capital. Institutions that are able to imbue these elements into firms and markets encourage interactive learning and are more likely to produce strong innovative capabilities.

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