Learning from interorganizational projects

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to consolidate the existing research on interorganizational projects and to explore how organizations learn by closely examining multilevel learning, that is, organizational and interorganizational learning.Design/methodology/approachThis article adopts a single case study approach, examining the Islamabad–Rawalpindi Metro project in Pakistan, with data consisting of interview results and archival data. An inductive approach is used for data analysis.FindingsAn empirically grounded learning model was developed based on an interorganizational project following eight lessons: capacity building, personality traits of leadership, working procedures, impeccable planning and implementation, involvement of stakeholders, design compatibility, investigation of underground services, conditions and maintenance of databases, and conceive rational timelines. These lessons learned were classified into three categories: (1) organizational capacity, (2) organizational embeddedness and (3) collective awareness.Originality/valueThis paper develops a novel learning model that can deepen our understanding of the practices and processes involved in multilevel learning. This study contributes to and extends the literature on organizational and interorganizational learning by studying an interorganizational setting.

Learning from Neighbors: The Spatial Spillover Effect of Crisis Learning on Local Government

“…Our findings demonstrate firstly that, after a major accident, local governments in the place of occurrence take the initiative to learn from the crisis and at the same time spread their knowledge to neighboring regions, promoting other, non-accident places to start learning from the crisis, creating a spatial spillover effect of the local crisis learning effect. As we discussed earlier, this provides solid evidence for shifting from organizational learning to inter-organizational learning [53,54]. In particular, the crisis learning effect between governments (of the non-accident site and the accident site) is confirmed.…”

“…Still, there is room for further expansion as follows: First, from a methodological perspective, most of the existing crisis learning research is based on discursive induction and case-based deduction [51,52], with case descriptions, textual analysis, and empirical summaries, thus lacking a concrete understanding of positivism. Second, the research perspective gradually extends from intra-organizational to inter-organizational learning [53,54]. Sustainable development is a long-term goal for the survival of organizations, which requires that they can learn effectively from the experiences of other organizations in crises, forming a virtuous learning path for similar crises.…”

Interorganizational Learning Mechanisms in Porto Digital

“…Additionally, there is also the possibility of learning through the different actors, depending only on individual predisposition and learning capacity. Colet and Mozzato (2018) understand that these elements, associated with an environment of industrial agglomerate and/or clusters, in which there is cooperation, enable an interorganizational relationship of collaboration that provides acquisition, sharing, and knowledge creation, which is corroborated by Holmqvist (2003), Wegner (2011), Anand, Kringelum, Madsen, and Selivanovskikh (2021), and Iftikhar, Ahola, and Butt (2022. Eiriz et al (2017) identify a set of activities that improve knowledge creation and interorganizational sharing, such as: informal and close personal contacts between managers, researchers, and other employees; joint development of meetings, seminars, workshops, professional training, and other events; sharing of human resources; similar organizational culture with strong shared values and beliefs; fluid communication through personal and electronic means; joint participation in research and development (R&D) projects; strong exchange of information between the parties; sharing facilities; sharing of research and testing equipment; joint publication of studies and other research and technical documents; joint participation in international fairs; and participation in different councils.…”

“…There can be found learning processes in technologically intensive sectors (Alberti & Pizzurno, 2015), which occurs because companies strategically seek proximity to others, aiming to share knowledge, professionals, resources, and market information (Chen et al, 2014). This allows the development of interorganizational relationships in which experiences can be exchanged (Anand, Kringelum, Madsen, & Selivanovskikh, 2021;Iftikhar, Ahola, & Butt, 2022;Holmqvist, 2003).…”

“…The operationalization occurs in innovation cycles, whose phases help understand the corporate challenge; develop solutions through environmental actors; and finally, implement and improve them. There is a collaborative effort between professionals to carry out what was requested, thus having mutual cooperation, as discussed by Holmqvist (2003), Wegner (2011), Colet and Mozzato (2018), Anand et al (2021), and Iftikhar et al (2022).…”