TY - JOUR
T1 - Organizational learning
T2 - Conceptual challenges from a project perspective
AU - Chan, Paul
AU - Cooper, Rachel
AU - Tzortzopoulos, Patricia
PY - 2005/9/1
Y1 - 2005/9/1
N2 - Organizational learning has been widely acknowledged as holding the key for companies to survive and prosper and has, in recent years, gained currency in construction management research. Much research centred upon the study of organizational learning as a process, as well as the view and understanding of companies as learning organizations. However, non-construction management researchers have recently begun to recognize the incoherence of the concepts presented in the literature and identified a lack of a solid theoretical and empirical foundation. To further exacerbate the challenge of embracing organizational learning in construction, the industry is largely project-based, thus increasing the difficulties for organizational learning to occur. Past research into organizational learning has also mainly concentrated on an intra-organizational perspective and where construction is specifically concerned, on project partnering. However, we regard such a focus to be myopic as a means of exploring organizational learning at the construction project level. As such, a number of research challenges are recommended including the need to examine organizational learning beyond project partnering; an emphasis on the inter-organizational dynamics involved in both the process and outcomes of organizational learning and the investigation of construction projects as learning networks.
AB - Organizational learning has been widely acknowledged as holding the key for companies to survive and prosper and has, in recent years, gained currency in construction management research. Much research centred upon the study of organizational learning as a process, as well as the view and understanding of companies as learning organizations. However, non-construction management researchers have recently begun to recognize the incoherence of the concepts presented in the literature and identified a lack of a solid theoretical and empirical foundation. To further exacerbate the challenge of embracing organizational learning in construction, the industry is largely project-based, thus increasing the difficulties for organizational learning to occur. Past research into organizational learning has also mainly concentrated on an intra-organizational perspective and where construction is specifically concerned, on project partnering. However, we regard such a focus to be myopic as a means of exploring organizational learning at the construction project level. As such, a number of research challenges are recommended including the need to examine organizational learning beyond project partnering; an emphasis on the inter-organizational dynamics involved in both the process and outcomes of organizational learning and the investigation of construction projects as learning networks.
KW - Conceptual review
KW - Construction projects
KW - Learning organization
KW - Organizational learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=25844464963&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01446190500127021
DO - 10.1080/01446190500127021
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:25844464963
VL - 23
SP - 747
EP - 756
JO - Construction Management and Economics
JF - Construction Management and Economics
SN - 0144-6193
IS - 7
ER -