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108 MANAGING KNOWLEDGE WORK AND INNOVATION

the organization. We consider this next before turning to other problems which
inhibit learning from projects to the wider organization.

>> LEARNING BOUNDARIES VERSUS KNOWLEDGE
BOUNDARIES
In understanding the problems associated with exploiting knowledge that
has been created within a project, it is helpful to draw a distinction between
knowledge boundaries (discussed in the previous chapter) and learning boundar-
ies. Projects can facilitate flexible organizational responses to environmental con-
tingencies, precisely because in projects, individuals are brought together to work
collectively on a particular problem in ways that help them to overcome knowl-
edge boundaries, integrate knowledge and so generate new ideas (albeit projects
may not always be successful in overcoming these knowledge boundaries and
creating knowledge, as we saw with the case at the end of the previous chapter).
However, the more radical is the problem-solving and knowledge creation within
a particular project, actually the more difficult will it be for the organization to
learn from the project. In other words, the more knowledge boundaries within a
project have been overcome to generate new shared practices at the project level,
the greater will be the learning boundaries between the project and the organiza-
tion. This is because the new shared practices at the project level are now very
different from the practices elsewhere in the organization. In this sense, learning
(i.e. knowledge creation) at the project level may actually inhibit learning at the
organizational level. This illustrates how learning within organizations is ‘nested’ –
occurring at different levels simultaneously, albeit the different levels of learning
may not feed into each other. Thus, knowledge boundaries operate horizontally,
reflecting divisions in practice and knowledge between specialized groups. Learn-
ing boundaries, on the other hand, operate vertically, across nested levels of learn-
ing (see Figure 5.1). We can unpack this further.
At the organizational level, the focus of learning is on establishing repeatability –
ensuring that people follow the same practices in relation to the various customers,
whether these customers are internal or external. Thus, no organization of any
scale could survive for long if every situation was treated as an opportunity to learn
and experiment to do things differently. Thus, at a university there are a multitude
of routines that people follow to attract new students, register students, confer
degrees, discipline students and so on. While routines can and do change over
time, often through a gradual process of structuration, for those involved in a par-
ticular ongoing practice, there is little opportunity to experiment and create new
ways of doing things. Indeed, not following the established procedure is often a
disciplinary offense, even if the new practice may appear to be more effective. This
is not to deny that much improvisation occurs within the context of individuals
carrying out their daily work activities (Suchman, 1987); however, the degree of
learning and improvisation is likely to be much higher for those involved in a proj-
ect as compared to those engaged in routine work assignments.

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