Expectational learning in knowledge communities

How do organizations learn? By examining the literature in this area, several problems in the conventional wisdom about organizational learning are explored. The conditions that enable collective knowledge creation, including the role of expectations, and the effects of these conditions on the knowledge creation process are discussed. The empirical basis of this study is a complex oil field deployment project in the Norwegian Sea. The study demonstrates that expectations trigger learning processes. It also shows that different kinds of experiences are connected to different activity types. The ability to organize integrated teams across formal organizations and run concurrent activities appear to be important means of pulling tacit knowledge to the surface.