Networks and inter‐organizational learning: a critical review

The paper is concerned with alliances and learning. It provides an overview of recent contributions to the emergent literatures on knowledge management and organizational learning, identifies similarities and differences between the two, and highlights the implications of these for academics and practitioners. The paper explores the significance of networks, alliances and inter‐organizational relationships for organizations and considers the nature and importance of learning in and through such relationships. A modified version of Coghlan’s (1997) model of organizational learning as a dynamic interlevel process is then presented to reflect these developments.