Purpose: This paper aims to examine multiple learning cycles across a UK housebuilder organization following changes made to their quality management routine at the organizational level, through to subsequent understanding and enactment at the level of the individuals involved. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative case study…

Purpose: This aim of the current research is to provide empirical evidence for the relationships among several organizational factors affecting team performance improvement, including the learning organization and employee engagement. In addition, the mediating effect of employee engagement was assessed to explain team performance improvement…

Purpose: Marks and Spencer's Plan A environmental strategy is an ambitious one which addresses economic, social and environmental considerations. As part of this process it recently used a sustainable learning store strategy to develop, capture and disseminate learning before, during and after construction so that learning could be transferred to…

Purpose: Ethnographic studies of, for instance, laboratory work show that practices never reach a full closure but are always open to contingencies and ambiguities, making it possible to accommodate new empirical findings. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that this is true also for less "high-brow" work in, for example, the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and characterise the knowledge creation process in construction organisations and explore to what extent organisations facilitate the process. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach is adopted using four construction organisations; a knowledge creation model is also used as the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a synergy between the approaches of knowledge management in a learning organisation and supply chain management so that learning chains can be created in order to unleash innovation and creativity by managing knowledge in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: Through extensive literature…

Management, operational, technology, and learning competencies in 26 large and 15 small Australian construction contractors were identified at five levels: simplistic, structure, efficiency, value, and dynamic. Organizational learning appeared useful when combined with competency development embedded in the routines of a learning culture.…

Case studies of partnering involving British companies and their contractors and suppliers identified factors influencing transfer of knowledge between organizations, different levels at which learning takes place (individual, team, organization), and the extent of double-loop learning. (SK)

Data from 180 British construction companies were collected to examine processes of organizational culture, cognition, and competition and their effects on organizational performance. Double-loop learning provided a competitive advantage and was most likely in competitive cultures, although cooperative cultures also increased performance.…

Survey of 25 British civil engineering firms revealed informal and unstructured learning systems, limiting designers' opportunity to gain feedback about their designs. A more systematic learning culture was recommended for project-based industries such as construction. (SK)

Purpose: The concept of the learning organisation (LO) is associated with an advanced approach to human resource development (HRD) characterised by an ethos of self-responsibility and self-development. The learning climate that this engenders is supported by temporary organisational structures responsive to environmental change. The purpose of his…

Responses from 26 of 30 New South Wales construction firms showed that competency subsystems embodied in routines have a greater impact on short-term performance. There was little support for impact on long-term performance with diminishing evidence that performance was influenced by higher-level learning routines. (Contains 45 references.) (SK)

Purpose: With the advent of information and communication technologies (ICT), some organisations have endeavoured to develop and maintain systems commonly known as project histories. This paper aims to provide a framework to the construction organisations in order to improve the learning from projects through the development and use of project…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of organizational factors such as leadership commitment, incentives and interaction on learning outcomes defined as performance improvement and organizational climate. Design/methodology/approach: Different aspects of knowledge acquisition, sharing and utilization were examined,…

This paper, while emphasizing the linkage between the concepts of "empowerment" and "learning", argues that empowerment provides the most appropriate base to effectively implement learning in construction organizations. It is argued that "efficacy-information", being a derivative of empowerment, helps influence…