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The power of spatial and temporal orderings in organizational learning

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Management Learning

Published online on

Abstract

This article attends to the call for research on the often neglected spatial and temporal dynamics of organizational life. In particular, we examine the ways in which aspects of space and time facilitate or hinder learning and knowledge sharing in organizations. We draw on conceptual tools derived from work influenced largely by Henri Lefebvre to illustrate how a spatial–temporal lens throws new light on the problem of learning and knowledge sharing across organizational communities. We examine these dynamics in a qualitative study with four high-technology engineering companies in the energy conversion and automation and aerospace sectors. Building on a situated learning perspective, we argue that a spatial and temporal perspective contributes to our understanding of processes of identity construction and the power relations that influence access to forms of participation and learning across organizational communities.