Social Learning for Anticipatory Adaptation to Climate Change: Evidence From a Community of Practice

Abstract

The literature discussing social learning for Anticipatory Adaptation to Climate Change (AACC) has largely been developed at the societal level of analysis. However, how private companies build resilience and reduce damage to their private goods remains underexplored. Since climate change involves high levels of uncertainty and complexity, companies seeking to proactively adapt to climate change are required to search for specific and nontraditional knowledge. In order to contribute to this discussion, we investigated how a community of practice promotes social learning for AACC. We access the social learning emerging from the community of practice by developing a framework that can also be applied to other complex problems faced by companies. We found evidence of the centrality of social learning for the development of strategies and practices addressing grand corporate challenges, such as AACC. The results contribute to both the literature of social learning and the practice of sustainability management.