The translocation of organizational practices – knowledge creation in Greenfield Plants

Abstract

Purpose– The literature on knowledge transfer is dominated by a one-way transmission model logic where knowledge is captured and transferred from one source to another, assuming the source and receiver resemble each other and have some common knowledge. The social learning processes, what is learned and the phases and sequences of the developmental processes by which learning take place are more or less black boxed in the literature. This paper investigates the social dynamics of the formation and shaping of organizational practice from scratch in a greenfield organizational setting where no prior organizational practice exist.Design/methodology/approach– The paper builds on a case study approach applied in two greenfield organizational settings. A descriptive process model is developed to analyze the translocation and sociogenesis of organizational practices.Findings– A transfer-approach provides a too simplistic and narrow understanding of the process of “moving” organizational practices. Establishing an organizational practice can be described as a community of knowing “in the making” following various modes of cultural learning characterised by mutual adjustments, joint interactions, and alignment of shared understandings, and as such is more learned than transferred.Practical implications– The process model developed in the paper provides a platform for better understanding, planning and execution of intra-firm knowledge transfer and regeneration.Originality/value– The paper provides an in-depth empirical analysis of organizational practice generation from scratch emphasizing the social dynamics and co-construction of meaning when a collective capability is being acquired and built up.