This chapter has explored one of the lacunae in the field of organizational learning, namely how the process of such learning is conditioned by the social identities that people internalize as members of groups within organizations. A monolithic focus on organizational identity at the cost of overlooking that of constituent groups is seen to be theoretically inadequate and practically misleading. Many organizations today contain a wide range of groups with their own social identities, often based on occupation and nationality. These social identities are sustained importantly by what people value as the special capabilities of the groups or communities to which they belong. The knowledge they possess is intrinsic to these capabilities. They are therefore concerned to protect this personal asset and may be cautious about sharing it either with the members of other organizational groups or with management.
Their constituent groups contain potentially valuable learning resources for organizations. The translation of that potential into reality, however, requires certain attributes of managers. They have to be sensitive to the social identities of the relevant groups, establish constructive relationships between the parties to the learning process, and reconcile their perspectives with the organizational needs to which learning is directed. Evidence from case studies indicates that these requirements can be satisfied, principally through two policies. The first is to create ‘psychological safety’ for the participating groups as the basis for their willingness to contribute to learning. The second is to search for acceptable over-arching goals that integrate the participants’ efforts and provide a sense of direction for the learning process. Acceptance of organizational goals should also furnish an effective basis for promoting organizational identity, both in the sense of what an organization stands for and the willingness of its members to identify with that organization.
This chapter has also offered a number of analytical refinements that help to identify issues for further research. First, it has indicated that social identity may impinge on organizational learning differently according to whether the latter involves acquiring knowledge from external sources or processes primarily internal to the organization such as making tacit knowledge explicit and creating new knowledge. Second, it has argued that the significance of social identity for organizational learning depends on the type of knowledge involved. It postulated that the sensitivity of social identity for systemic and strategic knowledge is normally greater than it is for knowledge of a technical nature. Third, it has recognized the additional complications introduced by hybrid organizations such as alliances or networks, which encompass a myriad of identities and interests, especially when they are international. Fourth, and most far-reaching of all, the chapter has signaled the many unknowns brought into the picture by the emergence and evolution of new organizational forms.
The emergence of new organizational forms, which attenuate the attachment that many people have to their employer, presents both opportunities and challenges to organizational learning. One of the prime justifications for the new forms lies in their claim to promote the capacity to innovate and adapt on the basis of a superior learning capability. It is claimed that opportunities for learning are promoted by the decentralization of initiative, the deconstruction of lethargic bureaucracies into smaller units, and recourse to the market or external networks for accessing specialized knowledge. The challenges stem from the apparent consequences of these developments, particularly the ways in which the weakening of social ties to organizations and growing insecurity of employment jeopardize people’s identification with their employer or even their occupation. The implications of new forms for organizational learning remain a particularly urgent and little understood issue for practitioners, and they present a very large agenda for further research.
It is clear that the ways in which social identity and organizational learning interact are complex. They have to be examined at different levels: individual, group, organization, and network. The relationship cannot be regarded as simply one whereby social identity impacts on organizational learning. The process of learning, and achievement, can itself be a source of identity for people and the groups to which they belong. When guided by clear goals, under non-threatening conditions, learning activities may serve to align the identities of groups with that of the organization as a whole. If, however, this alignment is not achieved, people are likely to adhere to their more immediate and longstanding social identities and may as a result choose to retain their knowledge rather than share it with the organization. We have suggested that this issue is becoming particularly acute in the changing circumstances of the contemporary organizational world.
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