Writers on organization have recognized the links between identity and learning (Brown and Starkey, 2000). However, with some exceptions such as Rothman and Friedman (2001), identity and learning are often treated as organizational-level phenomena in ways that are ontologically problematic and which oversimplify analysis of the subject. As Edmondson (1999a: 300) has noted, ‘an implicit assumption in many accounts of organizational learning is that organizations are undifferentiated entities, such that within-organization variance is immaterial.’ Given that organizational learning is a socially constructed process, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the relevance of how organizations are socially constituted in terms of different groups and their identities (Child and Heavens, 2001). Variations in the configuration of group identities, and in their compatibility with what the organization stands for (organizational identity), may well contribute to differences in organizational learning performance.
In order to clarify the links between social identity and organizational learning, we explore the constituent elements of both concepts. We begin by examining social identity and its sources, among which nationality and occupation are particularly relevant to organizations. This leads to a discussion of how social identity bears upon the process of organizational learning. Case examples of diverse occupational and national social identities raise the question of how managerial initiatives can transcend identity boundaries with the aim of generating a collective learning process. Successful initiatives of this kind can at the same time contribute to the development of organizational identity and reinforce identification with the organization. The closing section considers the significance for social identity and learning of the new organizational forms, including networks, which are becoming increasingly prevalent.