Complex Responsive Processes in Organizations

3: Different levels of learning and knowledge creation in organizations: the individual and the social

• The endless debate about priority and primacy
• The individual and the social as separate mutually influencing levels
• Moving away from the split between individual and social
• Conclusion

As described in the previous chapter, a key assumption underlying mainstream thinking about knowledge creation in organizations is that the individual and the organization are different kinds of phenomena. It is taken for granted that they constitute different ontological levels requiring different explanations. Although the group, team or organizational level is granted important motivational effects, it is usually assumed that it is ultimately the individual ...