Learning in and from projects: the learning modes and a learning capability model

Abstract

The notion of ‘project delivery’ is well embedded in and across the management and organizational sciences literature – generating a narrative that reflects and recognizes the instrumental nature of projects and programmes in strategy execution. Project management, as a distinct and well-established body of research enquiry, has increasingly sought to focus our attention on the impacts of complexity, risk and uncertainty in projects; the corollary being a desideratum to strengthen our theoretical understanding of how insight and learning from projects may influence improvements to organizational efficiency. The wider literature suggests that organizational learning remains a challenging proposition, particularly in the context of organizations operating in environments of high complexity. In this paper, we enhance the conversation on organizational learning through a series of case studies, generating evidence of thirteen ‘learning modes’. The paper proposes that mature organizations tend to exhibit a greater number of learning modes and that there is a tendency to capture and socialize knowledge with a greater emphasis on the context of the learning situation rather than the learning artefact in isolation. The empirical evidence gathered in this paper forms the basis of a capability model, characterized by the thirteen modes of learning. The model intimates that learning occurs, and is more effective, when knowledge and information are enacted in practice through the learning modes which form a nucleus of the organizational learning capability. The research concludes with a 'call to action' that emphasizes the strategic importance of learning practices and routines in project oriented-organizations.

Keywords:

• Learning
• knowledge management
• learning capability
• modes of learning
• dynamic capabilities
• structuration practice

Acknowledgements

The authors grateful acknowledge the financial support of the Project Management Institute (PMI). This project was undertaken as part of a PMI research award examining the organizational learning in ‘strategy-project systems.’

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adil Eltigani

Dr. Adil Eltigani is an associate professor and MSc Scientific Director at Skema Business School (Paris, La Defence). Adil was awarded a PhD from The University of Manchester in 2013 for his work on ‘Capabilities Development in the Public Sector: The Role of Excellence Models’. Adil entered academia following a 25-year career in in Project Management, quality, strategy, and performance management.

Paul Gardiner

Paul Gardiner is the Director of the DBA and the scientific Director for the MSc in Project and Programme Management and Business Development at SKEMA Business School. With a first degree in Mineral Technology from Imperial College, London, UK, and industry experience in applied oil and gas research, he went on to obtain his PhD in 1993 from the School of Engineering at the University of Durham, UK. His research interests, supported by a USD 50,000 PMI research grant in 2015, are in the strategy-project interface, evolutionary learning and complex project risk.

Richard Kirkham

Richard Kirkham is senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester and Head of the Management of Projects Research Group. His research interests lie in quantitative risk methods in infrastructure performance and broader applications to decision-making in complex projects and programmes. He is the academic lead for Theme F (Transformation) in the ESRC funded Project X – research aimed at improving the delivery of major projects and programmes in government.

Terry Williams

Prof. Terry Williams worked in defence Operational Research for 9 years, later specializing in project risk management. He worked in three business schools: Strathclyde, head of school at Southampton and Dean at Hull, stepping down to form a Risk Institute. He has held various consultancy posts, including supporting multiple $bn post-project arbitration claims, and managing risk in projects and operations within companies. He has held multiple large research contracts. He is a theme leader on the Infrastructure & Projects Authority’s ‘Project X’ and co-investigator looking at delivery of Government Major Projects. He currently holds contracts on managing human-factors risk in operations e.g. offshore wind farms and occupational stress. He has 90 journal articles (h-index 48), and a number of books. He has Oxford and Birmingham degrees, is an accredited project-manager, edited a leading academic journal, is on the UK ‘REF’ panel, and holds various Fellowships.

Lixiong Ou

Lixiong Ou is a professor in The School of Management at The Northwestern Polytechnical University. He is Vice President of IPMA, and Executive Vice President of Project Management Research Committee, China (PMRC). His research focuses on contemporary project management theory and body of knowledge, organization project management, project management capability and performance evaluation. He plays a leading role in the publication of Chinese-Project Management Body of Knowledge.

Antonio Calabrese

Antonio Calabrese is an associate professor at Politecnico di Milano since 1998. He was the Director of the executive Master in Project Management, and formerly Director of the Master in Strategic Project Management (European), executive Master in Nuclear Plants Construction and Management, MBA&EMBA and Corporate programmes. He was a visiting professor at Heriot Watt University (UK), Umeå University (SWE) and Shandong University (PRC). He was also the member of IPMA (International Project Management Association) Advisory Committee, AIDI Executive Board (Industrial Systems Engineering Association) Board, IPMA Italy Board (President 2016-18), ANIMP, Confindustria “Industria&Ambiente” Technical Committee. He has been chairman/reviewer in many international/national conferences.