Transnational project work: practices creating knowing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how practices creating knowing can be enabled in project work.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on an exploratory, in‐depth case study of an international professional service firm (IPSF) and local and transnational project work to deliver services. Project work is investigated through a practice approach.

Findings

In transnational project work, three knowing practices are identified – networking, doing, and sorting – and three practices of creating new knowing – finding, learning, and probing.

Research limitations/implications

Although only one organization was studied, the research presented shows that knowledge creation and project work benefit from a practice perspective to highlight the enacted aspects of knowing and new knowing.

Practical implications

The findings show that different project phases enable the necessary knowing and/or new knowing practices through a differentiated focus on social interaction and contacts on the one hand and the use of materials, documents, systems and infrastructure on the other.

Originality/value

The paper extends earlier research and shows that practices of knowing involve more than doing and practices of creating knowing involve more than learning. A conceptual understanding of knowing‐who, knowing‐how, and knowing‐what is developed to identify the knowing and new knowing while appreciating their interrelations. Further, the paper shows how the project phases and the practices can be better enabled through a differentiated focus on the social and the material use.

Citation

Hydle, K.M. and Joachim Breunig, K. (2013), "Transnational project work: practices creating knowing", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 251-273. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538371311319016