Learning to Share Knowledge in the British and Italian Motorsport Industries

This paper reports empirical research into the processes of knowledge sharing and learning in the British and Italian motorsport industries. The research outlines a perspective on learning how to share knowledge and it highlights the essential role of participation in collaborative activities. This perspective suggests that knowledge sharing is not something achieved through the simple transfer of resources, but rather is an ongoing social accomplishment in which network firms constitute and reconstitute knowledge while engaging in collaborative activities. In particular, it is shown that there have been extensive efforts in the Italian industry to promote participation and a culture of ‘working together’ in product development activities. This is contrasted with the way collaborative activities and knowledge sharing are developing the in the British motorsport industry. In making sense of these developments, the paper extends the work of Lave and Wenger (1991), Brown and Duguid (1991), and Tsoukas and Vladimirou (2001) at an inter-organizational level of analysis.