Title: Organisational learning at the public-private sector interface

Authors: Rein Juriado

Addresses: Department Business and Entrepreneurship, Sodertorn University College, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden

Abstract: Although an increasing focus on inter-organisational collaboration has led to scholarly interest in learning across organisational boundaries, much of the work carried out has focused on private sector settings and excluded public-private partnerships. This paper draws from the experiences of an Estonian local authority|s collaboration with the private sector in the development of municipal housing and school refurbishment partnerships. The findings of the study highlight the importance of internal learning within the public sector rather than learning across sector boundaries. Also, there are differences between inter-organisational learning in private-private and public-private settings. The public sector context requires transparency and equal treatment towards all stakeholders, which complicates learning.

Keywords: organisational learning; public-private partnerships; PPP; inter-organisational relations; Estonia; housing; construction; learning dynamics; case study; public services; public sector management; knowledge.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCENT.2009.029289

International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise, 2009 Vol.1 No.2, pp.194 - 207

Published online: 18 Nov 2009 *

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