Give and Take - Understanding attitudes to learning in the collaborative process

Collaboration between different organisational partners is a process critical tothe success of many organisations. It is also frequently a complex process.There are many reasons to collaborate. Often partners have specific objectivesin mind. Partners may collaborate on the design of a car prototype for example.In such a case the partners might not describe their objective using terms suchas knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer, knowledge creation, or learning.They would probably say they were working together to design a car. Implicitly,however, their collaboration is concerned with that unspoken subject: learning.And learning underpins many other collaborative relationships.The process of collaboration is often a messy one, not clearly defined, difficult tomanage and often a response to unplanned events or actions. It can lead to verybeneficial results – collaborative advantage – but progress is often painfully slow,– collaborative inertia.By using a theoretical framework which helps the partners involved to understandand explore attitudes to learning in collaborations, the chances of benefiting froma collaborative relationship can be improved.We have constructed a framework around the attitudes taken towards exchangesof knowledge and learning. Understanding the attitudes and approaches adoptedtowards learning in collaborative relationships, is an essential tool to help managethe collaborative process towards a beneficial outcome for all partners.[...]