Learning from the inside out: The social and spatial contexts of learning within firms

Research on learning and economic geography emphasizes the role of knowledge and innovation in regional economic development. The concept of the learning region is prominent in one stream of this literature and provides the basis for a great deal of current development policy in the US and Europe. The learning region represents a spatially explicit proposition about the capacity of firms and related organizations that co-locate in regions to support processes of learning and innovation---activities that provide a source of competitive advantage. However, the policy-related theories of competitive advantage underlying the concept make assumptions about the behavior and spatial contexts that facilitate learning without identifying how learning occurs.; Through case studies of learning in two innovative firms, this research articulates the assumptions about firm behavior, innovation, and the relationship between knowledge and spatial proximity that limit geographers' understanding of learning processes. I argue that the learning-region approach presumes conflict-free firm behavior, views innovation only in scientific or technological contexts, and does not adequately address the geography of knowledge-intensive services firms. This research also assesses how learning occurs by describing the mechanisms through which knowledge is produced, appropriated, and shared in a business services firm.; Findings suggest that internal corporate practices shape learning processes because firms construct contexts to promote learning (knowledge production) and devise ways to overcome resistance to change to engage employees in corporate learning goals (knowledge appropriation). In terms of spatial contexts, learning is not necessarily facilitated by spatial proximity among firms in the same way that it is among people. Proximity defined at broader scales calls into question the emphasis on the learning region because national institutions continue to affect knowledge sharing across borders. This work contributes to improving regional economic development initiatives by looking at firms from the inside out to identify the range of ways it and the people within it might behave in regional contexts.