迄今「知識」已然成為現代化組織在面對全球化市場時能否具備創新能力與競爭力的首要資源，會以不同形式存在於組織內部及個別成員中。根據公司的資源基礎觀點（RBV），組織的策略性資產乃是決定本身是否有能力持續維持競爭優勢之先決條件，而在符合策略性資產特徵的前提下，知識的角色與意義將改變以往組織偏重對有形資產之資源利用與倚賴，而愈趨傾向策略性創造和發揮知識此一無形資產之無限價值與成長潛力。基此，為了因應瞬息萬變與高度競爭的全球化市場，愈來愈多組織竭力於進行各種形式的資本投資與規劃，尤其關注於組織知識資本(intellectual capital)的創新與管理，藉由利用動態的知識流程與知識基礎結構，開發組織內部的知識市場，培養組織學習能力，力求知識管理能力之迅速提升與發展，遂使知識資本成為目前組織利基之所在，而如何有效建構組織知識管理能力以善用本身的知識資產，實為當代組織管理研究之首要課題。 有鑑於當前論及知識管理的理論基礎、方法或實務應用之研究多半從資訊科技、結構制度或法令權利等面向呈現知識的創新、擴散與儲存，而鮮少透過道德秩序、價值規範等社會面向，深入剖析知識管理的相關議題。尤其將組織社會資本與知識管理相互結合的研究論文，在國內則是付諸闕如，係屬值得開發的新領域。基此，為了探究組織知識管理能力，本研究欲跳脫知識管理的迷思，採取「社會資本」(social capital)的觀點，剖析知識管理的社會動態面，闡釋在以「信任」為前提的知識經濟時代，社會資本對組織管理能力的提升所能發揮的槓桿效應(leverage)，破除“資訊科技是知識管理唯一可行的機制”之思考窠臼，在知識管理的科技平台之外新闢一個以「人」為核心的「高信任平台」，營造一個強調知識創造(knowledge creation)與學習分享的組織文化與網絡環境，藉以提升組織本身的知識管理能力，並提供知識管理推動者一個整合性的知識創造藍圖。 關鍵詞：知識、知識管理、社會資本、知識創造、組織學習能力、實務社群、信任、關係網絡

Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. The study has a longitudinal design where Political Science and Psychology graduates’ have been interviewed on three consecutive occasions; the last semester before graduation, the first year and then, in the third year of professional work. The theoretical frame of reference comprises a situated and social learning theory and a gender perspective. These theories were chosen since they elaborate on concepts such as identity, practice, participation and learning. The results indicate that becoming a professional is not an isolated phenomenon merely learned and nurtured in higher education and/or in working life. It is emphasised as a dynamic learning process between a reflective individual, the interaction with a professional practice as well as a relationship between other spheres of life, e.g. the personal and the private. The graduates’ professional trajectories can be characterised by a movement from appropriating new knowledge to a need to change direction, e.g. new work tasks or professional fields. This is also a process of professional identity formation. The graduates’ professional identity is emphasised as being both closely related to a gender identity and influenced by the individuals’ belonging to and participation in other practices. The results thus indicate that professional identity formation is an interplay between different spheres of life that changes over time. By using a longitudinal design, it can be claimed that becoming a professional requires balancing one’s whole life situation. / Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. Avhandlingen baserar sig på en longitudinell studie där statsvetare och psykologer har blivit intervjuade vid tre olika tillfällen; sista terminen innan examen samt efter första och tredje året i arbetslivet. Den teoretiska referensramen utgörs av begrepp från situerat och social lärteori samt från ett genusperspektiv. Dessa teorier valdes då de fokuserar på begreppen identitet, praktik, deltagande och lärande.Resultaten visar att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell inte är ett isolerat fenomen förvärvat och underhållet i högre utbildning och/eller arbetslivet. Det uttrycks snarare som en dynamisk lärprocess mellan en reflekterande individ, interaktion med en professionell praktik samt med olika sfärer i livet, den professionella, den personliga och den privata. Akademikernas professionella bana kan karakteriseras som en rörelse mellan att utveckla ny kunskap och göra den till sin, till ett behov av förändring i form av nya arbetsuppgifter eller byte av professionellt fält. Att bli professionell innebär även en utveckling av en professionell identitet. Statsvetarnas och psykologernas professionella identitet skapas i relation till en genusidentitet och är influerad av individernas tillhörighet och medverkan i olika praktiker. Resultatet visar därför utveckling av professionell identitet som ett samspel mellan olika sfärer i livet som är föränderligt över tid. Utifrån den utförda longitudinella studien är det möjligt att hävda att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell är ett sätt att skapa ett samspel och balans i individens livssituation.

Cette thèse de doctorat a pour cadre la formation initiale des enseignants des premier et second degrés dans le sud de la France dans les années 2000. Elle vise à étudier la contribution des analyses de pratique mises en œuvre au retour des stages de mise en situation professionnelle au développement professionnel d’enseignants débutants. Une clarification du concept de trace de pratique et une typologie de ces traces sont élaborées. Le cadre théorique des analyses croise les modèles du développement professionnel d’Huberman (1986), des gestes professionnels de Bucheton (2009) et de la compétence de Le Boterf (1994). Cette recherche se fonde sur des observations et verbatims de séances de groupes d’accompagnement professionnel et de formation transversale qui ont été mis en place dans l’académie de Montpellier et elle recourt à des entretiens de professeurs stagiaires et de titulaires première année. Nous montrons que ces dispositifs d’analyse de pratique variés et souvent ajustés aux attentes des enseignants en formation utilisent ou/et font émerger des traces de pratique mises en discussion dans le groupe de formation. Un travail individuel et collectif préalable à la présentation de la situation par l’acteur, réalisé par les pairs sur des traces de pratique, associé à un travail réflexif, augmente les ressources collectives et individuelles du répertoire de l’agir enseignant. Ces dispositifs collectifs en « présentiel » facilitent et accompagnent la poursuite d’un travail effectué individuellement en « distanciel », ce qui se traduit par le développement d’une communauté de pratiques grâce à la mise en œuvre d’une alternance intégrative. / This doctoral thesis is set within the initial training of teachers of primary and secondary education in the South of France in the 2000s. It aims at studying the contribution in the professional development of new teachers of the reflection on practice which is implemented on the trainees’ return from placement. A clarification of the concept of traces of practice and a typology of these traces is elaborated. The theoretical framework for reflection is a cross-reference to the models of Huberman‘s (1986) professional development, of Bucheton’s (2009) professional gestures and of Le Boterf ‘s (1994) skills. This research is based on observations and verbatims from sessions of a tutorial group on practices and cross training which were set up in the Académie of Montpellier and it resorts to interviews of student teachers and of newly qualified teachers. We show that these strategies for reflection on practice varied and often fitted to the expectations of the teacher trainees use or / and bring to the foreground traces of practices discussed in the training group. An individual and collective work done by the peers, prior to the presentation of the situation by the actor, on traces of practice, associated with a reflective work, increases the collective and individual resources of the repertoire of teaching actions. These collective strategies during "on site" sessions help and guide the pursuit of personal work carried out “online ", which results in the development of a community of practice thanks to the implementation of an integrated placement.

Fansub consiste à traduire et à sous-titrer les produits médiatiques étrangers tels que des films, des feuilletons ou des animes par des internautes bénévoles. Ce phénomène est aujourd’hui très répandu en Chine. Les amateurs s’organisent en groupes de fansub pour accomplir ce travail en collaboration. Les groupes de fansub se caractérisent par la virtualisation du lieu de travail, l’hétérogénéité des membres, la liberté de participation, la collaboration et la non-commercialité. Leur processus de travail et organisation est aussi particulier. Dans ce mémoire, je me suis intéressée à l’apprentissage des fansubbers, un aspect peu étudié dans la littérature sur le fansub. Le fansub a été abordé sous l’angle d’une communauté de pratiques pour comprendre comment les fansubbers acquièrent de nouvelles connaissances et améliorent leur compétence linguistique en sous-titrant les films de langue étrangère. L’étude est basée sur l’observation participative dans un groupe de fansub chinois-français, Fansub Yueyue. J’ai fait de l’observation participante auprès de ce groupe de fansub pour recueillir des traces du travail et des interactions entre les membres. Dix fansubbers du groupe ont aussi été interrogés. Les analyses ont indiqué que le groupe de fansub démontre les trois caractéristiques essentielles d’une communauté de pratique : l’entreprise commune, l’engagement mutuel et un répertoire partagé. Cet ensemble favorise l’existence du groupe ainsi que l’apprentissage des membres. Aussi, par l’analyse des erreurs fréquentes des fansubbers et leur autoévaluation, nous concluons que les pratiques de fansub aident les membres à améliorer leur compétence linguistique. L’apprentissage a lieu pendant le processus de travail de sous-titrage ainsi qu’à travers les interactions entre les membres ou avec des personnes hors de ce groupe. / Fansubbing consists of translating and subtitling foreign mass media productions by netizens interested in these films, television programs or cartoons. This phenomenon is growing rapidly in Chinese cyberspace with the proliferation of the Internet and the increasing number of foreign language learners. Fansub groups are organized by passionate amateurs willing to accomplish this work together. Characterized by a virtual workplace, heterogeneity of members, voluntary participation, and the non-commercial nature of their production, fansub groups have attracted the attention of academic researchers. Previous studies have considered the cultural aspects of fansub, problems of legitimacy as well as the question of audiovisual translation quality. However, this study considers fansub groups as communities of practice in which learning occurs. Specifically, we examine how one group’s members acquire new knowledge and improve their language abilities through the practice of subtitling. The study is based on participant observation in a Chinese-French fansub group named Yueyue Fansub. We collected and analyzed information and documents created during the work process. We also conducted interviews with ten fansub group members to deepen our empirical understanding. Our analysis shows that the fansub group has all three of the characteristics deemed essential in a community of practice: joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire, and that this combination supports the group as well as members’ learning. In addition, analysis of common mistakes made by fansubbers combined with their self-evaluations indicate that fansub practices help improve language ability. Learning takes place during the subtitling work as well as in and through interactions among group members or with people outside the group.

Le système de santé est aujourd’hui marqué d’une complexité attribuable aux maladies chroniques, dont la hausse anticipée de la prévalence génère l’urgence d’une organisation et d’une approche différentes des services dispensés. Ce réaménagement des soins de santé fait appel à un changement de paradigme basé sur la collaboration interprofessionnelle et l’ouverture à l’incertitude, aptes à favoriser une mise en commun des connaissances. Dans cette perspective, les communautés de pratique (CdeP) semblent un moyen qui favorise le développement de la collaboration interprofessionnelle et le partage des connaissances. Elles apparaissent donc comme une formule qui mérite une investigation, à savoir si elles peuvent favoriser une telle collaboration et faciliter la co-construction de connaissances permettant une pratique évolutive, centrée sur le patient. Notre recherche s’inscrit dans cette optique et s’intéresse aux expériences, rapportées dans la littérature, de collaboration interprofessionnelle au sein de communautés de pratique centrées sur le patient atteint de maladie chronique. Pour ce faire, nous avons d’abord développé un cadre conceptuel visant à identifier les fondements théoriques et conceptuels de la notion de communauté de pratique. Ceci nous a amené à : 1) analyser l’évolution du concept de CdeP dans les principales œuvres de Wenger et de ses collaborateurs; 2) positionner les CdeP eu égard à d’autres formules de travail collaboratif (communauté, communauté d’apprentissage, communauté apprenante, organisation apprenante, communauté épistémique); 3) comparer le concept de collaboration avec d’autres s’en rapprochant (coopération notamment), de même que les notions d’interdisciplinarité et d’interprofessionnalité souvent associées à celle de CdeP; 4) étayer les dimensions cognitive et collaborative inhérentes aux expériences de CdeP; et 5) identifier les avancées et les limites attribuées à la mise en application du concept de CdeP dans le domaine de la santé. La métasynthèse (Beaucher et Jutras, 2007) dans une approche « compréhensive interprétative », s’est imposée comme méthode appropriée à notre intention de mieux saisir les expériences de collaboration interprofessionnelle menées dans le cadre des CdeP dans le domaine de la santé. La métasynthèse nous a ainsi permis d’obtenir une vue d’ensemble de la littérature portant sur les CdeP dans le domaine de la santé et de catégoriser les 194 articles rassemblés, pour ensuite retenir 13 articles traitant d’une réelle expérience de CdeP. Ainsi, dans une perspective contributoire, basée sur notre cadre conceptuel, l’analyse des principaux résultats de la métasynthèse, nous a permis 1) d’identifier les flous conceptuels liés aux expériences de CdeP rapportées, ainsi que 2) de dégager les retombées et les difficultés de leur mise en application dans le domaine de la santé et, enfin, 3) de démontrer la nécessité de mener des recherches visant l’étude du processus de développement de CdeP sur le terrain de la pratique de soins, notamment mais non exclusivement, lorsqu’il s’agit de maladies chroniques. / Today’s health system is increasingly complex due to the growth of chronic illnesses. The anticipated increase in the prevalence of chronic illnesses means there is an urgent need for a different type of organization and approach to providing services to the patient. This adjustment in health care delivery calls for a paradigm shift based on inter-professional collaboration and openness to uncertainty, which will in turn facilitate knowledge sharing. In this regard, communities of Practice (CoP) appear to be a way to facilitate the development of inter-professional collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, and therefore merit further investigation in order to determine whether or not they can foster such collaboration and facilitate the co-construction of knowledge leading to an evolving practice that is patient oriented and adapted to complexity. Our research is consistent with this view and is driven by an interest in the interprofessional collaboration experiences, as reported in litterature, that have taken place as part of communities of practice and have centred on patients suffering from chronic illnesses. In order to achieve this, we first developed a conceptual framework with the aim of identifying the theoretical and conceptual foundations of communities of practice. This has led us to 1) analyze the evolution of the concept of communities of practice in the major works of Wenger and of his collaborators; 2) position communities of practice by comparing them to other forms of collaborative work with which they are frequently associated and even substituted or mistaken for in the literature (such as community, learning community, learning organization, epistemic community); 3) compare the concept of collaboration with other similar concepts (including collaboration), as well as the notions of interdisciplinarity and inter-professionalism often associated with communities of practice; 4) support the cognitive and collaborative dimensions inherent to communitied of practice; and 5) identify the advances and limitations attributed to the implementation of the concept of communities of practice in the health field. Metasynthesis (Beaucher et Jutras, 2007) ), as part of a ‘‘comprehensive interpretative’’ approach, was determined to be the most appropriate research method for understanding the experiences of interprofessional collaboration as part of communities of Practice in the health field.. Metasynthesis provided us with an overview of the literature on the subject of CoP in the health field and allowed us to create a topology of the 194 collected articles. This overview led to the selection of 13 articles describing real experiences of CoPs. As such, in terms of contribution, this metasynthesis enabled us to 1) identify the reported conceptual vagueness associated with the implementation of CoPs; 2) identify the benefits and challenges of their implementation in the field of health; and 3) demonstrate that further research on the development process of communities of practice in the field of care practice, including but not limited to situations involving chronic illnesses, is necessary.

[pt] Este estudo tem por objetivo investigar as (re) construções identitárias de uma licencianda no estágio na comunidade de prática de Inglês para Fins Específicos (IFE) a qual pertenço, como parte da busca de entendimentos sobre esse contexto. Para tanto, os dados foram gerados ao longo do semestre que a estagiária compartilhou conosco e eles englobam participações orais e escritas, nas quais foram analisadas suas identidades, que parecem emergir de suas escolhas na linguagem para interpretar o que ela estava vivenciando durante o estágio. Seguindo uma abordagem qualitativo-interpretativista (ERICKSON, 1986; DENZIN; LINCOLN, 2006) e desenvolvida dentro da Linguística Aplicada (MOITA LOPES, 2006, 2013), esta pesquisa se baseia em uma perspectiva socioconstrucionista de identidades (MOITA LOPES, 2003; BUCHOLTZ; HALL, 2005) e sua relação com crenças (BARCELOS, 2006) e emoções (BARCELOS, 2012; ZEMBYLAS, 2004), em conjunção com o prisma da Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (THOMPSON, 2014a; HALLIDAY; MATTHIESSEN, 2014; EGGINS, 2004; GOUVEIA, 2009) e do Sistema de Avaliatividade (MARTIN; WHITE, 2005; VIAN JR, 2009). A partir desse arcabouço teórico, as análises e discussões sugerem que há novas construções e reformulações significativas nas identidades da estagiária, que emergem discursivamente, principalmente dentro do domínio do afeto. Além disso, é possível interpretar que o estágio supervisionado e as experiências e interações na comunidade de prática de IFE foram essenciais nessas (re) construções, especialmente como professora, com identidades, crenças e emoções interconectadas. O processo de questionamento, análise e reflexão dessas identidades e sua relação complexa com crenças e emoções contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de entendimentos para nossa comunidade de prática, como também promoveu oportunidades de aprendizagem mútua e a curiosidade por outras questões, que podem nos motivar a continuar na pesquisa constante sobre esse contexto de forma mais dinâmica e inclusiva. / [en] The aim of this study is to investigate the identity (re) constructions of a student-teacher in the practicum in the community of practice of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) that I belong to as part of the search for understandings about our context. In order to accomplish such objective, data generated throughout the semester the student-teacher shared with us encompass oral and written participations in which the identities were analysed and they seemed to emerge from the choices in language to interpret what she was living during the practicum. This interpretative-qualitative research (ERICKSON, 1986; DENZIN; LINCOLN, 2006) is in the area of Applied Linguistics (MOITA LOPES, 2006; 2013) and it is aligned with social constructionist theories of identity (MOITA LOPES, 2003; BUCHOLTZ; HALL, 2003, 2005), beliefs (BARCELOS, 2006) and emotions (BARCELOS, 2012; ZEMBYLAS, 2004). It is also in interface with the principles of Systemic Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY, 1994; HALLIDAY; MATTHIESSEN, 2014) and the Appraisal System (MARTIN; WHITE, 2005; VIAN JR, 2009). Based on this theoretical framework, the analysis and discussions suggest that there are new constructions and significant reformulations in the student-teacher s identities, which emerge discursively, mainly within the domain of affect. In addition, it is possible to interpret that the practicum and the experiences and interactions in our community of practice of ESP were essential in her (re) constructions, especially as a teacher, and they include interconnected identities, beliefs and emotions. The process of questioning, analysing and reflecting on these identities and their complex relation to beliefs and emotions has contributed to the development of understandings for our community of practice. It also fostered opportunities for mutual learning and the curiosity for other inquiries that can motivate us to continue the constant research about this context in a more dynamic and inclusive way.

Construite sur le tryptique engagement mutuel, entreprise commune et répertoire partagé, les Communautés de pratique sont des espaces pressentis dans le secteur marchand, comme favorables à l'apprentissage situé et à la valorisation des compétences ressources. Cette thèse a pour finalité d'éclairer la genèse et les usages de ce type de collectif dans le secteur particulier et sensible de l'hôpital public d'aujourd'hui. Longtemps demeurées informelles, elles captent progressivement l'intérêt de l'administration et des professionnels de santé car leur contribution au fonctionnement des établissements de santé s'étend au-delà du partage des connaissances. L'introduction du New Public Management génère de nombreux paradoxes et dualités et suppose pour les professionnels, jusqu'à présent autonomes, de s'approprier les nombreuses injonctions hiérarchiques et de construire du sens à la pratique dorénavant fléchée. Cette recherche qualitative, dont l'approche est interprétativiste, est construite sur une étude de trois cas. Elle est menée sous forme d'une observation participante, au sein de trois communautés de pratique d'hôpitaux publics représentatifs de l'offre de soins hospitalière d'aujourd'hui. Cette thèse comporte quatre parties : La première est composée d'une revue de littérature qui présente d'une part, l'environnement et les principales problématiques du fonctionnement hospitalier d'aujourd'hui et d'autre part, les éléments nécessaires à la compréhension de la genèse et des usages des CoP, tels qu'identifiés par les pères de ce concept. La seconde explique le design de recherche. La troisième expose les résultats pour chacun des cas analysés. L'analyse révèle des caractères communs retrouvés dans la genèse, l'organisation et le fonctionnement des trois cas, mais aussi des caractères hybrides. Au-delà d'un nouveau mode d'apprentissage identifié comme situé, les CoP placent les interactions langagières au centre des échanges, favorisent l'appropriation, par les professionnels de soins, des injonctions hiérarchiques. L'analyse des verbatims rappelle l'importance de l'influence du patient qui modifie la relation entre professionnels de soins et la hiérarchie et le situe au cœur de l'activité de production. Un modèle, représentatif de chaque communauté de pratique est élaboré à partir des données du terrain. La quatrième partie ouvre la discussion sur le management des communautés de pratique dont le défi demeure l'intégration des paradoxes et dualités induits par l'institution. La dynamique de management est interrogée et propose, dans la continuité des travaux de Detchessahar (2015) et Grimand (2016) un modèle intégrant. / “Communities of practice (CoP) are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic and deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” (Wenger, 2002, p.4)They are considered as an efficient way to develop new competencies and financial resources in industrial sector. The finality of this Thesis is to explore communities of practice in public sector, particularly in public hospital sector, which is characterised by complexity and sensitive situations.The research observes and explores three communities of practice, situated in three different public hospitals. This thesis throws light on the contribution of CoP to institutional functioning. Unknow or clearly identified by the institutional hierarchy, these areas allowed language interactions, situated learning and favour appropriate superior's injunctions. They are favourable to develop sensemaking. Especially, the analysis marks the influence of the patient, who transforms the relation between health professionals and hierarchy. It proposes three models, each one is built on verbatims exploration. It questions the management of communities of practice. Finally, it invites to include the presence of institutional paradoxes, rather than try to eliminate them

[pt] As conferências por computador incorporam-se cada vez mais ao dia-a-dia acadêmico, através de programas de ensino a distância e de sua utilização como ferramenta auxiliar no processo de ensino e aprendizagem. Contudo, os estudos têm privilegiado as modalidades sincrônicas de comunicação. As poucas incursões pela assincronia detêm-se nas listas de discussão ou limitam-se a definições no que tange ao fórum. Preenchendo esta lacuna, o presente estudo trata de um fórum de discussão privado ocorrido simultaneamente às aulas presenciais de uma turma de engenharia elétrica da PUC-Rio. O objetivo é descrever e analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente o papel do fórum enquanto experiência discursiva, investigando como se dá a interação e a construção do conhecimento; a possível caracterização do fórum como gênero ou suporte; e o efeito da intervenção do professor no processo. Inspirada pelo sociointeracionismo, a análise focou a freqüência de participação e sua direcionalidade, o fluxo de tópico, a presença social e cognitiva via índices lingüísticos que indicassem afeto, atitude, metacognição, complexidade lexical e sintática. Os resultados sugerem que o fórum deveria ser investigado dentro de um arcabouço de estudos de gênero. Sugerem também que o fórum é um gênero e funciona como uma comunidade de prática, favorecendo a reflexão crítica através de práticas discursivas dialógicas, a aprendizagem de elos coesivos na produção textual, o processo de letramento e de desenvolvimento da inteligência coletiva. Aparentemente, o fórum de discussão contribui para a construção da identidade social e profissional dos participantes. / [en] Computer conferencing has been increasingly incorporated to academic routines, either in distance learning or in the regular classroom, as a support. Nevertheless, the literature has focused on synchronous CMC; its few incursions into asynchrony refer to discussion lists or limit themselves to defining the forum. To fill up such a gap, this study focuses on a private forum held simultaneously with classroom learning by undergrads in Electrical Engineering, at PUC-Rio. Its objective is to describe and analyze, quantitative and qualitatively, the role of the forum as a discursive experience, investigating how interaction and knowledge construction take place; the possibility of characterizing the forum as a genre; and the effect of teacher`s intervention in the process. Inspired by sociointeractionism, it analyzed participation and interactional direction, the topic framework, social and cognitive aspects signaled by linguistic devices that represent affect, attitude, metacognition, lexical and syntactic complexity. Results suggest that future studies need to address the forum within the paradigm of genre study. It also suggests that the forum is a genre and functions as a community of inquiry, leading to critical thinking by means of dialogical discursive and literacy practices, learning of coesive ties in writing, and the development of collective intelligence. Apparently, it contributes to the construction of the social and professional identities of the participants.

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<p>Becoming global – the troublesome integration process.</p><p>The thesis is based on research in Kongsberg Automotive and its foreign subsidiaries in Mexico, U.S.A, Poland and South Korea. It is a study of how these foreign units were established and how the head office in Norway was able to integrate these units in the organization.</p><p>The purpose of the study is to improve understanding of the challenges involved in internationalization processes. To what extent are cultural, political and social differences factors to consider when creating the international organization? In what way do actors and structures influence the process and the practices that emerge?</p><p>In an international organization cultural, political and social differences may create barriers towards understanding the other. This may be further complicated by different languages, time and geographical distances. The local manager abroad is central to the development of relations between the head office and the local unit and his perception of what is appropriate and his ability to make others agree is central to understanding the various practices and solutions that emerge in the local organization.</p><p>The main motivation and challenge of the central management is to control and coordinate the international organization. The study emphasizes the usefulness of different control mechanisms and how these attempts for control were perceived locally. Through time there was a stronger reliance on mechanisms for socialization and enculturation, and while these are directed towards creating a larger consensus in the organization, these should also be seen as means for decentralized control and self-monitoring.</p><p>The various organizational entities in Kongsberg Automotive represent different communities-of-practice and to understand the interaction between these communities as learning processes is central to the study. This perspective also confers an understanding of power as a productive element in the interaction.</p><p>The implications of this study for theory and future research are in embracing the complex nature of internationalization process. Relevant for understanding internationalization processes are both actors and structures intertwined. Institutional environments are central to an understanding of how different actors perceive practices and structures, and what they see as viable solutions. Neither the international organization nor the learning processes these undertake can be torn loose from the local cultural, political and social context.</p>