Learning and Learning Capability in the Fordist and Post-Fordist Age: An Integrative Framework

In this paper we use the concept of ‘learning capability’ to integrate several frameworks regarding the changing nature of industrial organization and international competition. In doing so, we emphasize the primacy of learning and learning capability in the post-Fordist world of international competition, with a focus on analyzing Fordist and post-Fordist forms of learning at various levels and their differing impact on the learning capability of firms in a regional context. First, we examine the organizational arrangements that promote individual and organizational learning within the firm, with special reference to the Japanese practices of lean and flexible production. Second, we introduce the concept of transactional learning to delineate various forms of Fordist and post-Fordist learning that occur in the marketplace. After reinterpreting Porter's (1990) diamond model as a market structure for transactional learning, we extend his work by emphasizing the role of interfirm networks in facilitating learning and learning capability. The focus of this analysis is on the importance of trust and reciprocity in maintaining effective information flow and cooperation within these networks. In doing so, we discuss differences in the social construction of trust and networks and their corresponding impact on dominant forms of learning and learning capability. We further introduce the concept of spatial learning for analyzing the role of industrial districts as learning agents. We conclude the paper with an examination of the concept of learning infrastructure as a general construct for policymaking regarding regional development and international competition in the post-Fordist age.