This paper argues that contemporary workplaces give rise to many different forms of knowledge creation and use, and, as a consequence to different forms of learning and pedagogical approaches. Some of these are utilised to the benefit of the organisation and employees (though not, necessarily, in a reciprocal manner), but others are buried within everyday workplace activity. The discussion builds on earlier work where it was argued that organisations differ in the way they create and manage themselves as learning environments, with some conceptualised as 'expansive' in the sense that their employees experience diverse forms of participation and, hence, are more likely to foster learning at work. By studying the way in which work is organised (including the organisation of physical and virtual spaces), this research is suggesting that it is possible to expose some of this learning activity as well as to identify examples where new (or refined) knowledge has been created. In this regard, it is argued that it is important to break down conceptual hierarchies that presuppose that learning is restricted to certain types of employee and/or parts of an organisation and to re-examine knowledge as applied to the workplace. The conclusion focuses on how such an approach, and in particular the use of a productive system analysis, is strengthening the concept of expansive and restrictive learning environments.

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The orthodox literature on situated learning has favoured a conception of agency which is linked to habitual action and as a consequence it emphasizes learning as routinized enactment based on social cohesion. To highlight the contested nature of situated learning we draw on the case study of situated learning during organizational change and we employ a relational sociology perspective. The latter views agency as a process encompassing iterative, projective and practical evaluative dimensions which unfold in relation to the temporal and structural contexts within which situated learning is embedded. The evidence illustrates situated learning as an emergent process shaped by the diverse modes in which actors-operating in a context imbued with ambiguity-connected with a seemingly shared set of principles informing their practice.

The typology of knowledge communities and knowledge collectivities has aimed to enhance the analytical clarity of the communities of practice concept (CoPs). This is achieved by outlining key differences in the knowing unfolding in CoPs and in less 'homogeneous' collectives such as multi-disciplinary project teams. This paper argues that the typology offers an account which denies any significant role to agency within CoPs. Additionally, it explicates the knowledge processes CoPs engage with, by reference to their internal constitution and in isolation from the broader contexts in which they are embedded. To address this limitation the paper employs a relational perspective of agency and context interplay. It reports data from two case studies of CoPs operating within the context of a merger in the UK brewing sector. The evidence reaffirms the significance of agency in CoPs. It also illustrates how the exercise of agency is mediated by performative expectations derived from the positioning of work practices within broader relations of production. The interplay of agency and context poses limitations to the reification of the characteristics of knowingin terms of the types of knowledge drawn upon and the outcomes of such a process-in different groups.

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