PurposeThe theoretical aim of the research in this paper is to conceptualize learning in the context of communicative action research, specifically in the context of democratic dialogue. The empirical aim is to show how and in which conditions action research projects, based on democratic dialogue, work.Design/methodology/approachIn the paper, first, a conceptual synthesis is made by combining organizational and learning approaches to action research interventions based on the principles of democratic dialogue. Second, the new frame of reference is used to make a content analysis of two public sector cases from Finland, which will be presented as chance narratives.FindingsThe paper finds that the conceptualization of action research interventions first, as development organizations, and second, as learning spaces, sharpens the empirical analysis of the impact of the interventions. The article will point out how the action research interventions enhance collaborative learning among the participants. In cases where democratic dialogue is adopted as a regulative rule, desired organizational changes are likely to happen. In these cases, democratic dialogue diffuses from development organizations to the production and bargaining organizations.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that the level of the conceptualization of the research makes it relevant also in other western countries that are experiencing a transformation of the public sector towards managerialism.Originality/valueThe paper combines theories of learning and organizations in the framework of communicative action research in a way that makes explicit the role of workplace democracy. The paper gives a strong theoretical and empirical evidence of the potential of the dialogue methods in the intentional changes of working life.

Professional bureaucracies of the Finnish municipal services are challenged by many modernization pressures manifested currently in the form of New Public Management. Along with efficiency demands the new emphasis is on the provision of client-oriented services by the means of multiprofessional teamwork crossing the traditional sector boundaries. This paper analyses the learning processes needed when representatives of different professional and other occupational cultures start cooperation.The participants of the research are professionals taking care of the elderly: in a small rural municipality the social and health care staff plan joint home care services and in a city, where a joint home care unit is already established, the professional collaboration is extended towards theatre, art exhibitions and other cultural services. In both cases the researchers invited the professionals to have future oriented discussions on joint dialogue forums. In the analysis of the proceedings the forums were conceptualized as 'learning spaces' and the differences in professional cultures as 'tresholds'.The results of the analysis point out how the professional cultural confrontation between the social and health sector was more severe (the thresholds were higher) than between the home care staff and the cultural sector professionals. The paper suggests that the dialogue method facilitates learning and crossing the professional cultural boundaries if all participants themselves let this happen and secure that the results of the dialogues will be turned into concrete actions.

This article looks at the economic and social changes confronting trade unions in Finland, and how the unions are responding to these changes. The original empirical research comprises a sample of 12 unions, and the interviews with union leaders, officials and trustees focus on the societal changes and the ensuing union responses from the interviewees’ own experience and point of view. Finland has seen a change from strike-prone unionism towards labour–management cooperation that extends the limits of a single workplace and is aimed at the development of whole business branches. The motivation is to secure job opportunities, which after the recent severe depression has become a top priority for the unions and which takes place parallel to the traditional interest-based bargaining, albeit as an unofficial strategy.

The article aims to shed light on teamwork in Finland, where many institutional factors mould employees' experiences of it. Representative survey data from Finnish workplaces are analysed from the frameworks of contextual, positive and critical accounts on teamwork. A qualitative analysis of the role of centralized income agreements and the quality of the industrial relations gives evidence to support the contextual accounts. The results of the survey tell how the experiences of effective teamwork are related to the degree of autonomy of the teams, employees' discretion, the possibility to utilize one's skills and the quality of social relations within the team, and thus support positive accounts. On the other hand, the results of the survey relate the team members' experiences of working harder than non-members, supporting critical accounts.

University traditions are confronted by continuous global competition and are challenged to provide more and faster highly educated labor force. On the other hand, many adult students work along their studies which prolong earning their degrees. The study explores the perspectives of employers and students, teachers and student advisors coming from two University Consortia, on the need to reconcile work and studies and on the potential practices to do that. The research setting is that of Action Research applying Democratic Dialogue. The study examines the dialogues of all participant groups, action plans made, practical outcomes after five years of a dialogue based intervention and the learnings about the method used. The study concludes that instead of studyfriendly practices at the workplaces, the universities are adopting workfriendly practices, including e-learning, to support their students. The dialogue based method proved to be malleable enough to capture the diverse ideas of participants.