Lights Off, Spot On: Carbon Literacy Training Crossing Boundaries in the Television Industry

Abstract

Proclaimed the "greenest television programme in the world," the award-winning soap opera Coronation Street is seen as an industry success story. This paper explores how the integration of carbon literacy training (CLT) led to a widespread transformational change of practice within Coronation Street. Using the theoretical lens of Communities of Practice (CoP), this study examines the nature of social learning and the enablers and barriers to change within the organization. Specifically, how boundary spanning practices, objects and people led to the transformation on both a personal and group level. Based on a qualitative analysis of 22 interviews with Heads of Departments and other staff, the paper argues that CLT is a boundary practice which has evolved into a boundary spanning CoP. The importance of infrastructures supporting boundary objects and practices is highlighted as reinforcers of the CLT, both as a boundary object and a community, with the "ultimate" boundary spanning object being the show. A significant enabler in social learning and change in practice is the creation of discursive and creative space, both within CoP and across the boundaries. Findings also highlight the role of "self" in the process of social learning and organizational change. Distinct patterns emerged in the relationship between self-identity, social learning and change across a range of boundary objects, practices and communities both in the CLT and CoP. This suggests that in a diverse social learning setting such as CLT there are different transformational catalysts within the CoP and these identities can influence how knowledge is translated into practice.

Social learning in cluster initiatives

“…Underdeveloped identity, as in the case of dead souls, created barriers to the deeper involvement of members and their social learning. This evidence is consistent with the assumptions of the CoP theory (Chapple et al, 2020).…”

Constellations of Transdisciplinary Practices: A Map and Research Agenda for the Responsible Management Learning Field

“…Intersectoral disciplinarity is characterized by collaborative practices that involve actors from multiple sectors, but only one discipline. An examples is the paper by Chapple et al (2019). It is based on intensive collaboration between the researchers and management practitioners (intersectorality), centered on the shared sustainability issue of carbon literacy (disciplinarity).…”

“…Hauser (2019) studies ethics and compliance trainings programs, proposing an integrated, more effective ethics and compliance training scheme. Chapple et al (2019) study how carbon literacy training on a television set enabled social learning across departmental boundaries. Fougère et al (2019) studied reciprocal multistakeholder learning realized through a service learning project in which students and managers collaborated.…”

“…Several papers showed intersectorality on the research field through collaboration with research participants. For instance, Chapple et al (2019) worked with managerial research participants "as 'knowledgeable agents'" and Hauser (2019) collaborated with "focus group participants [who] were… asked to share their comments and elaborate on the preliminary findings." Chapple et al (2019) and Hauser (2019) focussed on single disciplines of environmental sustainability and ethics, respectively, on all three fields.…”

Preparing an Organization for Sustainability Transitions—The Making of Boundary Spanners through Design Training

“…Previous research has highlighted actions and behaviors of boundary spanners [12,18,19] but has placed little emphasis on how boundary spanners emerge and how the necessary skills and competences can be supported, e.g., through training [11,20]. As a consequence, the processes through which individuals become boundary spanners "in practice" needs further attention [14,15,21]-specifically, how organizations can enable individuals (formally designated or not) to take on this role and develop the skills and competences needed to become successful boundary spanners. As argued by Goodrich, Sjostrom [11], the diversity of skills associated with boundary spanning functions are often not explicitly taught in pre-career academic or professional training and may be ad hoc or emergent for professionals, who are confined to a "trial-and-error" approach [22].…”