Learning by Doing What? A Critical Analysis of Organizational Learning-by-Doing

Abstract

Organizational learning-by-doing has long been used to explain firm behavior and economic growth where the underlying models and analysis are built upon observations from the manufacturing sector. Though that sector is still relevant, firms are increasingly reliant upon creative processes, yet there is little to no understanding of how the classical models apply to this domain. This study provides evidence that organizational learning-by-doing may not occur in the creative sector. This result highlights how the existing models may need to be adjusted to deal with industry-specific characteristics. We conclude by highlighting the link between our results and observed empirical regularities.

Keywords: creativity, learning-by-doing, knowledge transfer, organizational learning-by-doing, experience curve, learning curve

JEL Classification: C90, D01, D24, L11, M5, O3