Life, work and sustainable learning practices: A study on a small business network

Abstract

Knowledge and knowing processes as work and life practices are not univocal. They are not related to knowledge as an autonomous body of propositions, but permeated with new identities and action modes, which are continuously formed, promoting learning opportunities. The objective of this research is formulated in the understanding of this shift between knowing and knowledge when describing practical learning in everyday work life, reflecting on the implications of this social labor process on small business network sustainability. A qualitative case study approach was used. In line with the theoretical and epistemological choices that guided this research, we decided to use an analysis of discursive practices approach and, accordingly, data collection was based on triangulation techniques in favor of interpretation enrichment. The knowledge to act, revealed in the analysis, suggested that organizations are social worlds forming a standard that holds life, work and organizational practices together. They negotiate, circulate, transform and reproduce, forming a network of actors and favoring sustainable practices learning.