Learning for the complex object of work in a digital printing network

Abstract

This article investigates the learning of a digital printing network that was seeking sustainable collaboration in the textile, clothing, and interior printing industry. Digitalization is transforming work, giving rise to new types of networks and creating learning challenges for participants. The object of digital printing activity becomes heterogeneous, open-ended, and indefinite. The concept of the complex object of work, which is based on cultural-historical activity theory, is introduced to examine the dynamics between the digitalization of work and network learning. Data were collected at the starting phase of the network collaboration, when participants discussed the future object of the digital printing activity. The participants were involved in design, textile manufacturing, digital printing, vocational education, and research, and consumer-customers were also represented. The authors argue that revealing the complexity of the object of work on multiple levels of learning is crucial to enhancing innovation in the networks of the digital age.