Shared challenge for learning: dialogue between management and front-line workers in knowledge management

Knowledge management is increasingly involved in the creation of new collective competencies. This calls for a new form of collaborative learning activity and dialogue between management's and front-line workers' perspectives. Competence Laboratory is a new team-level knowledge management method aiming at promoting and supporting such learning and dialogue. The article describes the method, its theoretical foundations on the concepts of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and the experimental use of the method in a telecommunications company. The analysis of the experiment focuses on the conditions for constructing a shared view of the pivotal challenge of learning and competence development between middle management and front-line workers.