Bridging Mechanisms for Multilevel Learning in Organizational and Project-based Contexts

The organizational learning literature recognizes that learning is a dynamic and multilevel phenomenon that occurs across individual, team and organizational levels. Existing literature begins to identify linking mechanisms between the levels, but the research explaining how these mechanisms operate to influence multilevel learning remains scarce. This paper systematically brings together the research on multilevel learning and focuses on explaining the process of learning through the role of bridging mechanisms, identified in the literature, influencing learning paths of interactions between the levels. We investigate this phenomenon in the context of project-based organizations due to their temporal and structural learning challenges, but also refer to the general management literature. Future research directions are proposed for scholars who wish to further contribute to this important and growing field.