ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to explore how knowledge is acquired across different levels, from individuals to inter-organizationally, in the context of emergency collaboration exercises in the Arctic. In this study, we illuminate how inter-organizational learning processes can be affected by the complex environment of Arctic and collaborative emergency exercises. We emphasize the inter-organizational learning processes by drawing on the “Intuiting, Interpreting, Integration, Institutionalizing, Intertwining” (5I) theoretical framework. Furthermore, the study aims to identify preliminary facilitators of and impediments to learning in collaboration. The data collection process consisted of a set of qualitative methods, including archival data from emergency organizations, field observations, background conversations, and unstructured in-depth interviews centred around four exercises. The present study contributes to academic knowledge by extending the 5I inter-organizational learning framework, adding internalizing and interconnecting processes. Notably, this study has practical implications for emergency organizations that invest time and money in exercises in general, and exercise organizers, moderators, and controllers in particular.
