‘Knowing’ as an Activity: Implications for the Film Industry and Semi-Permanent Work Groups

The central concern of this chapter is to provide a theoretical explanation of the nature of knowing in an industry organized around project-based work, the film industry. In particular, it explains how knowledge of the work process, culture and rules of film production are gained and stored by both individuals and semi-permanent work groups (SPWGs, Blair, 2000) and then contributed for a short time to organizations. This exploration is particularly interesting as the film industry presents a context in which production organizations are temporary entities and there are no permanent organizational structures through which knowledge can be communicated and maintained.

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