Management of Innovative Learning Spaces: Toward an Assessment Tool

In the current turbulent socio-economic scenario, new spaces to foster innovation and boost learning are acquiring increasing importance, becoming key objectives for public and private organizations. These spaces may be described as spaces of interaction between individuals, their behaviors, and the external environment (Morris, 2020; Ellis e Goodyear, 2016). Today's companies need more and more to improve and foster their processes of knowledge creation, sharing and transfer and properly managing learning spaces. Learning spaces can be considered places where knowledge is created, shared, and applied; therefore, they can be found in every organizational and geographical context in which generation and application of knowledge are key factors. (Kuuskorpi et al, 2011). Although several studies have discussed the features of learning space, especially in educational contexts, there is still a gap regarding a comprehensive view of the distinguishing dimensions of this space in an organizational context (Ryan, 2016; Basye, D. et al, 2015; Menninen et al, 2007). Identifying the key dimensions characterizing a learning space would help better manage and assess its performance. In such a prospect, based on an extensive review of literature, this study analyses the evolution of the notion of learning space, its features and main performance dimensions and proposes a holistic definition of learning space by highlighting its main dimensions, in educational and organizational contexts. The research results synthesize data and knowledge gathered from the literature review and offer implications and insights both for theory and practice. In fact, the findings suggest specific variables and dimensions to consider in assessing and managing learning spaces. From a practical viewpoint, the paper provides managers with a conceptual framework for the assessment and the management of organization learning space.