Although interest in organizational learning has grown dramatically in recent years, a general theory of organizational learning has remained elusive. We identify renewal of the overall enterprise as the underlying phenomenon of interest and organizational learning as a principal means to this end. With this perspective we develop a framework for the process of organizational learning, presenting organizational learning as four processes—intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing—linking the individual, group, and organizational levels.

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An Organizational Learning Framework: From Intuition to Institution

Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity

Inside a multiunit organization, units can learn from each other and benefit from new knowledge developed by other units. Knowledge transfer among organizational units provides opportunities for mutual learning and interunit cooperation that stimulate the creation of new knowledge and, at the same time, contribute to organizational units' ability to innovate (e.g., Kogut & Zander, 1992; Tsai &

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Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance

This paper details an empirical pilot study that explores the development of several conceptual measures and models regarding intellectual capital and its impact on business performance. The objective of this pilot study is to explore the development of items and constructs through principal components analysis and partial least squares (PLS). The final retained, subjective measures and optimal structural specification show a valid, reliable, significant and substantive causal link between dimensions of intellectual capital and business performance. These results should help both academics and practitioners more readily understand the components of intellectual capital and provide insight into developing and increasing it within an organization. Suggestions are then made to advance and improve this research programme.

Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models

Recent analyses of organizational change suggest a growing concern with the tempo of change, understood as the characteristic rate, rhythm, or pattern of work or activity. Episodic change is contrasted with continuous change on the basis of implied metaphors of organizing, analytic frameworks, ideal organizations, intervention theories, and roles for change agents. Episodic change follows the sequence unfreeze-transition-refreeze, whereas continuous change follows the sequence freeze-rebalance-unfreeze. Conceptualizations of inertia are seen to underlie the choice to view change as episodic or continuous.

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Organizational change and development

Some of the common organizational requirements prescribed for generic business strategies of cost leadership and differentiation are empirically examined in a study consisting of 69 business units. The results suggest the fit between business unit strategy and the internal organization of multi-business companies does have an effect upon business unit performance.

Generic business strategies, organizational context and performance: An empirical investigation

Organizational learning (OL) is receiving increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. In fact, some have suggested that the only sustainable competitive advantage is a firm's ability to learn faster than its competitors. In spite of OL's promise, the field has been slow to evolve. The primary impediments to the development of OL theory are that inconsistent terminology is used for comparable concepts and that different definitions are used to describe the phenomenon. Furthermore, many theorists have neglected to make explicit their underlying assumptions about the phenomenon. Employing an inductive approach, this review surfaces the implicit and explicit assumptions of OL researchers, identifying three key dimensions that differentiate perspectives: (1) unit of analysis—individual, group, organizational, and inter organizational; (2) cognitive/behavioral emphasis; and (3) the learning‐performance relationship.

Organizational learning: dimensions for a theory

Having received the “Decade Award” for the most cited AMR article from the past decade, we reflect on how our framework of organizational learning (OL) has been used in subsequent research and whether a theory of OL has emerged. Our citation review revealed that although some of the subsequent research has added to the original work, the challenge to develop an accepted theory remains unrealized. We offer promising directions for developing a theory of OL.

Reflections on The 2009 AMR Decade Award: Do We Have A Theory of Organizational Learning?

Increasingly the makeup of the top management group is believed to affect the development, identification and exploitation of strategic opportunities. This paper explains a creative management model, which goes beyond conventional strategic management, and identifies the behaviors of top managers needed for the ongoing renewal of their business. It is proposed these behaviors cluster and can be aligned with different and distinct cognitive styles or types. The implication is that top management groups should be composed of a mix of types. This paper posits a mix of Jungian types, Intuitives, Feelers, Thinkers and Sensors. This diversity can yield great strength if the differences can be focused and unified. Propositions and suggestions for further empirical research are developed.

Roderick E. White

Papers

An Organizational Learning Framework: From Intuition to Institution

Generic business strategies, organizational context and performance: An empirical investigation

Organizational learning: dimensions for a theory

Reflections on The 2009 AMR Decade Award: Do We Have A Theory of Organizational Learning?

Top management teams and organizational renewal