An Investigation of the Internal Corporate Factors of Organizational Learning and Innovation.

摘要

This study answers the question, "What are the dimensions of the organizational learning experience?" from the perspective of 35 members of four leading companies, representing the first such empirical effort. A review of over 1,368 articles revealed that current organizational learning models are based in theory rather than practice, frequently reduce organizational learning to the individual level, and focus on external factors to the neglect of internal factors. While research on organizational learning dates back to work by Cyert and March (1963), fifty years later, empirical answers to the following questions were still lacking: •What happens to information as it is processed through the organization? •What predictable screening biases are there in an organization? •What is the relation between decisions made by the responsible representatives and the final decision implemented by the organization? •In what systematic ways are decisions elaborated and changed by the organization? (Cyert & March, 1963, p. 21--22).;Fifty dominant organizational learning survey instruments were closely reviewed. It was discovered that each instrument was based on theoretical models, rather than real-world organizational data. This meant that it was unknown whether any dimensions of organizational learning had been missed, or if the assumed dimensions were correct.;Questions for the interview were drawn from questions that appeared in multiple previous instruments and focused on the organizational rather than individual level. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Scrubbed transcripts were analyzed in Nvivo using a grounded theory approach.;This study found no evidence for several assumed dimensions such as decision types, decision proactivity, role clarity, knowledge turnover, and market share. It was determined that the long-standing idea of controlling for industry is not practical.;Finally, this study discovered that organizational learning is significantly influenced by company culture, which constitutes a way of being. This culture shapes what actions a company takes in areas of knowledge management, client focus, focus for growth, and engagement. What a company does ultimately influences what a company becomes, through organizational learning.;keywords: organizational learning, learning organizations, decision making, epistemology, perception, organizational myopia, sensemaking, innovation.