An investigation of the internal corporate factors of organizational learning and innovation

Abstract

This study answers the question, "What are the dimensions of the <italic> organizational learning </italic> 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 <italic> organizational learning </italic> models are based in theory rather than practice, frequently reduce <italic> organizational learning </italic> to the <italic> individual level </italic>, and focus on <italic> external </italic> factors to the neglect of <italic> internal </italic> factors. While research on <italic> organizational learning </italic> 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 &amp; March, 1963, p. 21-22). Fifty dominant <italic> organizational learning </italic> 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 <italic> organizational learning </italic> 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 <italic> organizational </italic> rather than <italic> individual </italic> 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 <italic> decision types </italic>, <italic> decision proactivity </italic>, <italic> role clarity </italic>, <italic> knowledge turnover </italic>, and <italic> market share </italic>. It was determined that the long-standing idea of <italic> controlling for industry </italic> is not practical. Finally, this study discovered that <italic> organizational learning </italic> is significantly influenced by <italic> company culture </italic>, which constitutes a way of being. This culture shapes what actions a company takes in areas of <italic> knowledge management </italic>, <italic> client focus </italic>, <italic> focus for growth </italic>, and <italic> engagement </italic>. What a company does ultimately influences what a company becomes, through <italic> organizational learning </italic>.