Organizational Learning and Competitive Advantage

`The papers presented in this book offer a rich variety of concepts, frameworks and provacative ideas on organizational learning and its strategic implications. In addition, the theoretical presentations are often supported by reports of the results of original research in a number of companies′ - Management Learning`Organizational Learning and Competitive Advantage is a reader with truly scientific aspirations.... written by an interesting assembly of professors in Information Systems, Education, Organizational Learning, Strategic Management, Government, Technology and Operations, and Small Business Management, completed by a consultant and a manager. Just the sort of collection, one would say, needed to break through the walls of wisdom of the established management departments.... We conclude that it provides a very useful array of different conceptions of organizational learning′ - Organization Studies`An early chapter by Edmonson and Moingeon gives an interestieng case study of a firm of counsultants who added Chris Argyris to Michael Porter in their attempt to understand the behavioural and cognitive barriers to implementation of technically excellent strategies.... A chapter by Di Bella, Nevis and Gould quotes "organizational learning style is a core capability".... This chapter would provide a good basis for a serious-minded organization to review its own processes′ - Alan Mumford, Industrial and Commercial Training`[I}n this volume, contributors from the fields of both strategic management and organizational behaviour have been brought together to explore the relationship between organizational learning and competitive advantage.... In their editorial introduction, Edmonson and Moingeon trace changes within the fields of strategy and organizational development that have encouraged a more integrative approach. On the strategy side, the emergence of the "resource view of the firm" has drawn attention to the importance of firm-specific resources including knowledge and how it is acquired, as sources of competitive advantage. On the other hand, organizational development practitioners have become increasingly interested in relating their traditional tasks more firmly to strategic business issues and concerns. The topic of organizational learning can thus be seen as a bridge, which is the intention of this volume to begin constructing, between these two fields.... The papers presented in this book offer a rich variety of concepts, frameworks and provovative ideas on organizational learning and its strategic implications. In addition, the theoretical presentations are often supported by reports of the results of original research in a number of companies′ - Management Learning′The whole subject of learning is given useful and rigourous coverage in the 10 papers′ - Long Range Planning`Integrating thinking and acting is the name of the game in today′s dynamic marketplace.... This book takes an important first step towards integrating theories of competitive advantage and... organizational learning, a rapprochement which can come none too soon for the management practitioner′ - Peter Senge, Director of the Center for Organizational Learning, MIT Sloan School of Management, USA`The chapters in this volume provide many important insights into how to integrate the different managerial functions and thus overcome one of the chief barriers to organizational learning′ - Professor Chris Argyris, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, USA`This book, unlike many others, does not fall into the trap of simply regurgitating established ideas and theories... it is rare for a group of authors to be able to unite two paradigms: strategy and organizational learning′ - Professor Bernard Ramanantsoa, Dean of HEC-Paris

• Prologue - Chris ArgyrisToward a Comprehensive Theory of ManagementIntroduction - Amy Edmondson and Bertrand MoingeonOrganizational Learning as a Source of Competitive AdvantagePART ONE: LEARNING PROCESSES AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEWhen to Learn How and When to Learn Why - Amy Edmondson and Bertrand MoingeonAppropriate Organizational Learning Processes as a Source of Competitive AdvantageOrganizational Learning Style as a Core Capability - Anthony J DiBella, Edwin C Nevis and Janet M GouldCompetitive Advantage from Tacit Knowledge? Unpacking the Concept and Its Strategic Implications - J-C SpenderOrganizations in the Fog - Philippe BaumardAn Investigation into the Dynamics of KnowledgePART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND STRATEGIC CAPABILITYResources, Capabilities and Competencies - Ashish NandaCore Capabilities and Information Technology - Rafael Andreu and Claudio CiborraAn Organizational Learning ApproachOrganizational Capability as a Source of Profit - David CollisPART THREE: STRATEGIC CHANGE AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNINGDeveloping an Organization Capable of Strategy Implementation and Reformulation - Michael Beer, Russell A Eisenstat and Ralph BiggadikeA Preliminary TestReorganizational Learning - J Douglas OrtonSome Conceptual Tools from Weick′s Model of OrganizingThe Epistemology of Strategic Consulting - James A Phills JrGeneric Analytical Activities and Organizational Learning