Handbook of Research on the Learning Organization

Edited by Anders Örtenblad, Professor of Work Life Science, University of Agder, Norway

‘The uniqueness of this book compared to other books on the topic of learning organizations is threefold: it offers a pragmatic perspective; it supplies evidence from different contexts; and it has the vision of creating a contingency model of the relevance of the learning organization idea.. . .I would recommend this book not only to scholars engaged in organizational research but also to practitioners at every organizational level. Managers or MBA students can use this book to enhance their understanding of the learning organization and gain valuable ideas about how to design their own organization for optimal long-term performance and adaptability.’

• Contents:PrefaceAnders ÖrtenbladPART I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND1. Introduction: Putting the Learning Organization into Context: An Emerging Research FieldAnders Örtenblad2. What do we Mean by ‘Learning Organization’?Anders Örtenblad3. Putting the Learning Organization into Context: Contributions from Previous WorksAnders Örtenblad, Ziyun Fan, Chenghao Peng, Boying Li, Ziyan Li, Xiaoying Cong and Jie Zhou4. Contextualizing the Learning Organization: Approaches to Research DesignAnders Örtenblad5. Obstacles to the Learning OrganizationDavid Weir and Anders ÖrtenbladPART II: THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION IN CONTEXT Section A. Culture and Religion 6. National Culture and the Learning Organization: An Integrative FrameworkPavel Bogolyubov and Mark Easterby-Smith7. Developing Learning Organizations in ChinaJacky F.L. Hong, Robin Stanley Snell and Mian Lin8. Learning Organization Practices in Mexico: An Empirical StudyDavid Joaquín Delgado-Hernández and Made Torokoff-Engelbrecht9. Islamic Perspective of the Learning OrganizationAini AhmadSection B. Industries and Sectors10. Learning, Trust and Change within the Australian Army: The Development of the Army Learning Organization Questionnaire (ALOQ)Maya Drobnjak, Christina Stothard, Steven Talbot, Karen E. Watkins and Denise McDowall11. The Police Force: To be or not to be a Learning Organization?Cathrine Filstad and Petter Gottschalk12. The Learning Organization in Elderly Care – Can it Fit?Carina Abrahamson Löfström13. Family Firms as Learning OrganizationsNaomi Birdthistle and Thomas N. Garavan14. Universities as Learning Organizations: Internationalization and InnovationHong T.M. Bui and Yehuda BaruchSection C. Mixed Contexts15. Public Sector Organizations as Learning Organizations: Insights from the Education System in PakistanMuhammad Babur16. The Learning Organization: Opportunities and Challenges for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Developing CountriesDima Jamali, Yusuf Sidani and Charissa LloydPART III: REFLECTIONS ON THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION17. The Universality of Learning Company Principles: A Critical Realist ApproachJohn Burgoyne18. Who is the Learning Organization For? A Stakeholder Contingency Approach to Contextualizing Managerial PanaceasAnders Örtenblad19. ‘The Learning Organization’ – Drop the Dead Metaphor! Performing Organizing and Learning in Networks (So to Speak)Chris Blantern, Tom Boydell and John Burgoyne20. Alternative Learning OrganizationShih-wei Hsu21. Contextualising the Learning Organization: How will it Help us Learn in the Future?Deborah Ann Blackman22. Towards a Contingency Model: Recommendations for Further ResearchAnders ÖrtenbladIndex