Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization
A Dichotomy Between Descriptive and Prescriptive Research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9891031 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric W K Tsang (0000-0002-0642-0714, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 73-89 |
| Publication date | 1997-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/001872679705000104 |
| OpenAlex | W2096319548 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 47 |
| References cited | 47 |
Despite the growing popularity of the term 'organizational learning," writings on the topic have little consensus in terms of definition, perspective, conceptualization, and methodology. This article examines the dichotomy between two main streams of theorizing in the field. The first stream, prescriptive writings on the learning organization, is concerned with the question "How should an organization learn?" Targeting practitioners, these studies are usually based on the authors' consulting experience and seldom follow rigorous research methodologies. They also tend to overgeneralize their theories to all types of organization. Descriptive researches on organizational learning fall in the second stream which tackles the question "How does an organization learn?" These are academic studies striving for scientific rigor. Nevertheless, they often fail to generate useful implications for practitioners. In the final section of the article, brief suggestions are made to integrate the two streams of research
Conceptualization · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Knowledge management · Management · Organizational learning · Organizational studies · Organizational theory · Perspective (graphical · Popularity · Sociology · Artificial Intelligence · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Computer Science · Innovation and Knowledge Management · Organizational Learning and Leadership · Psychology · Social Psychology
Enhancing innovation between scientific and indigenous knowledge
Creating an Adaptive Ecosystem Management Network Among Stakeholders of the Lower Roanoke River, North Carolina, USA
Creating and Managing Interorganizational Learning Networks To Achieve Sustainable Ecosystem Management
Improved learning for greater effectiveness in development NGOs
The origins and conceptualizations of ‘triple-loop’ learning
Investigation of the Relationship Between Organizational Learning and Organizational Citizen Behavior Among the Staff of Teaching Hospital
The Work Motivation Inventory
Communities of practice as purveyors of instructional communication during crises
Linking resonant leadership and learning organizations
The Impact of Organizational Culture on Organizational Learning at Six Estonian Hospitals
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Rethinking organisational learning in local government
Transforming hotels into learning organisations
Re-conceptualizing adult education’s monolithic behaviourist interpretation
Developing a model for building resilience to climate risks for cultural heritage
Learning from the periphery
Continuous Vocational Education of Employees in Conditions of Knowledge Economy
La Cultura de Aprendizaje de las Organizaciones Educativas. Instrumentos de Diagnóstico y Evaluación
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The Role of Aid-Evaluation Feedback as an Input into the Learning Organization
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Organizational Learning Capability
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Strategic factors and barriers for promoting educational organizational learning
Realizing their potential to become learning organizations to foster health system resilience
Trust in Administration
Community organizational learning
Ecological Governance
The temporal dimension of knowledge and the limits of policy appraisal
How foresight creates unforeseen futures
Power and emotion in organizational learning
Network learning
Moral Foundations of the Learning Organization
Network learning
Organizational unlearning
Exploitation and exploration learning and the development of organizational capabilities
Against Learning
Fighting for Knowledge
Catholic Social Teaching, Theology, and Sociology
The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism
The myopia of learning
Bounded Rationality and Organizational Learning
Culture and Organizational Learning
Learning from Samples of One or Fewer
Judgment under uncertainty
Cultural constraints in management theories
Organizational Learning
Judgment under Uncertainty
A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation
Organizational Frames of Reference
The Social Construction of Organizational Learning
The Chinese Family Firm
Organizational Learning
"The Chinese Concepts of "Face
Face and Favor
On the Concept of Face
| Unique citing works | 47 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,81 |
| Citation span | 2000 - 2026 (27) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 43 |