Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which the concept of learning organization can support the embedding of responsible innovation (RI) in organizations. Design/methodology/approach: Based on literature in the fields of corporate social responsibility, learning organizations and quadruple helix collaborations, the…

Purpose: This study aims to understand how practitioners use their insights in software development models to share experiences within and between organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative study of practitioners in software development projects, in large-, medium- or small-size businesses. It analyzes interview material in…

Purpose: Ambidexterity increases an organisation's capability to successfully navigate dynamic and uncertain environments. While leaders are expected to model flexible learning and practices throughout the organisation, little is known about the leader characteristics and contextual factors that underpin ambidexterity. This study aims to explore…

Purpose: This paper aims to look at the implementation of project-funded research governance and its potential to induce organisational learning on responsible research and innovation (RRI). This paper analysed what types of organisational learning and change can take place within organisations of an Europe-funded project and to what extent. This…

Purpose: This paper aims to test if team reflexivity is a countermeasure to the detrimental effect of team virtuality on team performance improvement, in decision-making teams. Design/methodology/approach: Study 1 regarded 210 individuals (N = 44 teams) executing five decision-making tasks. Study 2 regarded 60 individuals (N = 20 teams) executing…

Purpose: This paper aims to clarify the term "tacit knowledge" and suggests the "onion model" as a way to explore conceptually linked layers of tacit knowledge. The model allows the application of different methodologies to elicit tacit knowledge in each layer, the ability to infer tacit knowledge in other layers from tacit…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute by placing the missing "learner agent" within the entire process of learning. To understand under what social conditions, it is possible to develop autonomous learners who are conscious of self, able to reflect on their identities, roles and responsibilities, to learn and develop professionally, in…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the content dimensions and methods of accelerating the entrepreneurial learning (EL) triggered by participating in learning events, such as factory tours. It particularly focuses on the Italian case of Open Factory -- an open-doors event of industrial manufacturing culture. Design/methodology/approach: This…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how organizational members became storywriters of an important process of organizational change. Writing became a practice designed to create a space, a time and a methodology with which to author the process of change and create a learning context. The written stories produced both the…

Purpose: Research on antecedents of organizational learning generally ignores the fact that organizational learning is at least a two-dimensional construct and that its dimensions may be conflicting. This research often fails to investigate the simultaneous effects of antecedents on these dimensions. To address this gap in the literature, this…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to show how a model for sustainable learning has been formed in the meetings between practitioners and researchers. Design/methodology/approach: With the point of departure in an interactive research approach, the authors have worked with learning and common knowledge development. Empirical data were…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Special Issue; to provide a practitioner's retrospective views of the learning organization concept; and to comment on the status of "The Learning Organization" journal. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted involves recounting a personal history of a practitioner's experiences…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to enrich the conceptual vocabulary of organisational learning by discussing the relevance of the interdisciplinary work of Gregory Bateson, an original and challenging twentieth century thinker. Design/methodology/approach: The paper debates a number of principles identified by Bateson, which reflect patterns…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the journal and organizational learning over the years. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted is that of providing a viewpoint perspective to look at the concept of the learning organization. Findings: By looking at organizational learning partly from the perspective of a publisher,…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to revisit the practical worth of different systems thinking tools applied to three different business clients, which may be dismissed by academic researchers as theoretically old fashioned. Design/methodology/approach: The methodologies used are systems-based (SSM, VSM and causal loop diagrams), culminating in…