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In the Pursuit of Understanding How to Balance Lower and Higher Order Learning in Organizations

Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Bergen

Although a near consensus exists on the need for balancing lower and higher order learning, there is considerably less clarity about how and under which organizational conditions a balance can be achieved. From this view, this study addresses the question, What are the rules of the game that may facilitate a balance between lower and higher order learning? The findings from the study show that lower order learning is an outcome of learning from one's own experience, and higher order learning is an outcome of learning from the experience of others. The findings also confirm that a balance between these types of learning depends on social interaction—based on norms that are different from the norm that the learning actors follow in their formal organizational setting. The data used in approaching the research question are from a case study that shows how and under what conditions a team of professionals managed to balance lower and higher order learning over time.

Key Words: change • organizational learning • management consultants • exploration and exploitation

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 44, No. 3, 365-390 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0021886308319717


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