Ksenia O. Krylova, Dusya Vera and Mary Crossan
This paper aims to answer the question: how do knowledge workers’ improvisation processes promote both knowledge transfer and protection in knowledge-intensive organizations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to answer the question: how do knowledge workers’ improvisation processes promote both knowledge transfer and protection in knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs)? A model is proposed identifying how effective improvisation can strengthen the effect of four specific knowledge transfer mechanisms – an experimental culture, minimal structures, the practice of storytelling and shared mental models – on knowledge transfer inside the organization and knowledge protection outside of it.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on a knowledge translation perspective to position improvisation as intrinsically intertwined with knowledge transfer and knowledge protection.
Findings
Improvisation is proposed as the moderating factor enhancing the positive impact of an experimental culture, minimal structures, storytelling practice and shared mental models on knowledge transfer and knowledge protection.
Practical implications
The paper argues against a “plug-and-play” approach to knowledge transfer that seeks to replicate knowledge without considering how people relate to the routines and the context and highlights to leaders of KIOs the importance of developing awareness, understanding and motivation to improvise to internalize new knowledge being transferred and to create imitation barriers.
Originality/value
The paper proposes that KIOs’ success in transferring and protecting knowledge emerges not directly from formal knowledge transfer mechanisms but from knowledge workers’ improvisation processes.
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Bijaya Mishra and Jagan Mohan Reddy
This paper aims to provide an overview of the Organization Learning and Learning Organization concepts obtaining the perspectives of Professor Mary M. Crossan and presents an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of the Organization Learning and Learning Organization concepts obtaining the perspectives of Professor Mary M. Crossan and presents an evolution of her immense contribution to the field over the past two decades.
Design/methodology/approach
A conversation with thought-leader, Professor Mary M. Crossan.
Findings
How different “character configurations” and “processes” enhance organization learning across levels in the organization.
Originality/value
The discussion with Professor Mary M. Crossan reveals her take on the evolution of the organizational learning framework and the significant role of the “Leader’s Character” in shaping organizational learning. Exploring this evolution provides the context and impetus to researchers and practice leaders to verify.
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Mary M. Crossan, Henry W. Lane, Roderick E. White and Lisa Djurfeldt
Organizational learning (OL) is receiving increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. In fact, some have suggested that the only sustainable competitive…
Abstract
Organizational learning (OL) is receiving increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. In fact, some have suggested that the only sustainable competitive advantage is a firm's ability to learn faster than its competitors. In spite of OL's promise, the field has been slow to evolve. The primary impediments to the development of OL theory are that inconsistent terminology is used for comparable concepts and that different definitions are used to describe the phenomenon. Furthermore, many theorists have neglected to make explicit their underlying assumptions about the phenomenon. Employing an inductive approach, this review surfaces the implicit and explicit assumptions of OL researchers, identifying three key dimensions that differentiate perspectives: (1) unit of analysis—individual, group, organizational, and inter organizational; (2) cognitive/behavioral emphasis; and (3) the learning‐performance relationship.
Mary M. Crossan and David K. Hurst
Management theory has paid scant attention to the nature and reconciliation of the tension between exploration and exploitation, in spite of its central importance to strategic…
Abstract
Management theory has paid scant attention to the nature and reconciliation of the tension between exploration and exploitation, in spite of its central importance to strategic renewal. This paper uses Hurst's (1995) ecocycle to frame the tension and employs complexity theory to examine how the tension manifests itself across levels and time. Improvisation is advanced as a process to reconcile and manage the tension between exploration and exploitation.
Presents the results of a keyword search of the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), ABI Inform and PyschLit databases using the terms “organizational learning” and “learning…
Abstract
Presents the results of a keyword search of the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), ABI Inform and PyschLit databases using the terms “organizational learning” and “learning organization” to uncover patterns relating to: the amount of publishing activity by year; influential authors; journals publishing organizational learning research; and type of research published.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine two aspects of the increasing body of research in the field of project management, namely improvisational working and agile project…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine two aspects of the increasing body of research in the field of project management, namely improvisational working and agile project management (APM).
Design/methodology/approach
This is a comparative paper, considering the extant literature on improvisational working within projects and APM. The paper is essentially conceptual, and concludes with a comparative table of constructs, and their segregation into components and outputs. The growth in the recognition of improvisation as a useful addition to the armoury of the project manager stems from the shift that is taking place within the body of project knowledge generally, in that historically the greater proportion of the project management literature has been the epitome of planning in the prescriptive mode, but that a shift has taken place over the last decade or so towards a more behavioural, and as a result of this, a less structured and more improvisational focus. The second area of scrutiny within this paper seeks to position the limited emerging literature on APM within the wider project literature, and to examine overlaps and commonalities with improvisational working within projects.
Findings
Common areas across the two working styles are exposed and documented, and there is analysis of recent attempts to combine them with more traditional models. Linkages with complexity theory and complex adaptive systems are also briefly addressed.
Practical implications
There is growing awareness amongst practitioners of the potential benefits of improvisational working and “agile” methods, and some potential benefits are identified.
Originality/value
This paper moves further from the “traditional” project‐based paradigm of “plan – then execute”, offering insights into potential emerging best practice for practitioners in some organisational contexts.
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Krishnan Hariharan and Vivek Anand
This study aims to examine how transformational leadership impacts learning flows that are critical for enhancing the learning capabilities of organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how transformational leadership impacts learning flows that are critical for enhancing the learning capabilities of organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 502 employees of business organizations located in India. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.
Findings
Transformational leadership behavior positively influences feed-forward learning flows in organizations and strengthens their learning stock. Learning stock held by the individuals emerged as a predictor of feed-forward learning flows in organizations and a partial mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and feed-forward learning flows. The study’s findings suggest transformational leadership encourages feed-forward learning flows through the development of individual learning stock.
Originality/value
This study empirically supports the theoretical claim of transformational leadership behaviors as an important antecedent to fostering organizational learning.
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Vilja M.R. Levonius and Eveliina Saari
This paper aims to introduce the Empatia video reflection method, designed to enhance care workers’ awareness of empathic care. The method makes the quality of care visible, which…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce the Empatia video reflection method, designed to enhance care workers’ awareness of empathic care. The method makes the quality of care visible, which is needed when digitalization efforts in elder care focus on the efficiency and adequacy of care work.
Design/methodology/approach
The Empatia method leans on previous studies of the interaction between care professionals and clients and elaborates further previous video reflection methods. In empathic care work, the care worker sees the client on their life continuum, rather than focusing on only medical treatments.
Findings
The empirical example demonstrates how a care worker gained awareness of their empathic interaction habits. Within the work community, the reflection process sparked discussions on values: the purpose of care work and how to conduct empathic care. Focusing on empathic relationships in care fosters both the client’s and the care worker’s well-being.
Practical implications
The strength of the Empatia method is that it makes empathy visible in interaction and something that is individually and collectively learnable. The Empatia includes an analytical tool for researchers to reveal empathy in client interaction. It can be developed further into a reflection tool for service work to learn how to be empathic in service encounters.
Originality/value
Compared to other video-stimulated recall methods, the Empatia involves contextual understanding of care work. Empowering positive interactions instead of detecting errors and solving problems is a novel concept and is scantily used in studies of organizational learning. The Empatia provides a detailed method description that allows for the replication of the method by anyone.
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Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
John F. Kennedy once claimed that “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”. In a world that seemingly refuses to stand still, the sentiments of the former US President have never been more apt. Because as change invariably brings new challenges, organizations lacking the knowledge to respond may soon find themselves left behind. So how can companies prosper amid the complexity and uncertainty that characterize the twenty‐first century business world? A key factor may be the definition of the organization itself.
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.