Defining and Creating Organizational Knowledge Performance

Abstract

The literature on organizational learning has been described as “volcanic” (Easterby-Smith, Crossan & Nicolini, 2000) because of the persistent volume of studies on the construct, and some refer to it as a core idea in organizational theory (Prange, 1999). Yet, there has been conceptual and definitional confusion (Crossan, Lane & White, 1999; Templeton, Lewis & Snyder, 2002). In this paper, I trace the evolution of the theory of organizational learning to its manifestation in theories of the learning organization and the consequent impact on knowledge performance. The ideas of a learning organization or of organizational learning capability help leaders translate organizational learning into organizational capacities. Finally, the role of informal learning as a strategy to create a learning culture and enhance knowledge performance is explored.

Keywords

• learning organizations
• knowledge performance
• informal learning