Inter-Organizational Learning in a Context of Dynamic and Behavioral Complexity: Developing Sustainable Business Enterprises

The Society For Organizational Learning, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Although sustainable business practices are much lauded in the abstract, there is little grounded research on how contemporary enterprises, facing increasingly complex environments, where many causes and effects are distant in time and place and correspondingly difficult to comprehend; and where behavioral complexity is exacerbated by numerous, diverse agents with decision making power, can evolve effective approaches. This study proposes a series of collaborative research studies among the collaborative industrial partners of the Society for Organizational Learning to focus on how learning might take place within the consortium around topics related to sustainable enterprise business practices. In Phase I of the project, a series of research studies is planned that involves: 1) facilitating and documenting learning and new practices in the Consortium as a whole; 2) historical case studies of individual organizations' learning and change projects; and 3) ongoing active participation and observation of learning and change projects within sub-groups of the Consortium. A multi-method approach is proposed, including community action research with teams of insiders and outsiders; content analysis of documents, email and conversations; structured and semi-structured interviews; causal loop diagramming and systems thinking assessments; sociograms; observation of boundary objects used in Consortium change projects; and selective comparisons with non-consortium control groups. Phase II studies will emerge as the Consortium gains experience in Phase I.