Is the learning organization idea relevant to higher educational institutions? A literature review and a “multi-stakeholder contingency approach”
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 4 March 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine systematically and reflectively the relevance of four different aspects/types of the learning organization idea to higher educational institutions (HEIs), from three ideal-typical stakeholder perspectives: the managerial perspective, the employee perspective and the societal perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review of 73 prior works on the relevance of the learning organization idea to HEIs, and a systematic examination from different stakeholder perspectives, i.e. an examination based on a “multi-stakeholder contingency approach.”
Findings
The learning organization idea needs to be reformulated to some extent to become fully relevant to HEIs.
Research limitations/implications
The “multi-stakeholder contingency approach” can be used advantageously in any contextualization study of the learning organization idea as well as in contextualizing any other fashionable management idea.
Practical implications
The learning organization idea should not be adopted uncritically by HEIs, nor should it be uncritically rejected. In particular, HEIs should avoid becoming too organic and instead, be moderate when adopting the “learning structure” aspect/type of the learning organization idea.
Social implications
It is recommended that the societal perspective be prioritized, in that HEIs are mainly for society.
Originality/value
In contrast to the previous stock of literature on HEIs as learning organizations, which, generally speaking, is non-cumulative, uncritical, incongruent and unsystematic, this paper systematically and reflectively examines the relevance of various definitions of the learning organization from diverse and explicit stakeholder perspectives.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express our gratitude to the Editor of this journal and the anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on our manuscript. They would also like to thank the Doctoral School of Economics and Innovation created under the auspices of European Social Fund for contributing to the publication of this paper.
Citation
Örtenblad, A. and Koris, R. (2014), "Is the learning organization idea relevant to higher educational institutions? A literature review and a “multi-stakeholder contingency approach”", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 173-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-01-2013-0010
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited