Strategic intent, organizational environment, and organizational learning mechanisms: A multiple-case study in the construction industry in Taiwan

The purpose of this paper is to develop different kinds of organizational learning mechanisms based on various types of strategic intents (proactive- and reactive-orientation) and organizational environments (stable and unstable).

The authors utilized a grounded theory approach, and corroborated the results using multiple interviews and documents related to various cases. The authors determined the inter-judge agreement and performed a composite reliability analysis to ensure the robustness of the research.

Successful organization learning is contingent upon managerial strategic intent and the organizational environment in which the organization operates. Proactive strategic intent will cultivate a group-oriented learning system, whereas reactive strategic intent emphasizes the effectiveness of personal learning. Firms in an environment marked by radical change utilize experiential learning mechanisms (participation- and experience-orientation), whereas firms in a stable environment use a specialist-knowledge-oriented approach to learning (benchmarking- and specializing-orientation).

The authors offer a theoretical framework two-by-two matrix that has practical implications in providing managers with guidance in selecting the appropriate organizational learning mechanism to implement in their firms.