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Organizational learning: effects of (network) structure and (individual) strategy

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Abstract

Earlier theoretical accounts of collective learning relied on rules and operating procedures as the organizational memory (March in Organ. Sci. 2(1):71–87, 1991; Rodan in Scand. J. Manag. 21:407–428, 2005). This paper builds on this tradition drawing on ideas from social network theory. Learning is modeled as a social-psychological process (Darr and Kurtzberg in Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 82(1):28–44, 2000; Rulke et al. in Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 82(1):134–149, 2000), in which organizations learn by exchanging information internally between their members (Argote et al. in Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 82(1):1–8, 2000; Carley in Am. Soc. Rev. 56(3):331–354, 1991; Carley in Soc. Perspect. 48(4):547–571, 1995). Learning is also characterized as stochastic and creative (Gruenfeld et al. in Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 82(1):45–59, 2000). This model is used to explore predictions about the effect social networks have on idea generation and learning and alternative strategies for choosing from whom to seek information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organization and Management, College of Business, San José State University, One Washington Square, San José, CA, 95192-0070, USA

    Simon Rodan

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Correspondence to Simon Rodan.

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I want to express my gratitude to James G. March for inspiring me to begin doing simulation work and his encouragement and advice on this and other models.

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Rodan, S. Organizational learning: effects of (network) structure and (individual) strategy. Comput Math Organiz Theor 14, 222–247 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10588-008-9028-0

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