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Empirical research has already postulated the link between learning routines and the creation of competencies, but it is less clear how competencies influence organisational performance. This paper is an empirical investigation determining the relationship between the creation of competencies and the quality of learning. The purpose of the paper is to not only build on prior research that has validated the usefulness of linking levels of learning with the evidence of competencies, but also to illustrate how the creation of competencies is a socially constructed phenomenon. Thus, the paper has a strong theoretical disposition examining the existing literature as well as building on it. Socially constructed routines of themselves have little inimitable advantage to firms unless the routines are underpinned and harnessed by unique learning systems. The paper explores these concepts by showing how the creation of competencies depend on, and are predisposed to, the quality of learning interaction, the routines that are patterned from these, and the capacity of the organisation to turn the new socially constructed routines into superior performance. The paper is expected to make a major contribution to the strategic management literature by showing what types of competencies are more likely to lead to superior firm performance, and how competencies are linked to learning.

As a learning theory, the continuous improvement (CI) discourse has benefited countless manufacturing enterprises to improve and adapt their methods of production. As one of the pillars of total quality management, it has generally included a range of dynamic concepts from high involvement teamwork and production enablers, to other social and technical capabilities such as innovation techniques. Such methodologies have been promoted in the literature as potential manifestos that can transform existing capabilities from simple representations of capability, to dynamically integrated ones (often labelled “full CI capacity”). The latter term in particular deserves more attention in the literature. Since CI techniques cannot be separated from organisational learning methodologies, it follows that CI methods should underpin holistic learning. This paper explores whether CI methodologies have advanced far enough to be considered as integrated and holistic in their own right. If not, it follows that new theories, challenges and discourses should be considered for exploration in the CI literature.

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies performed by innovation actors to ensure commercialisation success, and to determine which of these strategies significantly predict a successful commercialisation within a public university context.

The strategies conceptualised for this study included open innovation, strategic leadership and collaborative advantage. A total of 222 public university academics participated in an anonymous survey and were asked to provide responses on their innovation strategies. These responses were then explored to assess the construct validity of the survey instrument and further analysed using a hierarchical multiple regression technique to test the hypotheses and to compare several regression models.

The results suggested that strategic leadership and open innovation strategies are significant predictors for successful commercialisation with coefficient of multiple determination (R²) of 21 per cent. This study, however, found that collaborative advantage does not significantly determine commercialisation success.

The study was limited by the empirical evidence that was based on cross-sectional survey data of public university academics. A qualitative study with other groups of participants such as from the industries would further confirm the relationship between innovation strategies and commercialisation success. Future research should replicate this study in other settings to improve the generalisation of the findings.

This study discovered strategic leadership as the most dominant predictor for commercialisation success in a public university context followed by open innovation strategy. It confirms the strategic roles of leaders in innovation attempts and provides further understanding about the openness strategy in innovation.

This article addresses the opportunities that XML can offer to the publishing scientist and explores why there has been such a relatively slow take‐up. XML can revolutionize the way that scientists publish their work, but few publishers have shown enthusiasm for it. This article also describes the development of XML‐based tools and technologies as alternative methods for scholarly communication in several science fields. These methods include combined data and text (datuments), robotic validation and the combination of markup languages. The authors believe that these methods will certainly challenge the current publishing practices and transform the librarian’s role in providing e‐journal services.

Organisational learning theory appears to be practical when researchers can find links between two or more variables that can be justified and implemented. While much has been written about organisational learning, with many reported successes, further research is needed to link the internal techniques of procedure with the externalisation of these in practice. Such principles seem more valuable when superior organisational competencies are linked to a learning culture, when the improvement of behavioural routines can be traced to the existence of superior learning. This paper explores these links. The paper is based on an empirical investigation – the contemplative link between learning levels and the creation of organisational competence is a new approach. The paper seeks to make a contribution to developmental theory as well as organisational learning in practice. It suggests that a firm’s competitive advantage can be increased as a result of competencies that are established from a learning culture.

The following case study demonstrates how an organisation can integrate learning with normal business processes so that it not only shares its knowledge and continuously improves at a high rate, but also, achieves this without significant disruption to its routine business. Against a background of traditional learning techniques that advocate linear learning, the study advances the theme of multiple learning processes to facilitate a more flexible approach to organisational learning. The study describes how auditing can be used as a learning tool to detect potential problems before they become operationally troublesome. A number of audit processes outline how an organisation can expedite collective learning, generate considerable quantities of information, and consider early responses to forces of change.

I present the findings of a study with course developers, principals, teachers, and community members in British Columbia (BC), Canada, regarding their views of the course Social Justice 12. Introduced in 2008, the senior, elective course involves students in exploring a number of contemporary issues in society and aims to develop citizens who actively work to address social injustices. The course includes some potentially controversial content, such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) materials, which has been actively opposed by some community members. This negative reaction has had some damaging effects on teachers who teach the course. After describing the course and the study’s research methodology, the findings are presented. These findings include a review of the relations between course implementation and school contexts and a discussion of the complexity of issues-based instruction in relation to varied ideological positionings between teachers, principals, and community members. I conclude with recommendations that aim to strengthen education in and for a democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a greater understanding of the role of team learning by examining the link between team centrality and organisational learning.

This paper is a conceptual paper that examines a range of literature related to team learning. It is the first paper in a series of three. The final paper examines the propositions developed in this and a subsequent paper by exploring team learning in over 30 large companies across a range of industries. Team processes are all but defined by pre‐existing organisational processes. At one extreme, they are directive and driven. At another, they are dynamic and fluid and underlie a degree of self‐managed activity. Team processes accordingly are potentially dynamic or rather basic depending on the level of structured or unstructured activity. The paper suggests that potentially dynamic teams are those that display superior learning routines that are embodied within each team's processes. This paper contends that team learning is a centrally located variable within organisational learning processes.

To date, team characteristics, team building, and team structures have been the focus of much research, but team learning routines have been underplayed in the team's literature. Teams are central in the organisational learning process.

This paper establishes the theoretical underpinning for a final paper that will make significant recommendations. There are practical implications, however, of various links across the themes, particularly the centrality of the team in the learning process.

This paper is a highly valuable due to very little research being completed to date on this topic.

The purpose of this paper is to understand why structures of learning underpin the creation of competencies that allow firms to compete more successfully in dynamic markets. The paper seeks to challenge the idea that, in the absence of learning, capabilities are the main source of competitive advantage.

First, the paper discusses the relationships between competencies, learning, and dynamic markets. Second, a preliminary analysis is conducted of the learning routines of 118 top sales managers. The results are compared with three different structures of learning, allowing conclusions to be drawn about learning in dynamic markets.

The study illustrates that a number of dynamic learning routines are not evident in the sales environments of dynamic markets. The findings suggest that firms are not well placed to renew routines from inside‐out and to respond to market dynamics. The patterns of integration among individuals and groups, however, seem to be well represented, reflecting higher‐level learning routines.

The empirical findings offered here are of a preliminary nature. Future researchers might usefully apply the typology of learning structures to examine in more detail the empirical links established. Studies might also examine organisational learning in a variety of industrial and consumer‐based contexts.

The idea that learning structures (rather than capabilities themselves) are the basis of competencies that enable a firm to better respond to dynamic markets is a useful and novel approach.