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Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Annette Krauss

This paper aims to report on findings and methodological approaches of the artistic project “Sites for Unlearning (Art Organization)” in collaboration with the Team at Casco at…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on findings and methodological approaches of the artistic project “Sites for Unlearning (Art Organization)” in collaboration with the Team at Casco at Institute: Working for the Commons, Utrecht/NL, through which processes of unlearning are tested against the backdrop of established institutional structures. This paper constitutes a transdisciplinary contribution to the discourse, exploring its relationship with organizational unlearning, organizational change and feminist, decolonial trajectories.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a feminist, decolonial, arts-based approach to discuss “unlearning institutional habits” by means of the long-term project – Sites for Unlearning (Art Organization). This complements the organizational unlearning literature with an arts-based approach, which draws on alternative education and feminist and decolonial literature. This paper responds to the call of this special and introduces a new perspective to the discourse.

Findings

This paper gives insights into and elaborates on the findings of the artistic project “Site for Unlearning (Art Organization)” through which processes of unlearning are tested against the backdrop of institutional structures.

Originality/value

This methodology puts in evidence that there are two major areas of concern for those who desire to break established structures in contemporary life increasingly defined by economic, socio-political and ecological pressures – institution on the one hand and learning on the other; the artistic project Sites for Unlearning attempts to challenge both. It builds on the insights and energies developed in and around the studies on unlearning in the fields of alternative education and feminist and decolonial theory and connects them with organizational learning, knowledge management and theories of transformation (Andreotti, 2011; Spivak, 1993; Tlostanova and Mignolo, 2012).

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Content available

Abstract

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Karen Becker

This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the contributions to this special issue focusing on organizational unlearning.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the contributions to this special issue focusing on organizational unlearning.

Design/methodology/approach

The papers were examined in depth to identify the key contributions and areas of ongoing concern for those researching unlearning.

Findings

Each paper was noted as making a unique contribution to the unlearning debate, and the authors’ understanding of this critical issue, however, areas of divergence or contradiction remain. Although the special issue called for a range of disciplines to engage with the topic, it is clear that some disciplines and contexts have embraced the concept of unlearning more than others, and that there are some key issues that remain problematic for advancing research of this phenomenon. Two key imperatives include clarifying and aligning terminology and advancing stronger underpinning empirical research of unlearning.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the current contradictions and questions relating to organizational unlearning and argues that it is time for clarity and more empirical research about this critical topic.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Adrian Klammer, Thomas Grisold and Nhien Nguyen

Abstract

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Ayesha Khatun, Vishal Singh and Akashdeep Joshi

Studies have so far focused on learning in organizations, factors affecting learning, learning effectiveness and so on but the concept of learning in a hybrid work arrangement is…

Abstract

Purpose

Studies have so far focused on learning in organizations, factors affecting learning, learning effectiveness and so on but the concept of learning in a hybrid work arrangement is yet unexplored. The purpose of this study is to measure the perception of faculty members in higher education institutions towards learning in a hybrid work arrangement and also to measure the differences of perception towards hybrid work arrangement based on employees’ gender and organization type.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was collected from a sample of 390 faculty members composing of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors, purposely chosen from two of the premier higher education institutions (one private and one public) located in Punjab, India. A self-structured questionnaire was administered to the faculty members who are working on a regular basis and have minimum of two years of work experience with the chosen university. For analysing the collected data exploratory factor analysis and other descriptive statistics have been applied.

Findings

The findings of the survey show that in terms of gender differences, it is the female employees who are more satisfied with different aspects of hybrid/remote work arrangement as compared to male employees. In regard to organizational differences in the perception towards learning in a hybrid work arrangement it is found that public university employees have a more positive attitude so far as individual factors are concerned, but in terms of organizational factors, it is the private university that is scoring better than the public university.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to only two higher education institutions, and its findings to be applicable in all higher education institutions, further studies may be required on a larger canvas. Future studies may be undertaken using advanced statistical tools like structural equation modelling to explore various variables associated with learning in a hybrid work arrangement.

Originality/value

Applicability of hybrid work arrangement is very high in higher education institutions and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which adds to the literature on perception of employees towards organizational learning in a hybrid work arrangement.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Juan‐Gabriel Cegarra‐Navarro, Aurora Martinez‐Martinez, Jaime Ortega Gutiérrez and Antonio Luis Leal Rodríguez

The Spanish hospitality industry is facing environmental challenges which require organisations and individuals to learn new skills and practices and create new environmental…

2182

Abstract

Purpose

The Spanish hospitality industry is facing environmental challenges which require organisations and individuals to learn new skills and practices and create new environmental knowledge. The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationships between an unlearning context and environmental knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses the relationships between an unlearning context and environmental knowledge and tries to identify whether environmental knowledge impacts on business outcomes through an empirical study of 127 Spanish hospitality companies.

Findings

The results support the hypothesis that, in order to create environmental knowledge and hence foster the application of new environmental knowledge, companies need to provide and support an unlearning context.

Research limitations/implications

It is important that managers provide an appropriate unlearning context to support the openness of individuals to new ideas and environmental awareness.

Originality/value

This study provides hotel managers with a better understanding of the relationship between environmental knowledge and organisational outcomes and highlights that managers need to provide and support an unlearning context, which is customised and based on three frameworks: the framework for examining the lens through which individuals view situations; the framework for changing individual habits and the framework for consolidating emergent understandings.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2023

Shubham Sharma and Usha Lenka

Empirical attempts to recommend enabling mechanisms for organizational unlearning are sparse and have almost neglected the vital role of leadership in transforming organizations…

Abstract

Purpose

Empirical attempts to recommend enabling mechanisms for organizational unlearning are sparse and have almost neglected the vital role of leadership in transforming organizations through unlearning. Based on the tenets of persistence theories like path-dependence and imprinting theory, this study examines the relationship between transformational leadership and unlearning with the mediating role of knowledge sharing, transparent internal communication and intrapreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze the hypothesized relationship between these constructs, data were collected from 452 faculty members working in Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) in India. The data were analyzed using Process macro (Hayes, 2022).

Findings

The results show a significant effect of transformational leadership on organizational unlearning. This effect is mediated by transparent internal communication and intrapreneurship. However, knowledge sharing did not mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational unlearning.

Practical implications

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Covid-19, the rise of generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and policy reforms have pushed higher educational institutions to transform by unlearning old practices and experimenting with new ones. This paper informs how educational institutions can initiate and sustain the unlearning process.

Originality/value

Persistence theories like path-dependence and imprinting theory suggest that organizations often stick with proven success formulas and find it challenging to adopt new practices. Moreover, path dependence theorists advocate the role of an external intervening mechanism to break away from rigid and inefficient routines (or paths). This paper argues that in addition to external events (e.g. crisis, etc.), transformational leaders combined with organizational processes also help in unlearning obsolete knowledge and routines.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2020

Volkan Yeniaras, Anthony Di Benedetto, Ilker Kaya and Mumin Dayan

Drawing on the literature on dynamic skills, this study builds upon and empirically tests a conceptual model that connects business and political ties, organizational unlearning

1038

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the literature on dynamic skills, this study builds upon and empirically tests a conceptual model that connects business and political ties, organizational unlearning, organizational learning and firm performance. Specifically, this study suggests that business ties enable and political ties inhibit organizational unlearning (i.e. regenerative dynamic capability), which may, in turn, affect exploratory (i.e. renewing dynamic capability) and exploitative (i.e. incremental dynamic capability) innovation behaviors of the firm. Thus, the purpose of this study is to offer a theoretical framework in which organizational unlearning and learning act as mediating mechanisms between business and political ties and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling and mediation analyzes were used on a sample of 302 small and medium-size enterprises in Turkey.

Findings

This study found that business ties enable organizational unlearning while political ties impede it. This study further demonstrates that business ties positively and political ties negatively relate to organizational learning through organizational unlearning. In addition, this study shows that political ties are mostly negatively and indirectly related to firm performance through organizational learning while business ties positively and indirectly relate to firm performance.

Practical implications

The findings demonstrate the critical role that personal networks play in organizational learning and firm performance. This study provides evidence to the need to recognize and evaluate the potential and undesirable impacts of political ties on cultivating innovation skills and firm performance. In addition, this study recommends managers to embrace the significance of organizational unlearning in strategic renewal, particularly as it applies to building renewing and incremental dynamic skills for enhanced firm performance.

Originality/value

This study offers a deeper perspective of the dissected relations of social ties in emerging economies to firm performance by considering organizational unlearning and learning behaviors as mediating mechanisms.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Marta Morais-Storz and Nhien Nguyen

This paper aims to conceptualize what it means to be resilient in the face of our current reality of indisputable turbulence and uncertainty, suggest that continual metamorphosis…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to conceptualize what it means to be resilient in the face of our current reality of indisputable turbulence and uncertainty, suggest that continual metamorphosis is key to resilience, demonstrate the role of unlearning in that metamorphosis and suggest that problem formulation is a key deliberate mechanism of driving continual cycles of learning and unlearning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper entails a conceptual analysis.

Findings

It is found that both the unlearning and resilience literature streams are stuck in a paradigm whereby organizational behavior entails adaptation to the external environment and reaction to crisis. This paper suggests that, given a world of turbulence and uncertainty, a more useful paradigm is one where organizations take action before action is desperately needed, and that they proactively contribute to enacting their environment via their own continual metamorphosis.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should explore further the factors that can facilitate sensing the early warning signs, and facilitate the cyclical learning–unlearning process of metamorphosis.

Practical implications

The primary practical implication is that to ensure strategic resilience, managers must be able to identify early warning signs and initiate metamorphosis. This means understanding the processes needed to support unlearning, namely, problem formulation.

Originality/value

The originality and value of the present paper lies in that it suggests a shift in paradigm from adaptation and reaction, to action and enactment. Further, it proposes a cyclical process of learning and unlearning that together define periods of metamorphosis, and suggests problem formulation, whereby the mission statement is assessed and revised, as a mechanism in that endeavor.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Gabriel Cepeda‐Carrión, Juan Gabriel Cegarra‐Navarro and Antonio G. Leal‐Millán

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of an organization's unlearning context and information systems (IS) capabilities on the organization's ability to challenge…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of an organization's unlearning context and information systems (IS) capabilities on the organization's ability to challenge basic beliefs and to implement processes that are explicitly or tacitly helpful in the reception of new ideas (absorptive capacity). The authors also seek to examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and the existence and enhancement of innovativeness.

Design/methodology/approach

These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 54 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 hospital‐in‐the‐home units (HHU) in Spain.

Findings

The results show that absorptive capacity is an important dynamic determinant for developing a HHU's innovativeness. Moreover, this relationship is best explained with two related constructs. Firstly, the HHU's unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between potential absorptive capacity and realized absorptive capacity. Secondly, the results also shed light on a tangible means for health managers to enhance their units' innovativeness (quality of service) through IS capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional design does not allow observation of the short‐ and long‐term impact of absorptive capacity on the unlearning context, information systems capability and HHU's innovativeness. Although the model presented here proposes sequenced relationships between absorptive capacities (PACAP and RACAP), the unlearning context and IS capability, the authors measure all these constructs at one point in time.

Practical implications

This sequential model presented in this paper provides practical steps for managers interested in organizational structures that support organizational innovativeness.

Originality/value

The contribution of unlearning context is related to its ability to prepare the ground for innovation processes.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 50 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

1 – 10 of 230