Connecting organizational learning strategies to organizational resilience

Abstract

PurposeThe objective of this study is to analyze the conceptual and domain overlap of organizational learning and organizational resilience; specifically, the adaptation or renewal domain in organizational resilience. From the findings, strategies to foster collective learning leading to organizational resilience are identified and outlined.Design/methodology/approachRecent organizational resilience conceptual models were analyzed to identify the conceptual overlap between the renewal and adaptation domain of organizational resilience and organizational learning. From the analysis of the models, implications were drawn based on the conceptual overlap found in organizational learning and the adaptable or renewal domain of organizational resilience.FindingsTo build the renewal or adaptation domain of organizational resilience, organizations must embody learning into a capability. Systems are then required for learning to remain continuous and foster knowledge acquisition, distribution, interpretation, and organizational memory that leads to dynamic capabilities for renewal and adaptation. The learning strategies must then focus renewing what is known in traditional approaches to organizational learning that supports experiential learning, developing systematic approaches to learning, and creating contexts to facilitate organizational learning. When this knowledge is aggregated to an organizational level, it contributes to resilience.Originality/valueAs organizational resilience grows in attention and importance; it is necessary to investigate similarities and conceptual domain overlap. This study contributes to this need and identifies what can be implemented in learning strategies for organizations’ resilience capacity.