Inter-organisational learning in cases of disruptive innovation

Abstract

This paper explores why it often takes an inter-organisational learning effort to realise the practical potential of disruptive innovation. A pattern matching methodology is used to systematically compare a theoretical pattern of learning to an empirically derived pattern. The empirical pattern is developed from an archival case history of inter-organisational learning during the early stages of the personal computer industry. The results of this study suggest that in cases of disruptive technological innovation, a single organisation is not likely to have the capability to complete the entire learning process on its own. Instead, an inter-organisational effort is necessary with a different organisation taking the knowledge through each successive stage. This study challenges the unity and isolation of the single organisation that is often taken for granted in organisational learning and adds a time-based dimension to the study of inter-organisational learning through use of a longitudinal methodology.