Contingencies of learning: Essays on the strategic implications of organizational learning, organizational environments, and knowledge sharing

This dissertation offers three related essays in organizational learning and knowledge sharing. The first essay explores differences in learning abilities in a sample of 191 businesses. It studies how organizational learning abilities explain competitive performance. Using factor analysis, it identifies six organizational learning abilities---two associated with learning by exploitation and four associated with learning by exploration. Multiple regression models show significant associations between learning abilities and competitive performance. The effect of two environmental dimensions---dynamism and predictability---on the relationship is also studied.;The second essay studies the effect of the learning context on knowledge sharing, analyzing the way individuals use a computer-aided system---Lotus NotesRTM---exchange knowledge. Data from 1163 employees of seven service and manufacturing organizations in 30 offices worldwide are examined. Regression analyses show how the conditions of the learning context hinder or enhance knowledge sharing. Lotus NotesRTM knowledge sharing applications are more frequently used in learning supportive contexts than in contexts hostile to learning.;The third essay explores the cross-level nature of knowledge sharing. Using the Lotus NotesRTM users' survey, it examines the flow of knowledge exchange from individuals to groups to the organization in four activities: communication, discussion, retrieval and storage of knowledge. Individuals may use Lotus NotesRTM to communicate on a one-on-one basis or on a group discussion basis, or may retrieve knowledge from a memory bank as well as store it for later use. Sharing at the organization level occurs when knowledge is stored in or retrieved from an organizational memory. The perceived effectiveness of Lotus NotesRTM varies with the scope of the knowledge exchange. Higher levels of perceived contribution to organizational effectiveness and performance occur when exchanges at the organization level are involved.;The combined findings of this dissertation show the importance of structuring organizations in a way that enhances learning and knowledge sharing. Learning abilities and learning contexts are crucial for the effectiveness of organizational processes and, ultimately, for the overall organizational performance.