The Competitive Learning Organization: A Quest for the Holy Grail

Draws attention to the growing importance of learning as a major competitive base, which has given rise to the notion of the learning organization. Some commentators believe that the only source of sustainable competitive advantage is likely to be the ability of companies to learn faster than their competitors. Reviews the literature of strategic change and competition and supports the process view of the impermanence of a firm′s strategic position and the fragility of the bases of competition. Explores the relationships between the learning processes and strategic change, and develops a conceptual framework of a “competitive learning organization” which highlights the current lack of emphasis on the competitive dimension in many models of the learning organization. Proposes a model which promotes learning at different levels in the organization and a learning focus which encompasses the need to understand the dynamics of competitive forces, the satisfaction of change customer needs and the importance of systems thinking.