The Relevance of Firm-Learning Theories to the Design and Evaluation of Manufacturing Modernization Programs

There is a need for rigorous definitional and empirical specification of what is meant by firm learning and the growing number of variants on this important theme. Based on a review of the literature on firm learning, the authors present a series of propositions about the state of knowledge regarding organizations' learning behaviors and capabilities. These propositions are then tested through a survey of firms in the plastics industries in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Empirical results suggest that firms are limited in their ability to acquire and apply new information in the face of needed change.