Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Organizational Identity ←⇒ Organizational Learning

Analogous to the expansion of the concept of knowledge, identity, too, ought to be seen as a more inclusive phenomenon that inheres in the recursive relationship between meanings and action patterns. Identity change therefore entails disruptions and revisions not only in perceptions, but also in social practices that provide ‘justificational cues’ to people about who they are as a collective and why they work in the ways they do. It is therefore possible to illustrate, both conceptually and empirically, how organizational identity and organizational learning are interrelated in an adaptive way. Based on a continuing line of research into the processes of organizational identity change, we suggest that instead of focusing on the potential for constraints to arise from identity and learning’s mutual dependence (which inhibits adaptability), it is insightful to look at the enabling effects provided through their interrelationship (which facilitates adaptability).

Both Cook and Yanow (1993) and Nicolini and Meznar (1995) provide some insight into the relationship between learning and identity, albeit in a general sense. For example, in focusing on the cultural aspects of the learning undertaken by the Powell Flute Company, Cook and Yanow illustrate that learning can influence identity by strengthening or maintaining the current sense members have of who they are as a collective, or it can change that sense and lead to a redefinition ...