Part I: an introduction to organizational learning What is an organization that it may learn? Some preliminary distinctions Individual and organizational learning Organizations as collectivities Organizational action Organizational inquiry Organizational knowledge Organizational learning again Near misses Productive organizational learning Sibgle-and double-loop learning Additional considerations Turning the reserch/practitioner relationship on its head Deweyan inquiry Detecting and correcting error Organizational inquiry The reserch/practitioner relationship Practitioners as inquirers Causality and causal inference Practitioner/resercher collaboration in action reserch Appropriate rigor in collaboratie action reserch The mercury case: what facilitates or inhibits productive orgaizational learning Inquiring into the process of new business development Perspectives on organizational learning Part II: defensive reasoning and the theoretical framework that explains it-model I and O-I Defensive reasoning in individuals A generic dilemma in double-track reserch Features of our reserch method A relatively simple paper-and-pencil method for obtaining valid information about individual theories of action The case of the CIO: primary and secondary inhibitory loops Case description Reflecting on the action of the CIO and his reports The primary inhibitory loop The secondary inhibitory loop How the technical-objective dimension of organizational life is smothered by individual-organizational defensive routines Part III: inquiry-enhancing intervention and its theoretical bsis Prologue: intervention toward O-II learning systems O-II learning systems Model II theory-in-use The classroom: intervention for learning and reserch The focus of the testing The class as a setting for relevant tests Transcript of class discussion: dealing with the left-hand column Intervening for testing and learning: class II A comprehensive model II intervention Design of the reserch/intervention activities The feedback process Constructing the action map The directors'action map Discussions during the feedback session Summary of the first seminar The second seminar Analysis of the discussion of the caes Conducting learning experiments Part IV: strenghts and weaknesses of consultation and reserch in the field of organizational learning Prologue The evolving field of organizational learning The literature of "the learning organization" The sholarly literature of organizational learning Making sense of limited learning Controversial issues of organizational learning Reserch studies of organizational adaption and learning Studies of interventions aimed at promoting productive organizational learning Lessons from the two sets of studies Strategy and learning: making prescriptions actionable by wim overseer The split in the field of strategic management Realizing strategy as probing the environment Requirements for organizational learning Learning strategically: the contributions of the theory of action perspective to strategic management An action-based reserch agenda for strategic management Afterword The learning paradox Directions for future reserch