Special issue guest editorial: Perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing, part one

Citation

Svensson, A., Lundh Snis, U. and Bernhard, I.C. (2024), "Special issue guest editorial: Perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing, part one", The Learning Organization, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 293-298. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-04-2024-305

1. Introduction

Different perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing are of vital importance for the contemporary society, not at least for organizations. Organizations face complex problems and challenges in acquiring new information, knowledge and competencies to make informed decisions where the outcomes are not known in advance. It is argued that an organization needs to learn how to be sustainable in many perspectives or dimensions – financial, ecological, (socio-) technical and social (United Nations, 2021).

Organizations are constantly confronted with new and different challenges, requiring the learning of new practices, adapting of new strategies and digital technologies, but also a readiness to leave behind old ways of organizing and working. Continuous, unpredictable changes, surprising new situations and growing expectations not least in view of supporting smart technologies in organizations, challenging the existing creativity, innovation and learning of the organization. When dealing with these complex issues, collaboration and new organizational initiatives are essential for sustainable learning. There is a need to embrace several perspectives and approaches such as managing competences based on inclusion of workforce, trust, transparency, systematic employee development and encouragement for constant experimentation (Battistella, Cicero, & Preghenella, 2021; Bernhard & Olsson, 2020; Bernhard & Wihlborg, 2021).

From an organizational learning perspective, the technology-embeddedness is also of vital importance. Previous research asserts that digital technology fundamentally changes the way organizations operate and is often seen as a disruptive driver of change (see e.g. Bednar & Welch, 2020; Drechsler, Gregory, Wagner, & Tumbas, 2020; Kallinikos, Aaltonen, & Marton, 2013; Lyytinen, Yoo, & Boland, 2016). Digital transformation and technology implementation pose changes of work organizations, competences and roles as it typically will challenge established routines and relations between actors within organizations. Technologies have a role of both ordering and disordering work practices (Orlikowski, 2007). In order to stabilize new practices, the organizational learning and management agency is crucial (Barley, 2020). This digital transformation including artificial technologies are posing challenges for human empowerment and judgement in the society as a whole and calls for new perspectives and logics of organizing and learning involving the understanding of revolutionary as well as continuous changes in operations that affect the whole organization (Shahlaei & Lundh Snis, 2022; Svensson, Bergkvist, Bäccman, & Durst, 2021; Vallo Hult & Byström, 2022).

There are several useful learning theories for research within this area. The concept of learning is generally bound to values and valuations, and the understanding of learning is dependent on what theoretical perspective that is used (Wenger, 2010). The view on learning differs with the purpose of the study which is visible in the seven articles in this special issue. For instance, the work-integrated learning (WIL) theory is particularly useful as it articulates a trans-disciplinary approach to learn. Within WIL, trans-disciplinary and inter-professionality means that new learning is achieved in collaboration, where theoretical and practical knowledge as well as experiences are integrated and linked in organizations (Bernhard & Olsson, 2023; Billett, 2004; 2014). Additionally, learning that takes place in the organization is also always explicitly or inexplicitly affected by the way workplaces are organized (Illeris, 2004). Thus, learning at a workplace can be described as a set of processes that specifically take place within specific organizational contexts but are also affected by the organization of work and the function of work in society. Another aspect in this special issue is about the relationship between leadership and workplace and organizational learning. There is a strive to influence learning at the workplace, which is described as one of the greatest tasks that leadership in organizations has (Yukl, 2009).

To sum up, a constantly changing society requires organizations to explore and implement new ways and new perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing. Hence, studies of how approaches to organizational learning and learning organizations need further attention and interest in research. Thus, the purpose of this special issue is to provide and share information, knowledge, new frameworks and practices about organizations’ ability to support sustainable development in their management of learning and organizing initiatives.

2. The articles in this special issue

Previous versions of the articles in this special issue were presented at the OLKC 2022 Conference of Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities which took place on September 7–9, 2022, at School of Business, Economics and IT, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden having “Learning future workforce capabilities for global sustainability” as the overall theme. The seven articles collected in this special issue suggest many vital aspects on the theme: “Perspectives on sustainable learning and organizing”. The issue starts with an article that sets the scene for a sustainable perspective on organizational learning and contextualizes the theme of this issue as it calls to move to develop practices that restore and regenerate the world. It is followed by three empirical cases from the public sector (one from primary care, one from hospitals, one from municipal organization) as well as one from the private sector (from a systems development organization). The last two contributions are about leadership and management perspective on organizational learning: one case study and one literature study.

The first article is written by Johan Lilja (Lilja, 2024) and asserts that organizations will be key for realizing the “transformative change for humanity” now being called for though the complexity calls for new ways of facilitating change and organizational learning. Furthermore, this calls for moving beyond sustainability to develop practices that restore and regenerate the world in which we live. Above all, it calls for a development of new frameworks, practices, mindset and capabilities to hold space for and facilitate such transformation, to dance with the “Logic of Life”. Thus, the purpose of this contribution is to further advance the current leading frameworks and practices of facilitating learning and development towards the enabling of regenerative transformative change, in organizations and society. The article is based on an exploratory qualitative analysis of a facilitation prototype that expands the current framework and practice of Appreciative Inquiry Summits toward regeneration. The findings present four paradoxes of regenerative facilitation to guide the dance for life in complex ecosystems.

The second article is written by Isabel Brandenberger, Mervi Hasu and Monika Nerland (Brandenberger, Hasu, & Nerland, 2024). The authors argue that to digitalizing public service work and to integrate technologies implies changes in work practices as well as triggers organizational learning in a wider context. They put a sustainability perspective in central for their study when discussing threats and opportunities with sustainable change. The paper addresses the way technology-related change processes and service improvement is facilitated in the health sector, that is a case from the primary care sector. The study aims to generate a better understanding of how a special group of internal facilitators attempts to foster sustainable change in the process of introducing technologies into a service organization where these technologies are new. Through a practice lens, the authors adopt a practice-theoretical stance on organizing, emphasizing how organizations continuously emerge and are sustained through collective ways of knowing and doing in everyday working life. It is a qualitative and interpretative case study of how a primary care unit introduces technologies in the daily work of health practitioners through the support of welfare technology coordinators. The results provide insights into how welfare technology coordinators worked on sustainable organizing when integrating multiple technologies over time. Four sets of organizing practices were identified. Based on their findings, the authors discuss research and implications on internal change agents as a means to highlight the connective and reflective character of the, often invisible, change agency.

The third article is written by Marianne Jaakkola, Soila Lemmetty, Kaija Collin, Minna Ruoranen and Teuvo Antikainen (Jaakkola, Lemmetty, Collin, Ruoranen, & Antikainen, 2024), provides empirical evidence on how to enhance learning and new practice-based knowledge about the starting points of organizational learning processes and their presuppositions within the health care sector. The authors argue that learning is especially important within health-care organizations due to intensive and complex changes. The study, conducted as a case study, is based on the existing theory of organizational learning and aims to make visible the practical possibilities of the theory in the context of a hospital’s surgical department. The data were collected from personnel of the hospital surgical department and comprised of 26 thematic interviews. Qualitative theory-driven content analysis was conducted. Findings demonstrate different starting points for both employee-oriented and organization-oriented learning processes that could potentially progress to different levels of the organization: from individuals to a wider group or from a large group to an individual. The starting point of employee-oriented learning processes was depicted as everyday life problems or situations or were based on the person’s own interest. Different kinds of presuppositions were also located within the organizational learning processes.

The fourth article is written by Fredrik Sunnemark, Wilma Lundqvist Westin, Tamy Al Saad and Per Assmo (Sunnemark, Lundqvist, Al Saad, & Assmo, 2024) The authors focus on strategic knowledge development and discuss important insights into how an organization learn and incorporate new knowledge into its structure. The article aims to empirically explore barriers and facilitators to organizational learning and knowledge transfer in a collaborative municipal project of a midsized municipality in Sweden. The case is to integrate citizen dialogue into the organization as a tool for increasing social inclusion, as well as normalize and facilitate collaboration as a way of work within the municipality. The findings provide in-depth knowledge about challenges and barriers perceived by the interviewed public servants and pinpoint that the municipality valued developing and incorporating new knowledge into its structure through education. The authors finally discuss the role of absorptive capability within the organization and come up with implications for supporting and enhancing knowledge transfer and learning processes for municipal organizations in general.

The fifth article is written by Ia Williamsson and Linda Askenäs (Williamsson & Askenäs, 2024). It presents a qualitative study of practitioners in software development projects, in large, medium or small size businesses. With a theoretical focus on organizational learning in software development projects, based on activity theory, it emphasizes the importance of collective and collaborative knowledge creation, where individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives come together to solve complex problems. The article contributes to an understanding on how practitioners use their insights in software development models to share experience within and between organizations. The study shows how work processes are based on team members’ experiences and common views. Moreover, it shows that current practice is unreflective, habitual and lacks systematic ways to address recurring problems and to share information within and between organizations. Thus, learning will be episodic and sporadic at an individual level, as it is well integrated in everyday teamwork, within and between organizations. However, organizational learning is not so developed around system development models.

The sixth article is written by Ritva Rosenbäck and Ann Svensson (Rosenbäck & Svensson, 2024) and contributes to an understanding on how management learning is supported during a long-term crisis like a pandemic, characterizing what health-care managers have learnt, and how the management learning is characterized, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the study, the authors have carried out a qualitative case study pandemic at two different public hospitals in Sweden, including a combination of a deductive within-case analysis and a cross-case analysis. Theories on sense-making, decision-making and meaning-making were used as the analytical framework. The authors found that learning makes it possible to handle the crisis more effectively. The article provides insight into the mutually dependent aspects of sense-making, meaningful decision making and trust, which are mutually dependent in achieving learning. Moreover, the storytelling in the organizations supports learning through information exchange and sense-making, and meaningful decisions contribute to building more trust for managers.

The seventh article is written by Fredrik Hillberg Jarl (Hillberg Jarl, 2024), who makes a problematization of the underlying assumptions of learning views through a literature review of studies published in high-quality business, management and organization journals. The purpose of his paper is to review literature on the relationship between leadership and workplace learning, to critically analyze the explored literature to establish a knowledge base and to suggest future research paths based on the synthesis. The review reveals differing focus on the contribution of learning-oriented leadership on learning on an individual, group and organizational level. Practical use of the study is formulated as certain ideals for policymakers and leaders to pursue in a strive to enhance the desirable learning aspect. Organizations can enable team learning and improve team outcomes by developing their team leader’s competencies in coaching but also develop their competitive advantage in a sustainable way by carefully forming and shaping teams in which team members are different, but also able to form subgroups with peers.