Learning organizations or organizations for learning? How small firms can learn from planned and random technical problem-solving: implications for technical education

This chapter reports the findings of an empirical study whose purpose is to identify the attributes of the organization infrastructure that support organizational learning in small manufacturing firms through the creation of routine knowledge. The research is based on the following assumptions: a) organizations are cognitive systems that process information and knowledge; b) knowledge is a by-product of technical problem-solving; c) innovation occurs as a stream of random or planned problem-solving; d) many attributes of the organization infrastructure that foster innovation also foster knowledge generation during technical problem-solving. Findings show that three dimensions of the organization infrastructure have an influence on learning: openness, innovativeness, and leadership. These attributes identify two typologies of organization infrastructures, which are more or less effective in supporting the generation of routine knowledge and learning. Implications for technical education are also discussed.