A Strategic Double-Loop Learning Method for Organisational Decision-Making toward Servitisation

In recent years, manufacturing industries have been expected to achieve servitisation—namely, a shift from product sales to product-service systems—in order to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns. In order to achieve servitisation, manufacturing firms should grasp the business environment and encourage organisational learning to develop the knowledge for servitisation in their environment. The existing knowledge management studies enable the empirical acquisition and reuse of knowledge from past case studies and make efforts to support organisational learning. However, they do not cover the guiding of firms engaged in servitisation to learn appropriately for their business environment. The learning required for manufacturing firms engaged in servitisation is learning that focuses on questioning and modifying existing product-oriented premises—double-loop learning. This paper proposes a method to support strategic double-loop learning within manufacturing companies engaged in servitisation. This method evaluates the compatibility between the implicit premises that manufacturers refer to as the rationale for their decision toward servitisation and the external environment and enables to formulate a practical strategy for double-loop learning. The proposed method was applied to the case of a cassette tape music player to demonstrate its usefulness. This study suggests theoretical foundations for future research into knowledge management for traditional manufacturing companies’ decisions concerning servitisation, and suggests that these should be carried out dynamically according to the business environment.

Crisis and arbitrage opportunities: The role of causation, effectuation and entrepreneurial learning

This article examines the process by which entrepreneurs identify and work with an arbitrage opportunity emerging from an episodic crisis. Although prior research has investigated the role of entrepreneurial characteristics and context on opportunity development, the specific manner in which these factors emerge in the course of opportunity development during a crisis remain underexplored. By adopting a qualitative approach grounded in case studies of eight entrepreneurs in the US distillery industry, this article addresses that gap by examining the process of arbitrage opportunity development during COVID-19. Our study reveals the primacy of both causation and effectuation-based entrepreneurial decision logics and the role of double-loop learning, as entrepreneurs interact with the time-compressed duration of the arbitrage opportunity. Implications and insights for entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers are discussed.

Wisdom from Experience Paradox: Organizational Learning, Mistakes, Hierarchy and Maturity Issues

Organisations often perceive mistakes as indicators of negligence and low performance, yet they can be a precious learning resource. However, organisations cannot learn from mistakes if they have not accepted them. This study aimed to explore how organisational hierarchy and maturity levels influence the relationship between mistakes acceptance and the ability to change. A sample composed of 380 Polish employees working in knowledge-driven organisations across various industries was used to examine this phenomenon. Data collection occurred from November to December 2019. Data were analysed through OLS regression, using PROCESS software. The findings revealed that the acceptance of mistakes positively influences adaptability to change. Moreover, because of mistakes acceptance, knowledge workers in organisations with a low-level hierarchy adapt to changes more effectively than those who work in strongly (or high-level) hierarchical companies. Additionally, higher levels of hierarchy result in lower adaptability to change, which is particularly visible in mature organisations. The study's essence is the empirical proof that a high level of organizational maturity and hierarchy can be a blocker of the adaptability to change if the organisation stays on the single-loop of learning (does perfectly what it used to do). Mistakes acceptance and thanks to this, also learning from mistakes, supports organisational change adaptability. Change adaptability is vital for double-loop learning (organizational actions re-framing). Moreover, this study has exposed the paradox of ‘wisdom from experience’ empirically. Namely, it is expected that experience and maturity result in positive outcomes and increased organisational leverage. Whereas more prominent, experienced, and mature organisations face serious difficulties when changing their routines and behaviours.

Exploring the growth process of successors in long-lived small and medium-sized manufacturing companies: a qualitative study

Background: Japan is the world's largest country in terms of the number of long-lived companies, the majority of which are family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises. On the other hand, many business owners will be retiring without successors, and the closure of these small and medium enterprises may have a significant impact on the future economy. The purpose of this study is to explore the growth process of successors in long-lived small and medium-sized manufacturing companies so that potential successors can know what they will experience as managers and be prepared for the future, and professionals who support successors can be provided with information on the growth process of successors to provide appropriate support. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six successors of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies that are more than half a century old. Their answers were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach to construct a hypothetical model. Results: In total, 46 concepts, four categories, 17 subcategories, and one core category with an analysis result diagram were formed. The diagram shows the successors gained confidence in management through the dilemma between autonomy and constraint in the early stage of succession, which was found in previous research. Following the initial stage, the successors responded to the crisis caused by market constraints such as being stuck in a new market, unreasonable treatment from customers, and created autonomous strategies in their businesses. Conclusions: By experiencing repetitive crises, the successors tend to acquire new perspectives toward the naturally occurring crises. This change of premise by the successors is considered as the process of double-loop learning. Relationships inside and outside the company influence the generation of this viewpoint. From a long-term perspective, a sense of unity with employees, stable employment, and the pursuit of enjoyment constitute the successors' values in this model.

The pragmatic, rapid, and iterative dissemination and implementation (PRIDI) cycle: adapting to the dynamic nature of public health emergencies (and beyond)

Background Public health emergencies—such as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic—accelerate the need for both evidence generation and rapid dissemination and implementation (D&I) of evidence where it is most needed. In this paper, we reflect on how D&I frameworks and methods can be pragmatic (i.e., relevant to real-world context) tools for rapid and iterative planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence to address public health emergencies. The pragmatic, rapid, and iterative D&I (PRIDI) cycle The PRIDI cycle is based on a “double-loop” learning process that recognizes the need for responsiveness and iterative adaptation of implementation cycle (inner loop) to the moving landscapes, presented by the outer loops of emerging goals and desired outcomes, emerging interventions and D&I strategies, evolving evidence, and emerging characteristics and needs of individuals and contexts. Stakeholders iteratively evaluate these surrounding landscapes of implementation, and reconsider implementation plans and activities. Conclusion Even when the health system priority is provision of the best care to the individuals in need, and scientists are focused on development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, planning for D&I is critical. Without a flexible and adaptive process of D&I, which is responsive to emerging evidence generation cycles, and closely connected to the needs and priorities of stakeholders and target users through engagement and feedback, the interventions to mitigate public health emergencies (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic), and other emerging issues, will have limited reach and impact on populations that would most benefit. The PRIDI cycle is intended to provide a pragmatic approach to support planning for D&I throughout the evidence generation and usage processes.

Towards safer healthcare: qualitative insights from a process view of organisational learning from failure

ObjectivesThis study adopted a process view of organisational learning to investigate the barriers to effective organisational learning from medical errors.MethodsQualitative data were collected from 40 clinicians in high and low performing hospitals. The fit between the organisational learning process and socio-technical factors was investigated systematically from a pre-reporting stage to reporting and post-reporting stages.ResultsThe analysis uncovered that the major stumbling blocks to active learning lie largely in the post-reporting stages and that they are rooted in social rather than technical issues. Although the experience of the higher-performing hospital provides valuable pointers in terms of creating more trusting environment and using the potential of small failures towards ways in which the organisational learning process in the lower hospital might be improved, due to lack of local mangers’ proactive engagement in integrating changes into practice the active learning takes place in neither of the hospitals.ConclusionsTo ensure that the change solutions are firmly incorporated into the culture and routine practice of the hospital, we need to focus on fostering an organisational culture that encourages positive cooperation and mutual interactions between local managers and frontline clinicians. This process will lead to double-loop learning and an increase in system safety.

Insights From Systems Thinking

Chapter 7 presents three high-level insights that can be drawn from this book’s look at a health system from a systems thinking perspective. First, all health systems suffer from one of systems theory’s classic descriptive models called The Tragedy of the Commons, in which a scarce resource is consumed when a collective benefit (e.g., health insurance) is subsidized and its price to the user is less than the cost to produce it. Second, when viewed from a systems perspective of value-for-money, most health systems face competing objectives—satisfying individual’s demands for maximizing their own medical care and providing healthcare as a fundamental right of all citizens regardless of ability to pay. Third, to integrate these goals requires re-framing the way societies think about each. The authors describe double-loop learning, which is required when confronting second-order change. The latter term describes problems where it is necessary to redesign human perceptions for change to lead to improvement. Complex changes require double-loop learning, in which underlying interpretive conflicts and differing values and beliefs are surfaced and managed.

Transition in successors’ behavior and mindset while managing long-lived small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises: a qualitative study

Background: There have been many studies conducted on succession, which can be considered as the most important issue in family businesses. However, most of these previous studies have focused only on the early stage of succession, uncovering the role of the predecessor and the successor. Only a few studies have made efforts to examine the total lifecycle of succession. The purpose of this study is to explore the process of the transition in successors' behavior and mindset while managing long-lived small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises throughout the lifecycle of succession. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six successors of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies who are more than half a century old. Their answers were analyzed using the Modified-GTA method to construct a hypothetical model. Results: In total, 46 concepts, four categories, 17 subcategories, and one core category were generated. An analysis result diagram using all concepts and categories was formed. From the observation of this diagram, the successors gained confidence in management through the dilemma between autonomy and constraint in the early stage of succession, which was found in previous research. Following the initial stage, the successors responded to the crisis caused by market constraints and created autonomous strategies in their businesses. Conclusions: By experiencing repetitive crises, the successors tend to acquire new perspectives toward the naturally occurring crises. This change of premise by the successors is considered as the process of double-loop learning. Relationships inside and outside the company influence the generation of this viewpoint. From a long-term perspective, a sense of unity with employees, stable employment, and the pursuit of enjoyment constitute the successors' own values in this model.