Blackwell Reference Online

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Organizational learning is intimately intertwined with organizational identity. The source of this assertion and the impetus for our inquiry into their mutual relationship arose from our research into the character of change in organizations grappling with issues of organizational identity. In this chapter we consider the nature of the learning/identity interrelationship and attempt to draw out some of the consequent implications for both concepts, as well as implications for theorists and researchers who study both phenomena. Although it is an overused catchphrase in today's society, the notion that “change is everywhere; change is everything” still holds powerful sway over the modern organization. Because of fast-paced market changes confronting most industries, ever-accelerating technology cycles, insatiable desires for up-to-the-minute business news, and gyrating capital markets, as well as capricious terrorism, organizations are faced with tumultuous environmental relationships that require constant mindfulness and adaptability. Change is , in fact, everywhere in organizations and, to some extent, everything as well, in the sense that organizational well-being and even survival depend on organizational adaptability. The emergent findings from our research emphasize the importance of organizational identity to the change process. Briefly, organizational identity involves ... log in or subscribe to read full text