Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book briefly discusses the origins of common organisational learning approaches. It is concerned with conceptual questions relating to the comparison of organisational learning in different social contexts and a reflection on the role of institutions within the learning process. Besides the illustration of the different phases in the research process, the book gives information about the content and the number of the interviews, and explains the selection of three case studies and interviewees. It stresses the significance of local cultural systems for the emerging dissimilarities in the processes as well as in the outcomes of interactive learning patterns in each of the companies analysed. The book also stresses the benefits of the enactment perspective developed and suggests analysing paths of organisational learning.