ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the advantages of the enactment perspective and in doing so also reviews the empirical findings within the context of the introductory critique of organisational learning and neo-institutionalist approaches. It reviews the dialectical relationship between organisational learning and institutions more generally. The chapter describes how micro-level learning activities in organisations are intertwined with institutional settings on the macro-level of society. It discusses the tension between intended and non-intended forms of organisational learning as a complement to the forms of institutional learning. The dialectical relationship between intentional and non-intentional organisational learning can also be conceived of in terms of the metaphor of a game. The chapter demonstrates that the degree of institutionalisation in terms of the extent to which cultural systems are structured mirrors the micro-macro problem from a perspective which differs from the neo-institutionalist approaches. It explains the central role of legitimacy for organisational behaviour, an aspect which is completely neglected in the mainstream studies about organisational learning.
