Interorganizational Learning: An Exploratory Study of Private-Public Partnerships

Abstract

In a time when interdependence in business becomes more prevalent and necessary to maintain and sustain competitive advantage, understanding the mechanisms by which businesses relate and collaboratively adapt become central to collaborative growth and mutual success. Learning becomes central to the adaptive process. Interorganizational learning (IOL) is an often challenging result of collaborative efforts. The more different the organizations are from one another, the more challenging the adaptive process and interorganizational learning. It further addresses how interorganizational learning happens between organizations that are private and public. The research used qualitative design in case study format that answers the research question of how organizations with divergent goals learn from each other in generating mutually beneficial results. I found that these organizations learn from each other by interaction, observation, and conflict resolution. This study extends concepts of interorganizational learning as well as provides guidelines for business entities seeking to attain or sustain learning organizations. It also provides a framework from which government entities may work synergistically with private enterprise to provide competitive service to their respective demographic.

Keywords: interorganizational learning, interorganizational collaboratives