Situating the Concept of Organizational Mindfulness: The Multiple Dimensions of Organizational Learning

We consider how the literatures on organizational mindfulness and mindful organizing are relevant to research on organizational change and learning. We start with the tension between mindful and less mindful approaches, such as those that emphasize organizational routines, to change and learning. We posit that organizational routines are essential to mindfulness, but that this role is not elaborated in the mindfulness literature. Thus, we argue that further dialogue between these approaches is necessary and introduce a conceptual model with three dimensions to facilitate the conversation: (1) the periodicity with which learning occurs (i.e., rarely or often), (2) the extensiveness of the object of learning (i.e., local or global), and (3) the degree of cognitive intensity in the learning process (i.e., inert or reflective). The model explores how the different contexts or landscapes that organizations are embedded in influence their capacity for mindfulness, mindful organizing, and change.