Hot context for organizational learning

The organizational learning, studied in resource-based view, is a strategic resource (Wernerfelt 1984, Prahalad et Hamel 1990, Doz 1990, Teece 1998, Weartherly 2003). Thus, "learning to learn" (Argyris et Schön, 1978), being a learning organization (Senge 1990, Edmondson et Moingeon 1998, Moilanen 1999, Heraty 2005), and encouraging organizational learning become major issues in management sciences. This contribution aims at fixing and explaining hot organizational learning context dimensions. This approach presents a double interest. First, it enables the validation of the dimensions deducted from literature. Second, this analysis suggests a framework for hot context that emphasized managerial leverages.The first part of our contribution synthetizes the organizational learning literature and particulary analyses its context. It reveals three implicit dimensions in literature : cultural, organizational and social dimension.We have backed up our questioning with a qualitative study of two business units of the public company Electricité de France (EDF). This firm is subjected to many changes in its environment : the opening of European and French electricity markets. EDF has to adapt itself to this context by developing learning capabilities, bringing about synergies between departments and creating a hot context for organizational learning. The collection data has been done at two different times during a nine month period and insures data triangulation : 36 interviews, 7 days of observation and many internal documents. The interviews have been recorded and transcribed. In order to facilitate the data processing, the thematic analysis has been done with N*Vivo software. The empirical study validates the three dimensions identified from literature relevance and brings further information. We have drown four dimensions of a hot context : an individual, an organizational, a social and a managerial dimension. The individual one includes the literature cultural dimension but also identity, emotional and fonctionnal aspects. It corresponds to individual self motivation and theory in use that facilitates sharing and cooperation in the firm. The organizational dimension integrates both organizational and specific learning structures such as guild and coaching. It is set apart from the managarial dimension, which is the support and the influence of the managerial staff. Finally, the social dimension is the result of the interaction of the three previous dimensions. In this way, it constitutes a sine qua non condition to the organizational learning process. Beyond our analysis, we suggest a framework to understand hot context, its dimensions, and develop managerial leverages.