Column 5 · Learning and Knowledge · Era 4, Orientation and Relationships (1990s)
Learning Orientation
Formulation, process · Landmark · Cluster II, Resources and Orientation
Description
Sinkula linked market information processing to organizational learning, and Slater and Narver argued that market orientation must be joined to a learning orientation, the values that shape an organization's propensity to create and use knowledge, to produce sustained advantage.
Managerial Implications
Market orientation tells you what customers want today; a learning orientation questions the assumptions behind that knowledge and finds what they will want next. Firms with both outperform. Create room to challenge mental models, run experiments, and examine failures without blame. The practical signal of a learning organization is that senior managers change their minds publicly when evidence warrants.