Understanding "strategic learning": Linking organizational learning, knowledge management, and sensemaking

Strategic learning aims to generate learning in support of future strategic initiatives that will, in turn, foster knowledge asymmetries that can lead to differences in organizational performance. From a case study of a uniqu e organization whose purpose is to facilitate strategic knowledge distillat ion, it was found that this process is characterized by targeted informatio n gathering that relies on diverse experts for interpretation as well as va lidation. It also embodies the organizational capability to leverage inform ation technologies in the distillation effort, integrating them with proces ses for generating, storing, and transporting rich, de-embedded knowledge a cross multiple levels of the organization. As a result of the case study, a model of the strategic learning is developed and a series of propositions regarding its context and processes are presented based on this model. The model highlights key dimensions of strategic learning that suggest design p arameters for organizations building strategic learning systems.