Very thought provoking! I love the publications on the Learning Organization. They are abstract and paint a picture of an organization that no one would resist. It's implementation though is very hard, because it requires a deep change in most organizations on all organizational aspects (e.g. style, structure, systems, ...).

The research on learning organizations and organizational learning tends to focus on organizations that are far from these concepts (large corporations with scientific management roots). That is why I find it interesting to research organizations on the other end of the continuum: organizational learning in new ventures / start-ups.

These new organizations have most of the admired characteristics of learning organizations, but still also have their limitations in learning. They often lack the command & control, structure and systems required to effectively capture their learning. The 'too much' that large organizations have of these factors can be 'too less' in new ventures.

The inhibiting factors for learning therefore have two different faces.