A Comparative Case Study of Knowledge Resource Utilization to Model Organizational Learning

Abstract

The ability to store and manage data has not kept pace with the rapid evolution and growth of information resources. According to TechWeb.com, companies are doubling their storage capacities every year. This action is driven primarily by data warehousing and the necessity to provide instant access to data and supply-chain management. The trend does not look to be slowing. Isolated and undermanaged data resources have become a common practice in the industry despite the fact that the capacities of these systems keep improving while their prices continue to fall. This chapter draws four related cases to assess methods for organizing data and data resources in organizations. Further, the chapter provides examples for organizations to become learning organizations based on their ability to actively collect and distribute knowledge and their ability to become highly coupled socially and technically.