Post-acquisition managerial learning in Central East Europe

Organization Studies, Spring, 1996 by Roland Villinger

Who, however, are the learners or learning entities referred to, when the term organizational learning, as opposed to individual learning, in organizations is used? Organizations obviously do not have their own cognitions and, thus, can only learn through individuals (Hedberg 1981). In other words, individuals are the agents through whom all learning in organizations takes place. Hence, organizational learning is dependent on individual learning processes. The social nature of individual learning in organizations, on the one hand, and the reliance of organizational learning processes on individuals, on the other hand, show the complex interrelatedness of individual and organizational learning. Therefore the mentioned dissension or confusion in the literature with respect to this issue of differentiation is not too surprising.

The fact that organizational learning can only take place through individuals does not necessarily imply that organizational learning is simply the sum of all individual learning within an organization (as related to fulfilling the organization's mission). Depending on the perspective and, consequently, on the definition chosen, it can be more, or less, or both at the same time, indicating a different quality of organizational as compared with individual learning. This issue, however, will not be elaborated here, as the present paper concentrates on individual learning.

Following the acquisition of a central east European enterprise by a western acquirer, the population of learning individuals includes the acquired company's employees and at least those employees within the acquirer who are in some way or other in charge of the management of the acquisition and/or the links with the parent company. While these individuals from both sides can represent all types of organizational roles and hierarchical levels, the focus of this paper is on learning by senior managers in key positions: western expatriate managers or so-called 'fly-ins' (supervising or managing the acquiree from their home office) as well as top central east European managers in the acquired company.

The various learning subjects all face their own distinct problems, obstacles and hurdles. As much as their learning history or experience forms a necessary basis for further learning, it can also make it very difficult.

The Contents: Levels and Areas of Learning

Moving from the issue of the players, the 'who?', in post-acquisition learning, to the question of the 'what?' or the contents of learning in an organizational setting takes us to a topic which has been dealt with far more extensively or at least more explicitly in the relevant literature (see the review tables in Fiol and Lyles 1985: 809, and Pawlowsky 1992: 205). In fact, it is quite striking how little systematic effort has been put into a clarification of the subjects (entities) of learning in organizations, while a comparatively large body of conceptual work has been developed with respect to the objects of learning in an organizational context.