Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Abstract

Dominant logic is a conceptual framework for thinking about the process and results of cognitive simplification in top management teams. It develops and evolves due to the characteristics of the firm’s industry and strategy. With experience and success the dominant logic condenses into a variety of visible and invisible organizational features where it takes on a highly durable and self-reinforcing nature. Organizational learning becomes focused on current competencies because the dominant logic biases knowledge, know-how, and skill accumulation into path dependent pathways ‘preferred’ by the dominant logic. In this manner variance and exploration of alternatives are suppressed. This chapter also reviews current research related to dominant logic and potential areas of future research.