Joanne Roch

Dominant organizational logic as an impediment to collaboration

Purpose – This paper aims to establish the role of dominant logics to assess the success potential of strategic alliances.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical validation of an approach based on the theory of conventions was carried out through an analysis of strategic alliances initiated by Apple involving the licensing of the Macintosh operating system.Findings – The analysis reveals the presence of modes of justification issuing from the world of inspiration, which seems to oppose the merchant and industrial worlds, which are most conducive to successful strategic alliances.Originality/value – The analysis of dominant logics within Apple Computer demonstrate that the inspirational logic is opposed to all forms of strategic alliances.

Learning histories: spanning the great divide

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest the use of a new action research methodology, the learning history, to study knowledge transfer initiatives.Design/methodology/approach – An overview of the literature on learning histories is followed by the results of a case study, where a learning history is used to transfer humanistic practices from an American health care model to a Quebec setting.Findings – This study demonstrates how the learning history method can act as a catalyst to accelerate the knowledge transfer process. It has helped researchers and practitioners recognize and address the challenges involved in implementing change and transferring new knowledge in an organization.Research limitations/implications – Although the learning history provides a fresh and effective way to study learning and knowledge concepts, the potential of this new methodology in studying knowledge transfer activities has not been fully explored. The limitations are primarily those associated with the amount of...