W. Murphy

Critical theorist, postmodernist and social constructionist paradigms in organizational analysis: a paradigmatic review of organizational learning literature

In an effort to clarify alternative approaches to organizational analysis, this paper is concerned to stimulate the debate on how an inquiry into organizational phenomena, in general, and organizational learning, in particular, can be accomplished. Encouraging attention to different aspects of various paradigmatic approaches, the paper focuses on critical theory, postmodernism and social constructionism and how these paradigms have contributed and can contribute to the research in the subject domain of organizational learning. To this end, a paradigmatic review of the literature on organizational learning is offered in this paper. Organizational learning, as the study of learning processes of, and within, organizations, has attracted significant attention in academe since the early 1980s. There is a plethora of studies on organizational learning, which offer rich material for a paradigmatic review. This study highlights the need for further development of the field from alternative paradigmatic perspectives, with a view to generating more insights into the multifaceted, complex and changing nature of learning in contemporary organizations.

University Incubators in the UK

The overall aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of forming and effectively managing university incubators in the UK. Recognizing that the term ‘business incubator’ embraces a wide range of institutions, all of which aim to foster the creation and development of enterprises – SMEs or corporate ventures – by established organizations, the formation of different types of university incubators is explored from the perspective of the incubator managers who are involved in the process. Four case studies are presented, which show how the incubator managers discern incubation practices within the current UK system of business incubation and develop their particular programmes. The case studies are constructed by generating in-depth case material through interviews with the incubator managers, participant observation in one setting, and documentary search during 2002 and the first half of 2003. Evaluating the contextual constraints and opportunities in the UK, it is illustrated that the contextual issues are by their nature complex, dynamic and diverse, and they are also central to understanding the way the incubation programmes are shaped and reshaped over time. Some core ideas and lessons have been drawn from the research and it is hoped that they can help incubation community members to re-evaluate their own experiences and assist public policy makers in gauging their policies.