Organizational Learning · 1991
Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning
James G. March
Organization Science
The research approach
Uses models of organizational knowledge development and competitive learning to examine resource allocation between exploring new possibilities and exploiting existing knowledge.
What the research finds
Adaptive learning can favor rapid improvements in existing activities, leaving organizations effective today but less able to respond to future changes.
Why it matters for management
Frames discussions about allocating attention and investment between reliable operations and experimentation with new management practices or intelligent technologies.
Scope & limitations
The models simplify organizational learning and competition; they do not prescribe a universally optimal budget split between exploration and exploitation.
