Learning Organizations in the Age of Smart Machines

Abstract

We experience the far-reaching changes that are referred to as "digital transforma-tion" on a daily basis: when placing an order via an online store with our tablet; when asking a smart speaker for the weather forecast for the afternoon; when streaming our favorite music from our personal playlist via our smartphone; or when pulling up the latest tools for collaborative work on our computer desktops in our office. This digital transformation is based on the use of advanced technologies (e.g., cloud services, mobile computing, sensors, and artificial intelligence). It is reflected in the way internal business processes, customer journeys as well as customer touchpoints, and business models are redesigned (Solis 2014; Krcmar 2015; Schuchmann and Seufert 2015; Meier et al. 2018). In the course of this transformation, there has been much debate about the need for businesses and organizations to become more flexible, to become more innovative , and to become better at learning in order to deal with rapidly changing contex-tual conditions. These discussions involve professionals in the area of human resource development (HRD) and organization development (OD) who invoke concepts that were en vogue already some 30 years ago: "learning organization" and "culture of learning." Both concepts are relevant for HRD professionals designing and managing learning and development processes in organizations (Seufert 2013, 57-61 and 158-160), and discussions on the need for organizational learning and requisite cultures of learning take place during practitioner conferences (e.g.,