Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management, and Intellectual Capital: an Integrative Conceptual Model

The literature and the practice about knowledge in organizations is characterized by the use of very diverse terminology, where concepts such as organizational learning (OL), knowledge management (KM), and intellectual capital (IC) are often employed but rarely discussed together. Recognizing that no single overarching framework has been proposed to clear up this conceptual confusion, this paper provides a model that integrates OL, KM, and IC and that establishes a theoretical link between these constructs and performance. Our integrative model synthesizes what we know about OL, KM, and IC, acknowledges their distinct roots, draws the boundaries of each field’s domain, and identifies their relationships and impact on firm performance. We propose this model as an instrument to facilitate communication between researchers working on various facets of the learning phenomenon. 1 Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON CANADA N6A 3K7, Tel: (519) 661-2111, Ext. 85066, Fax: (519) 661-3959, [email protected] 2 Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON CANADA N6A 3K7, Tel: (519) 661-3217, Fax: (519) 661-3959, [email protected]