Learning cycles, organizational back talk, and the persistence of theories in use: lessons of information systems development in a university administration context

Learning experiences from twenty-seven administrative information-system-development projects in a large Finnish university are analysed over a time frame of eighteen years. A series of reporting development projects was chosen for more detailed inspection. Organizational learning was conceptualized to consist of cycles during which the organizational reactions towards development actions reveal the successfulness of each project. In a retrospective analysis the authors found three learning cycles out of the twelve-year-long reporting development process. The authors define their approach as reflective information systems practice and relate it to action learning and action science. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.