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Tourism is one of the major drivers of socio-economic growth. For tourism organisations to remain competitive, they must be able to adapt to the current dynamic scenario where the sector operates. Organisational learning strategies can provide the sector with the knowledge required to transform tourism research and intellectual property into capabilities for the industry and stimulate tourism models with a minimal effect on the environment. Knowledge management involves managing tacit and explicit information in a way that ensures it is available where and when needed. From a knowledge management perspective, environmental learning refers to the processes of acquiring, distributing and using knowledge of the natural environment, involving the processes of socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation of knowledge and its central aim is to improve performance. This article describes how knowledge management and organisational learning can help to achieve a sustainable tourism sector. Sustainability in this context is understood as efforts to progress simultaneously in environmental, societal and economic development. The article argues that the principles of sustainable tourism lead to both improved strategies and avenues for future research, provided they are informed and supported by learning and knowledge management; value co-creation; co-operation and trust-building; corporate social responsibility and pro-environmental behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper argues that the combination of factors that facilitate focal and peripheral vision represent two distinct types of knowledge corridors. While focal vision may help detect signals that relate to the current objectives of the firm, peripheral vision is directed to non-central issues that may provide signals that relate to emerging trends in the external environment. Ambidexterity vision refers to the tension between these two different business visions within the same organization. This paper aims to examine the significance of procedural memory to an organization’s ambidexterity vision, along with investigating the impact procedural memory has on organizational learning.Design/methodology/approach The research conducted in this study addresses the following two questions: Does the enhancement of procedural memory result in the development of superior ambidexterity vision? Does the simultaneous development of both focal and peripheral vision enhance organizational learning? These research questions are studied by conducting an empirical investigation involving data provided by 203 banking employees. These data are analysed using a structural equation modelling approach.Findings Analysis of the data provides support for the existence of a relationship between ambidexterity vision and organizational learning.Practical implications The findings suggest that the re-direction of managers’ perceptions to supporting and enhancing an ambidexterity vision is likely to result in an improvement in their ability to identify emerging trends, new and emerging customers and potential shifts in customer needs and tastes.Originality/value This work suggests that the re-direction of managers’ perceptions to supporting and enhancing an ambidexterity vision is likely to result in an improvement in their ability to identify emerging trends, new and emerging customers and potential shifts in customer needs and tastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – SMEs may be trapped in a suboptimal stable equilibrium, as many overloaded managers are cutting back on their resources and may be over-investing in the development of exploration and exploitation processes rather than investing in mechanisms to facilitate an unlearning context. This paper proposes an unlearning context to manage an appropriate balance between exploratory processes and exploitative processes. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the relationship between and significance of two key factors of organisational learning (the exploration and exploitation of knowledge) within an unlearning context, and their effects on the improvement of the performance of SMEs. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 229 SMEs in the Spanish metal sector. Findings – The results indicate that the effects of exploration and exploitation of knowledge on organizational performance are mediated through an unlearning context. Originality/value – The findings provide interesting insights into the drivers of organizational performance for SMEs using an unlearning context. SMEs need to provide for and support changes of perspective, of individual habits and in the framework for consolidating emergent understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is clear from the literature that in situations where organizations and their members face changing environments, it is necessary that mechanisms (learning) exist to capture the new knowledge which enables the firms to address those changes. This article examines the relative importance and significance of the existence of an 'open-mindedness context' to the existence and nature of 'organizational learning'. We include time as a variable in the analysis and focus on the need to unlearn at a moment (T) in order to learn more efficiently at a moment after (T+1). These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 107 Spanish small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the telecommunications industry. The results indicate that the effects of exploration and exploitation of knowledge at moment T+1 is conditioned by the existence of an 'open-mindedness culture' at moment T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]