Are technological oversights and foresights the realization of some random process, or are there systematic forces influencing the predisposition to one outcome or another? Clearly, there is a wealth of management literature that suggests that there are some systematic forces at work – a literature that strives to highlight the levers available to managers to direct those forces. If there is to be some intelligence to the process of decision making regarding technological opportunities, then it must be the case that some existing knowledge is being applied to inform judgments about these new opportunities. Absent divine inspiration, this existing knowledge, or wisdom is presumably the result of past experiences. The organizational challenge, the paradox that must be confronted, is that this knowledge based on prior experiences may not be an appropriate guide to the new circumstances the organization faces. However, if the organization is not leveraging its past knowledge, how is it to have a competitive advantage in confronting the future? To address this paradox, one must address the multifaceted nature of organizational learning.

Organizational learning has many virtues. One of the most commonly articulated virtues is the tendency for organizations to become more proficient at their current activities with experience (Alchian, 1959). A different virtue, often cited (Senge, 1990), is that learning processes facilitate an organization's adaptation to changing circumstances in its competitive environment.