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Models of Cognition, the Contextualisation of Knowledge and Organisational Theory

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Abstract

This paper examines the importance of cognitivefoundations for theories of organisationalbehaviour. Three different conceptions of humancognition and reasoning are examined: theinformation processing, situated learning andcultural-historical perspectives. The papershows how each conception of cognition leads toa different understanding of organisationalroutines and organisational problem-solving, aswell as to the adoption of a differentempirical methodology for observingorganisational behaviour and for testinghypotheses about the nature of routines andproblem-solving. The paper demonstrates that ofthe three approaches to human cognition, onlythe cultural-historical one gives rise to anunderstanding of organisational knowledge asembedded within a wider cultural andinstitutional setting.

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  1. promenade Michel Simon, Centre d'Etudes de l'Emploi 29, 93166, Noisy-le-Grand, France

    Edward Lorenz

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Lorenz, E. Models of Cognition, the Contextualisation of Knowledge and Organisational Theory. Journal of Management & Governance 5, 307–330 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014098928477

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