Inquiring Organisations in the Digital Age: Assessing organisational inquiry in today's complex environment

Abstract

Increasingly sophisticated digital technologies, constantly changing customer needs, and a comprehensive interconnectedness - the digital age is imposing new kinds of complex challenges on today’s organisations, forcing them to digitally transform themselves to stay competitive. Research has shown that in order to make transformational changes, organisations must encourage their organisational members to reflect on as well as inquire into the organisation’s learning systems. Organisational inquiry describes how organisations look at the world, make sense of it, and ask questions. It is based on inquiring systems, a concept constructed on the knowledge theories of philosophers Leibniz, Locke, Kant, Hegel and Singer. By inquiring, organisations are better able to continuously improve, develop core competencies, as well as revitalise or fundamentally renew themselves. To find out if organisations must improve their inquiry capability to be successful in the digital age, this thesis examines the relationship between the challenges organisations face in this complex environment and the organisations’ application of inquiry modes....