Coactive Vicarious Learning: Towards a Relational Theory of Vicarious Learning in Organizations

Abstract

Vicarious learning – a process of individual belief and behavior change that occurs through being exposure to, and making meaning of, another’s experience – has long been recognized as a key driver of individual, team and organizational success. Yet existing perspectives on this critical learning process have remained fairly limited, seeing vicarious learning as simply a one-way process of observation and imitation, facilitated by formal organizational structures and conduits. Indeed, absent in these prior approaches is a consideration of the underlying process and interpersonal dynamics that guide a vicarious learning interaction. Integrating theories of experiential learning and symbolic interactionism, I offer a theoretical account of coactive vicarious learning, capturing these co-constructed, interpersonal learning interactions between individuals at work. These interactions involve the mutual processing of another’s experience, built around discourse and analysis, and I argue that they lead to not only linear growth in individuals’ knowledge, but also growth in their individual and relational capacity for future learning. I briefly discuss implications of this approach for both theories of vicarious learning, as well as the practice of learning from others’ experiences in organizations.