How IT Supports Knowledge Discovery and Learning Processes on the Web

This conceptual paper examines how IT can support individuals, and in turn their organizations, in learning about and knowing their external environment on the Web. Specifically, a theoretical framework is developed to identify the sets of tool characteristics, collectively referred to as levels, which are proposed to support different modes of learning and learning processes. In addition, extensions to the 41 organizational learning process model (Crossan et al., 1999) are proposed, specific to searching and learning on the Web: 1) adding a fifth process - information foraging and search term development, and 2) adding a fourth level to the learning process - machine-level. Understanding which types of tools are useful in different learning contexts has implications for learning effectiveness and may help firms understand how to ´manage´ their learning (Zack, 2005).