Learning After an Ambiguous Change: A Grounded Integration of Framing and Achievement Goal Theories

Due to the importance of teams learning after an ambiguous change and little being known about how to compel learning in that situation, this paper synthesizes interviews with achievement goal and framing theories to develop a grounded theory for advancing that knowledge. The grounded theory explains how framing an ambiguous change can impact the priorities that drive and hinder team learning. It suggests that threat and opportunity frames are particularly likely to resonate with teams following an ambiguous change and that those frames affect team learning through three team achievement goals. This model extends the team learning literature by providing a theoretical structure for understanding the interpretations and priorities that initiate learning in a situation where it is critically important, following an ambiguous change.