INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IN TELECENTERS

Abstract

The information society in Mexico is in constant evolution. Great efforts are being made to reduce the digital divide. However, little has been done to promote organizational learning based on the use of the Internet. This study argues that the concept of organizational learning, which is a common place in the private sector, can be applied to telecenters, known in Mexico as Learning Community Centers (Centros Comunitarios de Aprendizaje), which are used to stimulate the use of information technologies in extremely poor communities in Mexico. The paper is subdivided in four sections. First, the authors describe previous research developed by the Mexican government to give access to a larger number of citizens to information technologies. Then, the literature on organizational learning is reviewed, as well as the application of that concept to learning community centers. In the third section the methodology is explained and, finally, in the fourth section, the results are shown, followed by the conclusions and indication of possible future lines of investigation.