Re-examining field research findings about three critical episodes in Intel Corporation’s evolution we find that when autonomous strategic behavior significantly increased relevant organizational knowledge Intel top management provided sustained support; when it did not, top management support stopped. Deploying an extended version of March’s (1991) computational model of organizational learning we find that, in stable and in moderately turbulent environments top management is likely to provide sustained support to autonomous strategic behavior only when it augments organizational knowledge that is significantly different from organizational learning already embodied in the firm’s current corporate strategy. Top management support depends on detecting such change in organizational learning by increasing the rate of exploitation
