ORIGINAL PAPER Institutionalizing Insider Action Research Initiatives in Organizations: The Role of Learning Mechanisms David Coghlan 1 • Abraham B. Shani 2 • Jonas Roth 3 Published online: 7 September 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Abstract Managers face increasing pressure to find ways to surface, utilize and integrate bits and pieces of relevant knowledge that reside within and outside the organizational boundaries to address emerging challenges. Grappling with this issue and based on a longitudinal study with a biopharma company, this paper offers the notion that insider action research coupled with the design and management of learning mechanism tapestry can enhance continuous organizational learning and improvement. The institutionalization of the learning mechanism tapestry provided new capability that enhanced the organiza- tion’s agility as well as a way to stabilize insider action research role and practices. Keywords Insider action research Á Learning mechanisms Á Management capability Introduction How may the organizational capability to institutionalize insider action research projects be designed and implemented? How might insider action research projects be consolidated and become organizational routines so that they do not evaporate like the morning dew when the energy of the project has died down? These questions are the foundations of what & David Coghlan david.coghlan@tcd.ie Abraham B. Shani ashani@calpoly.edu Jonas Roth jonas@move.se 1 School of Business, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 2 Orfalea College of Business, California Polytechnic State University and Department of Management, Economic & Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy 3 Move Management, Stockholm, Sweden 123 Syst Pract Action Res (2016) 29:83–95 DOI 10.1007/s11213-015-9358-z