Action Learning in Japan: challenging cultural values

ABSTRACT This study aims to address how practitioners successfully implement action learning in organizations with different cultural values. To effectively adopt action learning, Japanese learners need to learn questioning skills, as they have been brought up in an atmosphere that negates questioning. Using Kolb’s learning model, this study aims to present the importance of paying attention to cultural values in participants’ learning environments. Based on 23 interviews with Japanese participants and facilitators, the study proposes that for learners to acquire business skills generated in different cultures, facilitators need to set rules and consultations to support learners in challenging their conventional cultural assumptions.