Organizational learning and change through the World Café: an integrative literature review

Purpose This paper aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of empirical research on the World Café method, with particular attention to its role in promoting organizational learning and change. The paper also highlights gaps in the existing literature and suggests future research to enhance understanding of the World Café’s contributions to organizational development and transformation. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts an integrative literature review method to synthesize and analyze 79 empirical studies on the World Café method in organizational settings. Findings The review highlights the diverse applications of the World Café across organizational contexts, positively impacting both participants and organizers. The World Café method facilitates collaborative learning, trust-building, and collective problem-solving. The roles of café hosts and table hosts are critical to its success, which emphasizes the need for effective facilitation. Strategies for conducting virtual World Cafés are explored, though challenges remain, particularly around participant engagement and maintaining the core elements of the intervention in virtual settings. The review also acknowledges limitations and offers suggestions for overcoming these challenges to improve future applications. Originality/value This paper makes an original contribution by synthesizing empirical studies on the World Café method to clarify its strengths, limitations, and areas for improvement for organizational learning and change. It offers actionable recommendations, particularly for virtual implementations, and identifies key research gaps to inform future research and practice.