Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how interruptions in organizational learning effect institutional absorptive capacity and contribute to organizational inertia. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory model is presented as a heuristic to describe how interruptions in organizational learning affect absorptive capacity. Findings: A number of pivotal factors may result in a zone of inertia hindering organizational learning and process. Originality/value: This paper describes the concept of a zone of inertia and introduces a model placing the notion in context. (Contains 1 figure.)