Strategic process improvement through organizational learning

Why do so many firms have difficulty improving their strategic management processes, even though many of their operating departments gain benefits from the “experience curve”? For example, an impressively successful midwestern bank improves the performance of acquired banks in contiguous markets but struggles with acquisitions in more remote parts of the country. A large diversified Asian manufacturer invests substantial sums of money annually documenting and distributing knowledge among top executives who are being transferred between countries, but the company cannot effectively use marketing data bases that are available across various divisions.