Organizations interested in intelligent actions in uncertain or equivocal environments must possess or create a common context of interaction for participants in order to coordinate their activities and use information effectively. In a learning situation, the establishment of an intelligible context of interaction is especially important because the learner's assimilation of new information depends on its compatibility with the learner's existing knowledge and skills. Cognitive theory underlies the authors’ discussion of the functions, development, and expression of intelligence, and informs their discussion of effective action contexts. Contextual information systems (CIS) are proposed as mechanisms for helping individuals and organizations manage personal and enterprise‐wide knowledge systems. A domain analysis methodology, developed to facilitate the creation of appropriate action contexts, is presented. Finally, the contributions CIS can make to human and organizational effectiveness are discussed.