How do changes in organizational routines lead to capability development that produce strategic renewal? To examine this question, we designed a longitudinal study with a critical case sampling. Our findings suggest that the higher order capability of knowing how to change routines in a way that enhances organizational learning plays a critical role, not only in facilitating changes in routines that are either the repositories of operational or dynamic capabilities, but also in mediating the influence of such changes on strategic renewal. We advance theory about capability learning mechanisms and their boundary conditions in turbulent contexts.