Conditioning factors of an organizational learning culture

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to assess the relationship between some variables (organizational structure, organizational dimension and age, human resource characteristics, the external environment, strategy and quality) and organizational learning culture and evaluate the way they interact with this kind of culture.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 107 Portuguese companies, where a total of 1,122 workers were asked about learning culture through a questionnaire. Data about the other organizational variables of this study were collected in official documents, from scales and also from a structured interview with top managers.FindingsThe results revealed that an organic structure, an approach to total quality principles, and highly educated employees, could act as facilitators of the development of a learning culture in organizations. On the other hand, quality certification, firm dimension and age, as well as workers' age, could act as inhibitors of this type of cultural orientation.Research limitations/implicationsIn spite of the meaningful results found, the cross‐sectional nature and the exploratory nature of the research leads us to look carefully at the causality of the relationships under study.Practical implicationsThe results of this study, in so far as they point out some factors linked to greater cultural orientation to learning in organizations and some factors linked to less orientation to learning, provide clues for organizations concerning better management of their investment in developing this kind of culture.Originality/valueIn the literature on organizational learning and learning organizations, culture emerges as a key concept. In fact, organizational culture is mainly conceived as an essential condition to promote and support learning in organizations. Despite its recognized importance in the literature, little research has been devoted to this issue, namely research centered on the related factors that could contribute to its development.

Organizational Learning: A Case Study of an International Non-profit Organization

“…Moreover, IT potential to act as OL enabler is mostly lost, because it constantly faces barriers imposed by the high hierarchy and bureaucracy. Such findings are actually in accordance with the empirical studies of Martínez-León and Martínez-García (2011) and Rebelo and Gomes (2011) that found that with the flatter organizational structure the OL processes become more open and vice versa.…”

“…The findings in some studies (Ashton, 2004;Martínez-León and Martínez-García, 2011;Rebelo and Gomes, 2011) indicate that OL development involves flatter organizational structures with open communication channels and circulation of information and that relies on management that practices the right balance of control and authority. As the part of the organizational infrastructure, the role of IT systems in the processes of OL is also very important, particularly when it comes to the transfer of explicit knowledge (Alavi and Leidner, 2001).…”

Personnel performance assessment in information systems outsourcing environments

“…In outsourcing scenarios, different cultures and organizations are mixed and factors considered critical for the effectiveness of workplace learning (e.g. organizational learning culture (Rebelo and Duarte Gomes, 2011)) vary in a considerable amount. In IT picture, there are several works reporting that software engineers did not find formal courses efficient to acquire application-domain knowledge and most employees learn how to solve a problem at hand informally from peers ( Johnson and Senges, 2010).…”

Mapping the Relationship among Quality Management Practices, Organizational Learning, Organizational Culture, and Organizational Performance in Higher Education: A Proposed Framework

“…Finally, Li et al [59] study showed a positive relationship among OC, organizational performance and learning. As well as, Rebelo and Duarte Gomes [88] mention for strengthening organization success is the result of OC orientation towards organizational learning. This result is consistent with a previous study conducted by López et al [89] to measure organizational Performance in Spanish factories, which produced a positive relationship between OC and organizational learning with performance.…”