Organizational learning measurement and the effect on firm innovation

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose and validate a measurement scale to capture organizational learning capabilities (OLC) and examine how OLC affects innovation. There are several models in the literature that have been generated by statistical data from manufacturing firms. This paper presents a structural equation model in order to measure OLC in Iranian ceramic tile manufacturers. The proposed model has five dimensions – i.e. managerial commitment and empowerment, experimentation, risk taking, interaction with the external environment and openness and knowledge transfer and integration – and is evaluated by 23 items.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 18 Iranian ceramic tile manufacturers. The survey was sent to employees of the business section of each factory and a total of 173 valid questionnaires were obtained and used to test the research model, employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), a particular analysis of structural equation modeling methods.FindingsIn the validation process, both the principal components and the confirmatory factor analyses clearly corroborate the existence of the five dimensions mentioned in the theoretical work. Likewise, the scale provides information that could be used by those managers wishing to improve learning capability in their firms. In addition, the results show that the OLC has a positive impact on innovation.Originality/valueThis research suggests that that organizational environments that facilitate learning are more innovative. In addition, the OLC literature shows that OLC has a significant impact on the effectiveness and performance of the organization. Therefore, it is essential to find a valid measurement that can evaluate OLC in an organization. The five‐factor model introduced in this paper is a practical way to measure OLC. As a result, managers can determine which organizational learning issues are strong and which are weak; this is a hint for improvement.

The challenges of radical innovation in Iran: Knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity highlights — Evidence from a joint venture in the construction sector

“…In Iran, for example, organizational learning appears to be efficient in several sectors such as health care (Bahadori et al, 2012), manufacturing (Tohidi et al, 2012), the petroleum industry (Mousaei et al, 2006), services (Sharifirad, 2011), tourism (Ahmadi et al, 2014), etc.…”

Understanding Diversity of Outcomes in Organisational Training: A Literature-based View

“…This dimension of OL is also mentioned by Barba-Aragon et al (2006), and Huber (1991). The behavioural dimension of organisational learning relates to how the organisation adjusts to change, referring to its capability to facilitate the process of learning (Tohidi et al, 2012;Hoe and MsShane, 2010).…”

Trust as a consequence of perceived commitment: Implications on learning and innovation

“…Incluso, estos mismos autores, partiendo de la idea de Senge (1990), definieron dimensiones concretas de la CAO como son: dominio personal, modelos mentales, visión compartida, aprendizaje en equipo y pensamiento sistémico. Esta idea multidimensional del constructo ha sido recogida también por un grupo de autores (Garvin, 1993;Nevis et al, 1995;Goh y Richards, 1997;Yeung et al, 1999;Jerez-Gomez et al, 2005;Chiva et al, 2007;Tohidi et al, 2012) que identifican como facilitadores del aprendizaje organizativo los componentes críticos para la organización que aprende u organización inteligente descritos inicialmente por Senge (1990). Con ello vinculan el aprendizaje organizativo con la capacidad de "aprender a aprender" o "meta apren-dizaje", donde la organización sigue un modelo de cambio continuo, capaz de cuestionar y replantear sus asunciones básicas y marcos de referencia permanentemente (Swiering y Wiersma, 1992).…”