Organizational Learning Climate Research Articles

Interprofessional collaboration mediates the relationship between perceived organizational learning and safety climate in hospitals: A cross-sectional study.

Organizational learning (OL) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) are said to enhance medical safety in hospitals, but the relationship between these variables has not been quantitatively tested. This study examines the mediating effects of IPC on the relationship between OL and safety climate (improvement, compliance, and patient/family involvement). An anonymous self-reporting questionnaire was administered to 1,495 healthcare workers from November 2021 to January 2022. The questions regarded the hospital's safety climate, OL, and IPC. A mediation analysis using structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the mediating role of IPC on the relationship between OL and the three safety climates. The indirect effect was estimated using 2,000 bootstrap samples. Responses from 643 healthcare workers were analyzed. The direct effects of OL were 𝛽 =.74, 75 (p <.001) on improvement and involvement and 𝛽 =0.1 (p >.05) on compliance. The indirect effects of IPC on improvement and involvement were 𝛽 =.14 (95%CI: .00 ∼ .06) and 𝛽 =.37 (95%CI: .04 ∼ .09), respectively. This study determined the mechanisms that enhance a hospital's safety climate, demonstrating that IPC mediates the relationship between OL and improvement and patient/family involvement. However, OL and IPC are not related to compliance.

A Safety Huddle Intervention in In-Patient Surgical Units: A Mixed-Methods Study

Open communication about patient safety concerns is necessary to enable a learning environment where lessons can be learned to improve patient safety, but nurses often hesitate to speak up even in situations where their patients may be at risk. One way to create a safe environment for speaking up is through the use of unit-level daily huddles. This study aimed to assess the effects of a 12-week huddle intervention on nine unit, nurse and patient care outcomes and describe nurses’ experiences with the intervention. We used a single group, pre- and post-test mixed-methods design, with a dominant quantitative thread, and a final sample of 89 staff nurses. The intervention was conducted in four surgical units in a tertiary teaching hospital in Seoul, Korea. The intervention included two educational workshops for huddle leaders, two workshops for staff nurses, and 12-week huddles with coaching visits. We collected quantitative data on nine outcomes using online surveys before and after the intervention and qualitative data on nurse experiences of the intervention after the intervention. Paired t-tests were used for quantitative data analysis, and content analysis was used for qualitative data. We examined four unit-level outcomes (organizational learning, situation monitoring, mutual support, and speaking-up climate), three nurse-level outcomes (promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors and job satisfaction), and two patient care outcomes (patient safety and quality of care). Significant improvements were found in six of the nine outcomes. Findings from the qualitative data confirmed the benefits of the intervention but also identified challenges to huddle participation. Patient safety huddles can contribute to a learning environment by flattening hierarchies and encouraging nurses to speak up regarding safety issues. Leadership is a key in role modelling and creating the foundation for a more collaborative patient safety culture in healthcare organizations, for example, through the use of daily huddles.

The role of LMX and organizational climate in improving performance and effectiveness of local public administration: evidence from the Metropolis GZM

Since the 1990s, along with the transformation of public administration and the emergence of new concepts of public management, the improvement of organisational effectiveness and performance (OEP) of local public administration has become an important goal of regional policies in many countries. The OEP of local public administration has started to be considered as an essential factor affecting the process of regional socio-economic development. However, to improve the performance of local public administration, factors influencing the OEP of public administration organizations need to be determined. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to identify how such factors as the quality of relations between leaders and subordinates as well as learning climate influence the OEP of public administration organizations.&#x0D; Method/approach: The paper presents the results of a survey research conducted among 153 employees of municipal offices in the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis (i.e. Metropolis GZM). A model of relationships between LMX, organizational learning climate, and the OEP was examined with the use of Structural Equation Modeling and path analysis.&#x0D; Findings: It was found that the LMX affected the OEP only indirectly through its impact on organizational learning climate which in turn influences the OEP. Therefore, the study also revealed that organizational learning climate mediated the relationship between the LMX and the OEP.&#x0D; Originality: The presented results of the study have provided empirical evidence regarding the influence of LMX and organizational climate on the OEP of public organizations which was hitherto absent in the literature on the subject. A novel conclusion from this study is that the high quality of relationships between leaders and subordinates and organizational learning climate improve the OEP of local public administration organizations. Highly effective local public administration can become a driver of the regional development promoting new ideas, innovation and local incentives.

With a little help from my friends: adopting a P-E fit perspective in understanding the value of organizational learning climate for sustainable employability.

The objective of our study was to investigate how organizational learning climate (measured as developmental opportunities and team support for learning), career commitment, and age are related to employees' self-perceived employability, vitality and work ability (e.g., their sustainable employability). Our study adopted a P-E fit perspective building upon the notion that sustainable employability is a function of both the person (P) and the environment (E) and tests a three-way interaction between organizational learning climate, career commitment, and age. In total, 211 members of the support staff of a Dutch university completed a survey. Hierarchical stepwise regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Only one of the two dimensions of organizational learning climate that we measured, namely the developmental opportunities, appeared to be associated with all indicators of sustainable employability. Career commitment only had a direct positive relationship with vitality. Age was negatively related to self-perceived employability and to work ability, but not to vitality. The relationship between developmental opportunities and vitality was negatively influenced by career commitment (a negative two-way interaction effect), while a positive three-way interaction effect was found between career commitment, age, and development opportunities, and with self-perceived employability as the outcome. Our findings confirmed the relevance of adopting a P-E fit perspective on sustainable employability, and of considering the possible role of age in this. It requires more detailed analyses in future research to unravel the role of age in the shared responsibility for sustainable employability. In practice, the results of our study imply that organizations should provide all employees with a working context that facilitates learning, however, with a special focus on older employees, for whom it is a particular challenge to protect their sustainable employability, possibly due to age-related stereotyping. Our study adopted a P-E fit perspective on sustainable employability and examined the association between organizational learning climate and all three components of sustainable employability: self-perceived employability, vitality and work ability. Moreover, it investigated whether and how the employee's career commitment and age influence this relationship.

Attenuating the relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction: An examination of the role of organizational learning climate in three countries

Research indicates job insecurity (JI) is related to lower job satisfaction, partially mediated by psychological contract breach (PCB; a perceived breaking of the implicit exchange relationship between employer and employee). The authors investigated the extent to which providing a positive organizational learning climate (OLC) might attenuate the relationships between (a) qualitative JI and PCB and (b) PCB and job satisfaction. Using cross-sectional survey data from higher education industry employees within the US ( N = 372), South Africa ( N = 1096), and Croatia ( N = 719), the study found consistent results across all three settings. Qualitative JI was negatively associated with job satisfaction both directly and indirectly via PCB. Although a positive OLC did not attenuate the relationship between JI and PCB, it did buffer the relationship between PCB and job satisfaction. The findings are discussed in light of Conservation of Resources theory and the need to identify practical organizational interventions to alleviate the adverse effects of qualitative JI.

Learning from mistakes climate scale: Development and validation.

Learning from mistakes plays an important role in employee development; however, such a learning scale has not yet been developed. The objective of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Learning from Mistakes Climate Scale (LMCS) in Malaysia. A pool of items was first developed based on the literature, with an expert panel then convened to select items that met the definition of learning from mistake climate in the workplace, specifically in Malaysia. The experts agreed on 23 items to be rated. In total, 554 working adults with a mean age of 32.28 were then recruited for this study. The LMCS was administered at baseline and 10–14 days later as a retest: 468 participants took part in the retest study, a dropout rate of 15.52%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the LMCS is a 17-item one-factor model. Validity, in its various forms, was supported, namely convergent validity, criterion validity, and predictive validity. Analysis also showed significant reliability, that is, test–retest reliability and in all intra-class correlations. The LMCS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess the learning from mistake climate in Malaysia. This is the first scale in the organizational learning climate literature to integrate the mistake tolerance aspect. This instrument can assist in creating a psychologically safe work environment that helps to facilitate learning, especially in a highly hierarchical, collectivistic culture that is high in power distance.

Systematic Review of Literature on Quality of Preschool Services in Aganwadis

The paper highlights the implementation and execution of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) which was started in 1975. The scheme has been popularized with its need based programs for the larger benefit of millions of children across the country, who is the real assets of the country. The study focus the various aspects of ECE like organizational structure, learning climate, health and hygiene, monitoring and supervision mechanism as well as the infrastructure of the Anganwadi Centers. Pre-school education shoulders the responsibility of making children able to enter into formal schooling. It needs to be recognized as a precondition for the healthy mental and emotional development of children. Rapid growth during the early childhood stages requires the provision of a suitable environment to catalyze the multifaceted development of young children.

Supervisor-Subordinate Age Dissimilarity and Its Impact on Supervisory Ratings of Employability: Does Supportive Learning Context Make a Difference?

Status incongruence resulting from a supervisor who is younger than their subordinate potentially leads to age stereotyping of employees. This article investigates the relationship between age difference and supervisory ratings of five competence-based measures of subordinate employability (Occupational Expertise, Anticipation/Optimisation, Personal Flexibility, Corporate Sense, and Balance). In addition, we consider the buffering role of a supportive learning context which allows older workers access to learning resources. Learning context is represented by duration of the supervisory relationship, perceived organizational learning climate and participation in, and application of, training and development. Using 295 dyads of employees and their direct supervisors in a Dutch building company, findings show that age dissimilarity reflecting status incongruence was related to lower supervisory ratings of Occupational Expertise (job-related competence) and Corporate Sense (social/organizational competence) regardless of learning context. Longer duration relationships exacerbated, rather than buffered, the age difference effect on some types of supervisory ratings. The implications of these findings for age stereotyping with regard to employability are considered.

Leadership training and organizational learning climate: Measuring influences based on a field experiment in education

AbstractResearch considering the effects of leadership training and development is underresearched. However, leadership behaviour can generate greater levels of performance and satisfaction. In this study, the effect of a group reflective learning programme for school leaders is examined. The study questions whether leadership development, using a group reflective learning programme that focuses on coaching skills, can influence teacher perceptions of the organizational learning climate. Gaining a deeper insight in factors influencing organizational learning climate is important because organizational learning climate is associated with job motivation, job satisfaction, positive working conditions and the optimizing of training outcomes. Hence, a positive organizational learning climate can contribute to organizational performance, in the case of primary education delivering quality education to pupils. Based on a sample of 289 teachers, it turned out that school leaders’ participation in the group reflective learning programme resulted in a significant increase of teachers’ perceptions of the organizational learning climate. The results are inspiring for scholars, policy makers and practitioners.

Learning Processes as Key for Success in Workplace Health Promotion Interventions in Health Care.

There is limited previous research on how learning processes contribute to the outcomes of workplace health promotion (WHP) leadership interventions. The aim of this study was to identify the outcomes of a system-based WPH education program for managers and investigated what impact the intervention program had on health-oriented leadership, improvement work, and employee well-being, as well as what factors (i.e., how manager's active work following the intervention and organizational learning climate) contributed to these outcomes. A mixed-methods approach was applied, including qualitative interviews with 23 managers and process leaders, as well as questionnaires to employees and managers representing 17 public health care units in Sweden. The results showed that health-oriented leadership, improvement work, work satisfaction, and vitality increased at workplaces that worked actively to implement WHP following the program. Working actively with WHP and health-oriented leadership was of central importance for success and was a covariate with improved social learning climate, improved developmental leadership, and increased degree of improvement work. All included factors of learning during the intervention were associated with improved job satisfaction, while the increase in vitality seemed unrelated to program implementation. In conclusion, successful outcomes of WHP interventions interact with dimensions of organizational learning climate in the workplace.

Transformational leadership, leader–member exchange and school learning climate: Impact on teachers’ innovative behaviour in the Netherlands

Despite the fact that innovative behaviour of teachers is important for the quality of teaching in our knowledge society, there is still little research into leadership and organizational factors that influence teachers’ innovative behaviour. By combining self-concept leadership theory, social exchange theory and a hierarchical model of the distance of variables to human behaviour from an interactive perspective, we tried to unravel the relationships between school organization and teacher variables. Based on longitudinal data (2011, 2012, 2013) from a select sample of 597 teachers (being part of a research panel), a structural equation model (Mplus) was used for testing the relationship between transformational leadership, the school learning climate, the quality of teacher–leadership relationships (leader–member exchange), teachers’ inquiry habit of mind and teachers’ innovative behaviour. The findings show a very good fit for the model and contribute to confirmation of the combined used theories and concepts of leadership in education, leaderships’ influence on the organizational learning climate, the crucial mediating role of leader–member exchange between organizational variables and teacher variables, and the mediating dispositional variable of teachers’ inquiry habit of mind between leader–member exchange and innovative behaviour. This study adds to our insights into the complexity of innovation in school organizations.

Teacher's withdrawal behavior: examining the impact of principals' innovative behavior and climate of organizational learning

PurposeThe study aims to test an innovative model that explores the direct and indirect relationships between principals' innovative behavior, climate of organizational learning and a teacher's intent to leave his or her school and take a voluntary absence.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a survey of 1,529 teachers from 107 Arab elementary schools randomly selected from the database of the Israeli educational system. To test the proposed multilevel model, we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM).FindingsThe analysis confirmed that organizational learning climate is a prominent mediator between principals' innovative behavior and a teacher's intent to leave and his/her voluntary absence.Originality/valueThis research advances our understanding of leaders' innovative construct in an educational context and adds to the body of research directed at identifying administrative support and work-related factors that may negatively relate to a teacher's absenteeism or intent to leave and are amenable to leadership intervention.

The Role of the Dimensions of Organizational Training Climate and Personal Learning Orientation on Professional Learning of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objectives: In order to synchronize the organization's manpower, professional learning should be done continuously by creating an appropriate organizational learning climate. The present study aimed to investigate the role of educational organizational learning dimensions and job orientation on personal learning in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 220 employees of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences who were selected by proportional stratified sampling. Required data were obtained through standard questionnaires including organizational learning atmosphere of Tracey & Tews, Personal Learning Orientation of Tarno and professional learning of Lei, et al questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.21 software using descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation test and path analysis were applied using LISREL software. Results: The highest mean among the dimensions of organizational education was related to management support dimension and the mean of personal learning orientation was higher than the organizational learning atmosphere. The results of the analysis of the Lizerl path indicated that organizational education dimensions including management support (β = 0.52), occupational support (β =0.63), organizational support (s = 0.67) and personal learning orientation (β = 0.87) had a positive effect on the level of professional learning of employees of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and their model has a good fit. Conclusion: The organizational learning climate and personal learning orientation had a direct positive effect on the rate of professional learning of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences employees.

The role of transformative leadership, ICT‐infrastructure and learning climate in teachers' use of digital learning materials during their classes

AbstractThis study investigated whether school organizational variables (ie, transformative leadership (TL), ICT‐infrastructure (technical and social) and organizational learning climate were related to teachers' dispositional variables (ie, attitude, perceived norm and perceived behavior control [PBC]). The direct and indirect influences of the organizational variables on teachers' intention and use of digital learning materials (DLMs) were also investigated. A longitudinal design was used with three measurements spread out over four years. A total number of 544 randomly selected teachers from the Dutch primary, secondary and vocational education responded to all questionnaires. Model fit was tested using structural equation modeling. All dispositional variables predicted the use of DLMs, mediated by teachers' intention. TL had direct and indirect relationships via ICT‐infrastructure and learning climate with attitude, perceived norm and PBC. The longitudinal design proved the chronological effect of TL on learning climate and the dispositional variables. However, not all TL dimensions had relationships with ICT‐infrastructure (only TL‐vision and TL‐intellectual stimulation) and with learning climate (only TL‐intellectual stimulation). For educational practice, the results indicated that leadership can promote teachers' use of DLMs directly and by supporting a school wide learning climate under the condition that an ICT‐infrastructure exists.

Learning Climate and Workplace Learning

Abstract. In the current study, we propose that organizational learning climate in terms of facilitation learning climate, appreciation learning climate, and error-avoidance climate has the capacity to enhance employees’ level of newly acquired competences. Additionally, we investigated whether this relationship holds when employees face work restructuring. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses on a large sample of the Dutch working population (N = 1,013). The results showed that work restructuring moderated the hypothesized relationships. Under conditions of high restructuring, facilitation learning climate was an important predictor of learning outcomes; yet, under conditions of low work restructuring, appreciation learning climate was more effective. The current paper contributes to research on organizational change and workplace learning by providing evidence that organizational change can impact the way organizational learning climate supports employee learning.

Provider-agency fit in substance abuse treatment organizations: implications for learning climate, morale, and evidence-based practice implementation.

BackgroundSubstance abuse agencies have been slow to adopt and implement evidence-based practices (EBPs), due in part to poor provider morale and organizational climates that are not conducive to successful learning and integration of these practices. Person-organization fit theory suggests that alignment, or fit, between provider- and agency-level characteristics regarding the implementation of EBPs may influence provider morale and organizational learning climate and, thus, implementation success. The current study hypothesized that discrepancies, or lack of fit, between provider- and agency-level contextual factors would negatively predict provider morale and organizational learning climate, outcomes shown to be associated with successful EBP implementation.MethodsDirect service providers (n = 120) from four substance abuse treatment agencies responded to a survey involving provider morale, organizational learning climate, agency expectations for EBP use, agency resources for EBP use, and provider attitudes towards EBP use. Difference scores between combinations of provider- and agency-level factors were computed to model provider-agency fit. Quadratic regression analyses were conducted to more adequately and comprehensively model the level of the dependent variables across the entire “fit continuum”.ResultsDiscrepancies, or misfit, between agency expectations and provider attitudes and between agency resources and provider attitudes were associated with poorer provider morale and weaker organizational learning climate. For all hypotheses, the curvilinear model of provider-agency discrepancies significantly predicted provider morale and organizational learning climate, indicating that both directions of misfit (provider factors more favorable than agency factors, and vice-versa) were detrimental to morale and climate. However, outcomes were most negative when providers viewed EBPs favorably, but perceived that agency expectations and resources were less supportive of EBP use.ConclusionsThe current research benefits from a strong theoretical framework, consistent findings, and significant practical implications for substance abuse treatment agencies. Comprehensive attempts to strengthen outcomes related to EBP implementation must consider both provider- and agency-level characteristics regarding EBP use. Organizational efforts to more closely align provider attitudes and agency priorities will likely constitute a key strategy in fostering the implementation of EBPs in substance abuse treatment organizations.

Provider-agency fit in addiction services organizations: implications for evidence-based practice implementation

Background Addiction services organizations have been slow to adopt and implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) for substance abuse and dependence. This is due in part to poor worker morale and organizational climates that are not conducive to successful learning and integration of these practices [1]. Person-organization fit theory suggests that alignment, or fit, between providerand agency-level characteristics involving the implementation of EBPs may influence provider morale and organizational learning climate and, thus, implementation success [2]. The current study hypothesized that discrepancies, or lack of fit, between providerand agency-level contextual factors would negatively predict provider morale and organizational learning climate, outcomes shown to be associated with successful EBP implementation.

How Do Leaders and their Teams Bring about Organizational Learning and Outcomes?

How do leaders generate a learning climate that yields favorable organizational outcomes? To address this question, we offer and test a model linking charismatic leadership with the team‐emergent states of shared vision and trust within the team, as predicting organizational learning climate, and long‐term assessments of organizational outcomes by key stakeholders. We examined this model in a sample of 69 Arab elementary schools in Israel using multiple sources of raters, predicting long‐term assessments by key stakeholders of respective schools (parents and superintendents) at 2 points in time: 1 year and 3 years following the survey of the teachers. In line with our expectations, we obtained an overall, indirect effect between charismatic leadership and organizational learning climate. We also found support for both the direct and indirect effects of leader charisma through trust within the team on organizational learning climate and school outcomes. Although charismatic leadership predicted shared vision among team members, shared vision did not predict organizational learning climate, and hence, our proposed mediating effects of shared vision on organizational learning climate and outcomes were not supported. We discuss both theoretical and practical implications for the effects of leaders on learning processes and outcomes.

Antecedenten van een succesvolle organisatieontwikkeling en hun relatie met het leerklimaat van de organisatie: een ‘mixed method’-studie

The relation between learning climate and antecedents for a successful development of organizations The relation between learning climate and antecedents for a successful development of organizations The current study investigates the relation between an organizational learning climate and the antecedents of successful development of organizations. In order to answer this general research question, two studies were conducted. In a first qualitative study the goal was to determine which antecedents were considered important for successful development of the organization to be possible. In total, 55 semi-structured interviews were administered. A selection of antecedents, considered important by these respondents (middle management and management), was included in a second quantitative survey in which 863 employees participated. Results show that autonomy – as a part of learning climate – has a positive effect on the organizational commitment, job satisfaction and motivation of employees. Moreover, social support from colleagues and managers is also positively related to these antecedents.

Perceived corporate training investment as a driver of expatriate adjustment

Purpose – Whether expatriate cross-cultural training programs significantly influence expatriate adjustment has been debated for more than two decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine a pivotal variable not yet addressed in the literature: the expatriate's perceptions of the employer's investment in the training (termed “perceived corporate training investment”: PCTI). Design/methodology/approach – Completed surveys were collected from 71 hotel expatriate managers stationed around the globe. Findings – When an expatriate manager perceives that his/her company's investment in expatriate training (PCTI) exceeds industry standards, it leads to enhanced work adjustment. Interestingly, PCTI is also found to significantly influence the expatriate's general adjustment in the foreign culture. A firm's organizational learning climate mediates the relationship between PCTI and both forms of adjustment (work and general). Research limitations/implications – It could prove informative for future research to m...