Organizational Learning Support Research Articles

Spurring SMEs’ performance through business intelligence, organizational and network learning, customer value anticipation, and innovation - Empirical evidence of the creative economy sector in East Java, Indonesia

Several studies have explored firm performance in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era. However, there is not much research to find reports divulging the complex relationship dynamics between business intelligence, organizational and network learning, customer value anticipation, and creative economy-based small-medium enterprises (SMEs) performance in developing countries. This study aims to uncover the complexity of those relationships. The quantitative data were collected from 313 creative economy-based SMEs in East Java, Indonesia. Using PLS-SEM, this study disclosed that business intelligence practices could not directly impact SMEs' performance. Business intelligence will be crucial to SMEs' performance with the support of organizational learning as a mediator. The finding also confirmed the presence of serial mediation of organizational learning and innovation in the relationship between business intelligence and SMEs' performance. However, the role of network learning and innovation is also important, considering their relatively large direct impact on SMEs’ performance. The theoretical implications of this research broke the boundaries of strategic management theory in resource-based view and knowledge-based view in the latest era, where creative economy-based SMEs have been able to mobilize resources to carry out business intelligence to realize innovation and high performance. Further research is suggested to explore the role of business intelligence in promoting specific performance areas, such as marketing performance, financial performance, and human resource management. In addition, it is advisable to choose more specific research subjects, including those in the culinary subsector, and pay attention to other areas, e.g., the demographics of respondents in the model as a control variable.

Relationship Between Servant Leadership, Leader-Member-Exchange, Organization Learning and Innovative Work Behavior: Evidence From High-Tech Firms

With the growing development of the knowledge economy in recent years, the value of knowledge workers has increased substantially. On the basis of the broaden-and-build theory (B&B theory) and conservation of resources (CoR) theory the aim of this research work is to evaluate the mediating effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational learning (OL) between servant leadership and knowledge innovative work behavior (IWB). Current study included the participation of 496 knowledge employees from China’s high-tech companies. The responses of the survey were analyzed using MPLS software while utilizing the structural equation modeling method. The findings validated the link between servant leadership (SL) and IWB. In the relationship between SL and IWB, LMX and OL mediated the relationship as parallel mediator. This study discovered a correlation between SL and OL and LMX. In addition, the findings signify that in the Chinese high-tech companies’ SL style augments IWB through the support of OL and LMX. The results of the study are useful for harnessing the leader and member for achieving organizational objectives through enhancing the innovative work behavior in the knowledge workers of Chinese high-tech companies.

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Learning Support Employee Creativity: Evidence from Vietnamese SMEs

Purpose: The current study aims to investigate the mediating role of organizational learning (OL) on the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL) and employee creativity (EC) in Vietnamese SMEs. Theoretical framework: The world underwent enormous and ongoing changes in SMEs after the Covid-19 pandemic. Leaders and employees must be more effective and adaptive to enhance systems and processes and meet client requests. Recently, SMEs in Vietnam have struggled to improve CEOs and staff with the professional credentials necessary to compete in the market and integrate. Design/methodology/approach: The framework and hypotheses were examined using SEM on SPSS and AMOS software to analyse the data after receiving 397 valid responses from SMEs in Vietnam. Findings: Findings confirmed that TFL positively affects EC and OL. The role of individual motivation on individual consideration outweighs those of the other characteristics of TFL. OL played a partly mediator role in the relationship between TFL and EC. Research, Practical & Social implications: This study provides an inventory of knowledge about the reality of OL and its mediating role on the relationship between TLF and EC, which contributes to enriching the library in overall and Vietnamese in specific in this subject. Originality/value: This paper is one of the first papers in the Vietnamese SMEs context to address the mediating effect of OL between TLF and EC.

Exploring the Forces that Support Organizational Learning: A Qualitative Case Study of a Military Organization

Exploring the Forces that Support Organizational Learning: A Qualitative Case Study of a Military Organization

A culturally responsive evaluation framework and its application in environmental education

Despite the many challenges inherent in conducting high-quality evaluations in the field of environmental education (EE), there is a growing recognition of the importance of evaluation, not only to gauge program success, but also to use evaluation results to improve programming, support organizational learning, and ensure programs are meeting the needs of diverse audiences. The challenges to conducting high-quality evaluations are exacerbated by historical issues of inequity and systemic racism that are pervasive in the United States and globally. We reviewed the literature on culturally responsive approaches to evaluation to propose a culturally responsive evaluation framework and consider its application in EE. This framework helps EE organizations and evaluators consider how issues of race, power, privilege, and inequity influence the evaluation process and the validity of evaluation findings. Implementing this framework may be resource-intensive, but it has the potential to improve evaluation processes and produce actionable results to further address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of EE. We call for organizations that support EE efforts to recognize the importance of this approach, and provide adequate resources to encourage its implementation.

The Learning History Methodology: An Infrastructure for Collective Reflection to Support Organizational Change and Learning

Organization members often complain about insufficient time to reflect collectively as they grapple with constant significant changes. The Learning History methodology can support this collective reflection. Given the scant empirical studies of this action research approach, the present paper fills this gap by giving an overview of this methodology and by presenting a qualitative study that answers the following research question: How does the Learning History methodology contribute to collective reflection among organization members during major organizational change? To answer this question, an empirical research project was led within five healthcare organizations in Canada during their implementation of the Planetree person-centered approach to management, care, and services. The data set includes 150 semi-structured interviews, 20 focus groups and 10 feedback meetings involving organization members representing all hierarchical levels in the five participating institutions. The results highlight the five types of contributions of the Learning History methodology to collective reflection within the five institutions that participated in the study: 1) a process of expression, dialogue, and reflection among organization members; 2) a portrait of the change underway; 3) a support tool for the change process; 4) a vector for mobilizing stakeholders; and 5) a source of organizational learning. The results also show how organization members’ collective reflection is built through the various stages of the Learning History methodology. By demonstrating that this collective reflection leads to true organizational learning, the findings position the Learning History as a research-action method useful both from a research standpoint and as an organizational development tool. In the conclusion, lessons learned using the LH approach are shared from a researcher’s perspective. This paper should interest researchers and practitioners who seek research methodologies that can offer an infrastructure for collective reflection to support organizational change and learning.

Organizational learning in hospitals: Evaluation of the implementation of IT-supported nursing documentation

BackgroundThe present paper explores the introduction of computer-based nursing documentation in a hospital as an example of organizational learning viewed through the lens of organizational education. It provides insights into existing routines and patterns of nursing practice within the organization and seeks, in understanding them, to support organizational learning in hospital settings. The focus of this article is on the analysis of patterns of practice specific to the organization in order to derive the specific need for support of organizational learning for the hospital as an organization. MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used to record data, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Its theoretical focus draws on organizational education in examining organizational learning – a context in which the use of mixed-methods approaches, triangulation and multiperspectivity appeared to be best suited for the task. ResultsThe results demonstrate that the practical implementation of computer-based nursing documentation calls, alongside technical adaptations, for the consideration of organizational learning, defined as learning undertaken by a social unit comprising a range of groups with distinct interests. The key challenge to organizational learning consists in disrupting long established routines and standardizing new patterns of practice. Success in this endeavor requires time and space for employees’ dialog-based, cooperative exploration of the patterns previously in place. Conclusion/OriginalityThe literature on organizational learning provides numerous examples of members of organizations rupturing previous patterns and routines, yet few examples aimed at creating an understanding of existing practices, particularly in relation to hospital settings. This paper fills this lacuna by describing extant practices in such a setting and seeks to support organizational learning processes in this context.

How does intelligent manufacturing affects enterprise innovation? The mediating role of organizational learning

Intelligent manufacturing is driven by innovation, and it is also the facilitator and activator of innovation. Yang et al. (2020) find that intelligent manufacturing has a significant promoting effect on enterprise innovation, but the effect mechanism is still a black box to be opened. In terms of technology potential, intelligent manufacturing promotes enterprise innovation through digital-enabled knowledge absorptive capability, networked-enabled knowledge recombination capability, and intelligent-enabled knowledge creation capability, but this role cannot be separated from the support of organizational learning. In order to investigate the role of organizational learning in intelligent manufacturing and enterprise innovation, this study uses the public data of listed enterprises in China's manufacturing industry to conduct research using continuous time difference-in-differences method. The results show that intelligent manufacturing can promote both innovation input and innovation output of enterprises. Further mechanism research from the perspective of organizational learning, finds that intelligent manufacturing promotes organizational learning by improving organizational learning environment, learner quality and organizational learning investment, and thus promotes enterprise innovation.

Enacting Pedagogical And Organizational Change Through Course-Based Communities Of Transformation

Location: JC Room E Supported by existing infrastructure and the university's strategic plan, Mason is poised to scale up its implementation of active and inquiry-based learning by engaging faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in changing the culture of teaching. Literature shows that student engagement through active and inquiry-based learning improves student attitudes, retention, and understanding at all levels of curriculum (e.g., Fry, 2014; Freeman et al., 2014; National Research Council, 2012; and references therein) with an outsized impact on women and previously low-achieving students (Kogan & Laursen, 2014; Laursen et al., 2014). However, motivating faculty to make significant changes to their teaching practices is often challenging, and active learning methods are used only sporadically on college campuses, including Mason, despite a long history of research showing that these techniques improve student learning. The literature on change within academic departments is sparse and often touts the success of centralized units in promoting pedagogy reform (e.g., Fairweather, 2008 and references therein). At the same time, research shows that departmental norms and institutional barriers have a large impact on the way STEM faculty teach (Austin, 2011; D'Avanzo, 2013; Brownell & Tanner, 2012; Henderson et al., 2012; Sunal et al., 2001; Fairweather, 2008). Peer-to-peer learning communities have been shown to provide support for organizational learning (Kezar & Lester, 2011; Mittendorf et al., 2006), to assist in the development of new pedagogical interventions, and to shift faculty values surrounding teaching and learning (Davis & Sumara, 1997; Gallucci, 2003; Sanchez-Cardona et al., 2012; Snyder et al., 2003; Viskovic, 2006). The purpose of this panel is to showcase work being done to leverage learning communities to enact pedagogical and organizational change. The panelists, members of a cross-disciplinary team of researchers, are working alongside members of a course-based community of transformation (CCT) in Mathematics at Mason, with CCTs in Physics, Biology, and Computer Science to follow. These researchers, with members of the Math CCT, will share empirical evidence, lessons learned, and practical implications related to their National Science Foundation funded project to create department and institution-level change that supports the adoption of active learning pedagogy at Mason. As a part of this work, multi-generational teams of faculty, graduate apprentice instructors, and undergraduate learning assistants receive training on active learning techniques, learning communities, grassroots leadership, and change in higher education, as well as continued support through a network of CCTs. This project is designed to develop a university culture that values the incorporation of active learning practices in undergraduate STEM courses and programs. Attendees will leave the session with a better sense of how to employ changes in pedagogy within their own classrooms and how to facilitate change more broadly across their departments and the campus community. Specific attention will be given to effective change strategies, factors that influence change, and steps in the process of change. Attendees will also be given time to consider the needs, strategies, resources, and partnerships necessary for change in their communities.

The Internationalization of Public Libraries — a Danish Case Study

This article deals with the question of how public libraries are facing the process of internationalization. In an empirical study, carried out between 2016 and 2018 as part of a government-funded project, the cooperation of small and medium-sized Danish libraries with corresponding foreign institutions was examined. Based on the concept of the path dependency of organizational decisions, the article investigates how strategic and structural measures as well as knowledge sharing and organizational learning support transnational cooperation. Initial results indicate that Danish libraries have taken very different paths to internationalization. The different paths they have taken are above all determined according to the local cultural policy, the institutional environment, the size of the library and the international commitment of staff and management.

School Environment as a Determinant of Organizational Learning Support

Organizational learning as a strategic tool for organizational change and stabilization of success has been discussed in a school environment since the 1990s. Its importance is increasing in the context of dynamic development of the society and the need to flexibly adapt to constant changes. Organizational learning research focuses on analyzing factors that are important to organizational learning and adaptability. The study aim was to examine a school environment as a determinant of organizational learning support. We chose a design of qualitative research, in which a group interview with 32 teachers from four schools was carried out. Based on the interviews we specified five categories of organizational learning support – psychological safety, open communication, cooperation, openness to new ideas, engagement and participation. Through an analysis of participants‘ responses, we identified the most significant barriers to organizational learning in the environment of selected schools. Their recognition has made it possible to formulate recommendations related to school management and to the promotion of organizational learning at schools.

Learning Climate Perceptions as a Determinant of Employability: An Empirical Study Among European ICT Professionals.

This study investigated the role of age in the relationship between perceptions of learning climate and self- and supervisor-rated employability among European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals. The psychological climate for learning was operationalized by three indicators, namely the perceptions that employees have of the learning value of their job, supervisor support for learning, and the organizational support for learning. As hypothesized, a Structural Equation Model demonstrated that the relationship between age and perceptions of learning climate was negative. The model also showed a strong positive relationship between learning climate and self-reported and supervisor-rated employability. Furthermore, learning climate perceptions appeared important for employability irrespective of life or career stage. An explorative bootstrapping-based test suggested that older workers with managerial responsibilities profit less from psychological learning climate for self-reported and supervisor-rated employability than older workers at non-managerial levels. These findings have important implications for human resource practices that aim to increase lifelong employability.

Encouraging the Collection of Performance Data in Nonprofit Organizations: The Importance of Organizational Support for Learning

This article provides insight into how to facilitate performance data collection within nonprofit organizations. Following research on organizational learning, we propose that nonprofits that provide higher support for employee learning and development activities are more likely to collect performance data than those that provide limited support to such activities. We assess this hypothesis with data collected from 154 employees in 26 nonprofits in the greater New York Capital region. We find that higher support for learning indeed has a positive relationship with performance data collection, but the strength of this relationship depends on the nonprofits’ capacity to conduct performance assessment and clarity of their organizations goals. Implications of these results for research and practice on performance management in nonprofits are discussed.

Innovation contest: Effect of perceived support for learning on participation.

Frontline staff are well positioned to conceive improvement opportunities based on first-hand knowledge of what works and does not work. The innovation contest may be a relevant and useful vehicle to elicit staff ideas. However, the success of the contest likely depends on perceived organizational support for learning; when staff believe that support for learning-oriented culture, practices, and leadership is low, they may be less willing or able to share ideas. We examined how staff perception of organizational support for learning affected contest participation, which comprised ideation and evaluation of submitted ideas. The contest held in a hospital cardiac center invited all clinicians and support staff (n ≈ 1,400) to participate. We used the 27-item Learning Organization Survey to measure staff perception of learning-oriented environment, practices and processes, and leadership. Seventy-two frontline staff submitted 138 ideas addressing wide-ranging issues including patient experience, cost of care, workflow, utilization, and access. Two hundred forty-five participated in evaluation. Supportive learning environment predicted participation in ideation and idea evaluation. Perceptions of insufficient experimentation with new ways of working also predicted participation. The contest enabled frontline staff to share input and assess input shared by other staff. Our findings indicate that the contest may serve as a fruitful outlet through which frontline staff can share and learn new ideas, especially for those who feel safe to speak up and believe that new ideas are not tested frequently enough. The contest's potential to decentralize innovation may be greater under stronger learning orientation. A highly visible intervention, like the innovation contest, has both benefits and risks. Our findings suggest benefits such as increased engagement with work and community as well as risks such as discontent that could arise if staff suggestions are not acted upon or if there is no desired change after the contest.

Validation of a short form of the Inventory of Organizational Learning Facilitators

Purpose This paper aims to develop a short form of the Inventory of Organizational Learning Facilitators (IOLF) by using the same factors as the long form to test the equivalence between two language versions (English and French) and to explore executives’ attitudes toward organizational learning (OL). Design/methodology/approach The structure of the long-form IOLF is based on five factors found in previous work: knowledge acquisition and transformation; OL culture; learning-focused leadership; OL support; and strategic management of new knowledge and learning. Two surveys of Canadian Federal Government executives assessed their perception of OL facilitators, organizational commitment, cynicism and intention to leave the organization. Correlational pattern analysis, conducted after confirmatory factor analyses, assessed the equivalence of the two language versions. Findings The short-form IOLF replicated the factor structure of previous work and demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency. Correlations showed equivalence between and across languages. Significant correlations with outcome variables, albeit in a cross-sectional design, supported predictive validity. Research limitations/implications This conceptually valid instrument can be adapted to English- and French-speaking populations. It can test hypotheses about the relationship between OL facilitators and individual, collective and organizational outcomes. The findings stem from self-report data in a cross-sectional design and require further research. Practical implications The short-form IOLF can quickly identify areas for improvement and monitor the evolution of an organization’s learning abilities. Originality/value This quick, efficient tool assesses OL context and can indicate factors likely to influence OL. This study offers empirically driven insights into conditions that influence executives’ attitudes.

A Study of the Effects of Organizational Support on Organizational Learning based on Knowledge Management

Being in the era of the knowledge-based economy, knowledge would replace land, labor, capital, and equipment to become the primary production factor. An enterprise could create competitive advantages for the organization merely by constant knowledge accumulation and acquisition. Competitive advantages in the medical industry come from the efficacy of knowledge application that the execution of knowledge management is a pursued goal of medical institutions. Nurses in a hospital are like employees in an enterprise, and doctors are the senior supervisors in the organization. Supervisors in medical units must have the employees understand the attention from the hospitals so as to have nurses devote themselves to executing the organizational objectives. Aiming at hospitals in Shanghai, physicians and medical personnel in Shanghai Huashan Hospital were distributed with 420 copies of a questionnaire. A total 352 valid copies were retrieved, with the retrieval rate at 84%. The research results conclude significantly positive effects of organizational support of knowledge management, knowledge management of organizational learning, and organizational support of organizational learning. Some suggestions are proposed at the end, expecting to assist the domestic medical industry in establishing market advantages.

Perceived Organizational Support For Learning and Contribution to Improvement by Frontline Staff

Utilizing suggestions from clinicians and administrative staff is associated with process and quality improvement, organizational climate that promotes patient safety, and added capacity for learning. However, realizing improvement through innovative ideas from staff depends on their ability and decision to contribute. We hypothesized that staff perception of whether the organization promotes learning is positively associated with their likelihood to engage in problem solving and speaking up. We conducted our study in a cardiology unit in an academic hospital that hosted an ideation contest that solicited frontline staff to suggest ideas to resolve issues encountered at work. Our primary dependent variable was staff participation in ideation. The independent variables measuring perception of support for learning were collected using the validated 27-item Learning Organization Survey (LOS). To examine the relationships between these variables, we used analysis of variance, logistic regression, and predicted probabilities. We also interviewed 16 contest participants to explain our quantitative results. The study sample consisted of 30% of cardiology unit staff (n=354) that completed the LOS. In total, 72 staff submitted 138 ideas, addressing a range of issues including patient experience, cost of care, workflow, utilization, and access. Figuring out the cost of procedures in the catheterization laboratory and creating a smartphone application that aids patients to navigate through appointments and connect with providers were two of the ideas that won the most number of votes and funding to be implemented in the following year. Participation in ideation was positively associated with staff perception of supportive learning environment. For example, one standard deviation increase in perceived welcome for differences in opinions was associated with a 43% increase in the odds of participating in ideation (OR=1.43, p=0.04) and 55% increase in the odds of suggesting more than one idea (OR=1.55, p=0.09). Experimentation, a practice that supports learning, was negatively associated with ideation (OR=0.36, p=0.02), and leadership that reinforces learning was not associated with ideation. The perception that new ideas are not sufficiently considered or experimented could have motivated staff to participate, as the ideation contest enables experimentation and learning. Interviews with ideation participants revealed that the contest enabled systematic bottom-up contribution to quality improvement, promoted a sense of community, facilitated organizational exchange of ideas, and spread a problem-solving oriented mindset. Enabling frontline staff to feel that their ideas are welcome and that making mistakes is permissible may increase their likelihood to engage in problem solving and speaking up, contributing to organizational improvement.

Organizational Learning Support Preferences of Millennials

Since more than $140 Billion is invested annually on employee learning and development in the U.S (Harward, 2014) it is important that training leads to improved job performance. Millennials, who comprise the latest employee generation, are age 18–37 (Tyler, 2007) and share the same performance requirements and expectations of the generations that precede them in the workforce. The organizational learning supports to help millennials enhance their learning in the workplace remain largely undefined. This study explores how to support millennials in meeting their workplace learning goals. To achieve this generationally exclusive goal, qualitative research was performed amongst college–educated millennials in a for–profit, high–technology, U.S. corporation. Research data and analysis revealed specific learning support preferences for this generation. Most significantly a new role was identified, that of a learning guide who supports millennials’ learning and demonstrates sincere interest in their success. The results suggest that millennials will respond favorably when identified learning support preferences are present by increasing effort in training activities and committing to established learning goals.

Knowledge map-based web platform to facilitate organizational learning return of experiences

In this paper, we discuss the role played by a knowledge map in the designing of a web platform for facilitating organizational learning. Globalization, accelerated innovation and ICT (information and communication technology) have changed our economic environment. They have transformed the way we learn and work. In such a context, the knowledge capital of companies is increasingly crucial. Companies realized the importance of using information technology tools to promote organizational learning. With MEMORAe project, our goal is to model and design an original knowledge map-based web platform as support for organizational learning. After presenting the knowledge map-based web platform designed, we discuss results of its usage in academic contexts.

Logistics Information System Evaluation: Assessing External Technology Integration and Supporting Organizational Learning

Firms often outsource the development and acquisition of logistics information systems (LIS) needed to improve logistics processes. Managers tasked with such outsourcing decisions often struggle to understand and balance the external technology's impact on existing logistics processes, individual stakeholders, firm strategies, and the financial and operational performance of the firm. Unfortunately, research is limited on (1) methods for evaluating the performance capabilities of systems from external sources prior to full implementation, and (2) the impact of external technology integration (ETI) on organizational behavior and learning related to a firm's logistics processes. Through the lens of organizational learning (OL) theory, this research uses a case study approach to examine the transportation division of a major U.S.‐based fuel retailer to gain insights on the management control of ETI efforts. The study builds theory to fill important literature gaps then develops a conceptual framework and supporting propositions to inform future research on logistics ETI. The findings highlight important OL implications for firms involved in ETI efforts and also provide a practically relevant management control tool that can be used by logistics practitioners.