Learning Capability, Organization Factors and Firm Performance

This paper is an exploratory study that examines the relationship between the learning capability of organizations and its potential impact on firm performance. Although it is implied in the literature that learning organizations are also high performing organizations, there has been no large scale empirical studies to test this assertion. Based on a developed scale to measure the learning capability of an organization, a survey was carried out to measure the learning capability of a sample of for-profit organizations. Financial and nonfinancial performance data was also obtained for these companies. Other organization factors such as size and formalization was also measured. Results of the study show that there is no relationship between learning capability and the two financial performance measures, return on equity and return on assets. However, learning capability is strongly related to job satisfaction, a non-financial performance measure. An unexpected finding of a significant positive relationship between formalization and financial performance and its implications is explored. It is argued that formalization in the case of for-profit organizations may have an enabling rather than a coercive impact on the organization. Some limitations of the study are also presented, and potential future research on this issue discussed. Introduction The concept of a learning organization continues to be of increasing interest to researchers, consultants and practicing managers as evidenced by the volume of literature devoted to the topic ( Argyris & Schon, 1996; Goh & Richards, 1997; Nevis, Dibella & Gould, 1995; Calvert, Mobley & Marshall, 1995). Some possible driving forces for this interest is the growing global competitive environment and also the influence of knowledge as an underpinning for developing competitive advantage (Nonaka, 1994; Prusak, 1997; Kiernan, 1993; Simonin, 1997). Managers and organizations are beginning to realize that how they manage their people resources may be the way to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage (Pfeffer, 1994) An approach to accomplishing this is through building a learning organization (Garvin, 1993). In his book the Fifth Discipline, Senge (1990,1992) elaborates on the characteristics of a learning organization such as a clear vision, shared mental models, teamwork and an experimenting culture as key features that can be found in such organizations. Later, Garvin (1993) takes a more practical, applied approach and also specifies a set of conditions needed to build a learning organization. This growing body of literature attempts to describe the kind of management practices and organizational characteristics that such organizations have (Goh, 1998; Goh & Richards, 1997; McGill, Slocum & Lei, 1993). Implied in this literature is that a learning organization is a highly effective organization that is competitive, because it has the capability of creating new knowledge, is good at experimentation and therefore innovative and can transfer knowledge to solve problems quickly (Leonard-Barton, 1992; Mills & Freisen, 1992). However, there are very few or no empirical work other than a few in-depth case studies that attempt to link organizational learning to implied performance outcomes (Simonin, 1997). The lack of any large-scale empirical studies is due to the fact that there has been very little attempt to develop measures and metrics on this topic. More recently, Goh and Richards (1997) has developed a scale that attempts to capture the management practices and characteristics of an organization that can be described as being a learning organization. Organizations scoring high on this scale can be considered to have a strong learning capability as indicated by the existence of a set of management practices and organizational characteristics that facilitates and encourages organizational learning. The objective of this study is to link organizational learning capability as measured by this survey and the performance of an organization. However, before we describe the study, a discussion on the conceptual underpinnings of this survey is appropriate. An Organizational Learning Capability Perspective The current literature on organizational learning is very confusing. Distinctions have been made between “organizational learning” and “the learning organization”(Kim, 1993), between “academic” and “applied/practitioner” approaches (Argyris & Schon, 1998), between “normative” and “capability” perspectives (Dibella, 1995) and between “individual learning “ and “organizational learning”(Weick, 1991). This debate although healthy, creates the impression that this concept is not well understood and therefore not very practical in application. This paper takes a normative perspective to the concept of a learning organization. I have also taken an organizational level analysis. We do not argue that organizations can behave like individuals from a learning perspective, as we will fall into the anthropomorphism debate. However, we argue that organizational learning is related to the experiences and actions of organization members. Organizational learning can be defined “by studying the concrete structural and procedural arrangements through which actions by members that are understood to entail learning are followed by observable changes in the organization’s pattern of activities” (Cook & Yanow, 1993, p.375). These organizational learning mechanisms become the foundation to understand what is a learning organization, that is, the structures, strategies and procedures that allow the organization and its members to learn (Popper & Lipshitz, 1998). Learning organizations can therefore be viewed as firms that purposefully adopt structures and strategies to encourage learning (Dodgson, 1993). These concrete observable organizational systems or institutionalized structural and procedural arrangements describe the concept of a learning organization. It can be argued that organizations that adopt or have these organizational structures and procedures have a greater capacity to learn. This approach requires an identification of what these mechanisms are that organizations use to facilitate learning. That is, what kind of management practices and procedures are linked to being a learning organization? What organization structures support learning? These practices structures and procedures can then define the learning capability of an organization. To answer some of these questions, we conducted a research project to develop a measurement tool for assessing the learning capability of an organization. The rationale was that organizational learning is really the product of individual and group learning applied to the accomplishment of the organization’s vision and performance goals and that certain management practices and internal conditions can either help or hinder this process (Duncan and Weiss, 1979; Senge, 1990; Garvin, 1993; Mills and Friesen, 1992). Thus, if we can identify and assess the impact of a set of internal organizational conditions and management practices that lead to learning, we could assess an organization’s learning capability. This information could then help managers to focus on specific interventions required to improve organizational learning. The literature on organizational learning has developed different orientations in how learning can be built. In discussing this issue, DiBella (1995) he has identified what he calls the normative perspective of a learning organization. This perspective best describes the orientation of this approach, that is, learning is a collective activity that takes place under certain conditions or circumstances. Therefore, organizations need to create the necessary conditions to foster and allow learning to take place. Developing a learning organization is not random chance but a deliberate intervention by leaders to establish the necessary internal conditions for the organization to operate in a learning mode. The implicit assumption is there is an organizational archetype that defines a successful learning organization, which in turn influences the performance, long-term effectiveness and survival of the organization. This normative perspective moves us away from the quandary of the definitions and descriptive literature and confusion about the learning organization. In fact, Garvin (1993) argues that organizations need to actively manage the learning process to ensure that it occurs by design rather than by chance. Distinctive policies and managerial practices are responsible for success and they form the building blocks of learning organizations. Therefore, we need to identify the managerial practices that facilitate organizational learning or the conditions and enablers that can help an organization to become a learning organization. The assumption is that organizational learning does happen, but the appropriate conditions and managerial practices are needed for effective learning to occur (Ulrich, Jick & Von Glinow, 1993). The Strategic Building Blocks of a Learning Organization By analyzing the commonalities among the various descriptions found in an extensive earlier literature review (Goh, 1998; Goh & Richards, 1997), we identified five major underlying organization characteristics and management practices that are key conditions essential for learning to take place in an organization. These five strategic building blocks of a learning organization are as follows: 1. Clarity of Purpose and Mission The organization as a whole, and each unit within it need to have a clearly articulated purpose. Employees need to understand this purpose and how the work they do contributes to attainment of the mission of the organization. In addition, the organization needs to promote employee commitment to these goals. Senge (1990,1992) and others have stated that “building a shared vision” especially of a future desired state creates tension that leads