An empirical study on the construct and effective mechanism of organizational learning

Abstract

The organizational learning construct and its effective mechanism are two research issues. This study is based on a survey of 908 managers and employees from 43 companies in different regions of China. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) show that organizational learning in Chinese enterprises is a multi-dimensional construct comprising of inter-organizational learning, organization-level learning, collective learning, individual learning, exploitation learning and exploration learning. The results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) reveal that the unit-level dimensions of organizational learning affect employee's satisfaction and emotional commitment through the mediation of individual learning. In organizations characterized by high level of organization-level learning and low level of exploitation learning, there is a strong correlation between employees' satisfaction/emotional commitment and their turnover intention. Hierarchical regression analysis (HRA) also indicates that organizational learning affects perceived organizational financial performance through the full mediation of organizational innovation. Some implications are discussed for organizational learning research and practice. © Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2009.