The learning organization and the level of consciousness

Protean career attitude and organisational commitment in learning organisation climate

Purpose

This study aims to identify the relationship between protean career attitude (PCA) and organisational commitment (OC) in a learning organisation (LO) climate. The study also identified whether negative relationships exist between the structure dimension of LO (SDLO) and PCA, and between PCA and OC, and whether such relationships can be moderated by the people dimension of LO (PDLO).

Design/methodology/approach

Data collected from 305 employees of 26 firms were analysed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Findings

This study found that SDLO had a negative relationship with PCA, whereas PCA was negatively associated with OC. Furthermore, this study found that PDLO moderated these relationships, in that the negative relationships were absent when PDLO activities were stronger, in contrast to when they were weaker.

Originality/value

The study is among the first to identify the negative relationships that exist between SDLO and PCA and between PCA and OC in Korean firms. An important implication for managers or OD professionals is that PDLO plays an important role in not only reducing the negative mediation effects of PCA in the relationships but also making the relationships positive.

Organizational learning capacity of startups in Northeast Brazil

Purpose

This empirical and exploratory study analyzed the role of interaction with the innovation environment and of the organizational learning capacity (OLC) development stage in startups in Northeast Brazil based on the perception of managers of these companies.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a quantitative study. Questionnaires were sent electronically to the managers of startups in the nine states of Northeast Brazil. A total of 54 managers participated, composing a non-probabilistic sample. The data collected were analyzed by multiple linear regressions.

Findings

The results obtained seek to evidence whether the interaction of startups in Northeast Brazil with the startup ecosystem and the development stage in which these companies are found are associated with OLC. The results confirmed the hypothesis that higher startup development stages are positively associated with higher levels of OLC in the sample. A negative association was identified between the manufacturing startup type and the OLC level, and the level of interaction with the innovation environment was still infrequent.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the literature on the determinants of organizational learning and to startup managers who wish to more effectively promote this learning. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Practical implications

This study contributes to the literature on the determinants of organizational learning and to startup managers who wish to more effectively promote this learning. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Originality/value

Studies on Brazilian startups are still relatively scarce, especially studies that focus on learning capacity. No other studies addressing the hypotheses tested here were found.

A Revisit of the Learning Organisation: Is It Time?

The learning organisation (LO) phenomenon was created over 25 years ago. Several definitions of the LO have evolved as well as frameworks, features, and characteristics. One of the challenges of the LO’s credibility was the impetus of the creation of empirical methods. The LO theory has stabilised with the involvement of human resource (HR) researchers to bridge the gap between theory and practice. However, in a rapidly changing, complex, diverse, and competitive work environment, now may be the opportune time to further investigate the scope of the LO. The study examines the utility of the LO definitions and frameworks in relation to shifts in the environment to determine if the concept continues to withstand the landscape of the current workplace and beyond. The importance of creating an LO continues to be top priority in numerous organisational industries and communities and its reach is expanding to a variety of populations. However, the LO concept does not necessarily address constantly changing and complex workplace work demands. Therefore, a new definition of the LO is proposed. Recommendations for future studies and implications for HR research and practice are included.

Habermas, interests and organizational learning: a critical perspective

Purpose

This paper aims to use critical theorist Jürgen Habermas’s conceptualization of the relationship between knowledge and interests to better understand the role of common and competing interests during organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on critical accounts of work and learning, and on Habermas’s theoretical work on knowledge and interests, to examine the relationship between interests and organizational learning and, in particular, to consider conflict of interest’s role in organizational learning.

Findings

Transposed to organizational level, Habermas’s conceptualization of the relationship between knowledge and interests suggests that organizational learning can result from a technical interest, shaped by money and power, and from tensions and incompatibilities between the system’s technical interest and the lifeworld’s practical and emancipatory interests. There is ample evidence that the first combination does indeed account for a great deal of organizational learning but to date, very little scholarly attention has considered the possibility of organizational learning resulting from the second combination.

Originality/value

Despite interests and interest differences being visible in a number of studies of learning by individuals at work, the relationship between interests and learning at the organizational level is not well understood. This paper is a contribution to this area, using Habermas’s conceptualization of knowledge and interests to better understand the role of interests during organizational learning, raising the possibility that competing interests can result in organizational learning, and suggesting areas for further research.