ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

›› 2006, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (04): 590-597.

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The Construct of Organizational Learning of Chinese Companies

YU Haibo,Fang Liluo,Ling Wenquan   

  1. School of Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
  • Received:2005-03-21 Revised:1900-01-01 Published:2006-07-30 Online:2006-07-30
  • Contact: Yu Haibo

Abstract: Abstract
For Chinese companies, the core competitive is the organizational learning capacity. The research on organizational learning has contained several natural and social sciences. However, few study on organizational learning was based on integration of three kinds of understanding on organizational learning (information process, social interaction, system and behavior) and based on management of learning. Organizational learning should be the integration of human, knowledge and the organization system.
The methods used in this study involved literature review, interview, pilot study, and survey. Based on literature review, interview and pilot study, items for the Organizational Learning Questionnaire were developed. The survey data were from managers and employees of 43 companies which were different kinds and from differrent districts in China. The survey data was mainly analyzed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). At the same time, the correlation analysis was done between organizational learning, organizational innovation and perceived organizational finance performance.
The results showed that organizational learning of Chinese companies was a multi-dimensional construct. It was comprised of inter-organizational learning, organizational level learning, collective level learning, individual level learning, exploitation learning and exploration learning. OLQ (Organizational Learning Questionnaire) had high validity and reliability. That is to say, four learning levels and two information or knowledge processes can reflect Chinses companies’ organizational learning capacitis. The results were different from results generated by studies in other countries. At the same time, the results showed there were modest significant correlations between organizational learning, organizational innovation and perceived organizational financial performance, which showed that organizational learning can influence organizational innovation and organizational financial performance.
In the future, the effectiveness of organizational learning, and the factors which influence organizational leaninig should be explored, and the complex influence mechanism should be studied deeply

Key words: organizational learning, organizational level learning, exploitation learning, exploration learning, learning organization

CLC Number: