The effect of organizational learning on organization
The study of organizational behavior has always emphasized research on individuals. What impact, then, does organizational learning across the individual and collective levels have on the variables at the collective level? This will be the focus of the section.
Research hypothesis
Organizational learning and organizational innovation
Learning and innovation are often inseparable. Organizational learning is a frequently discussed term by many foreign scholars conducting organizational innovation research. Slater and Narver (1995) believe that organizational innovation has an impact on organizational learning. At the same time, there have emerged related empirical studies. For example, Hurley and Hult (1998) found that organizational learning has a significant impact on innovation. The confirmatory factor analysis of 187 R&D vice presidents by Calantone et al. (2002) showed that the path coefficient between learning orientation and corporate innovation ability defined by Calantone is 0.49 (p < 0.01). Hult et al. (2002) found that organizational learning has a direct impact on organizational innovation. Lian Yahui (2002) investigated 142 employees in a high-tech company in Taiwan. The regression coefficient between organizational learning facilitating factors and knowledge performance is 0.50. Yang et al.’s (2004) strucniral equation modeling (SEM) of the survey data of 863 people (one person in each firm) indicates that the regression coefficient between the dimension of "establishing systems to capture and share learning” and knowledge performance is 0.35. Therefore, the following hypothesis is set forth:
Hypothesis 17:
Organizational learning has a significant positive effect on organizational innovation.
Organizational learning and financial performance
The relationship between organizational learning and financial performance is a controversial research field. Day (1994) holds that learning has a direct impact on performance outcomes. Watkins and Marsick (1993) and Ellinger et al. (2002) demonstrate that financial performance is significantly related to learning organizational behavior perception. The results of Zheng Jinchang and Zhou Yunwei (2001) show that the total score of the learning organization questionnaire is significantly related to the three objective organizational performances of firms in the past four years. Yang et al. (2004) show that the regression coefficient between the dimension "providing strategic leadership for learning” and financial performance is 0.42. Lian Yahui (2002) showed that the regression coefficient between organizational learning facilitating factors and financial performance was 0.39. The research results of Calantone et al. (2002) show that the path coefficient from learning orientation in their definition to firm performance is 0.24. The research results of Chen and Zheng (2005) show that there are significant positive relations between the seven aspects of firm learning ability and firm performance (comprehensive performance).
However, contrary to the above views, Goh and Rlian's (2002) empirical study on the relationship between organizational learning capability and organizational performance found that the five learning abilities they studied had no significant correlation with financial performance. Research by Yeung et al. (1999) shows that there are different degrees of correlation between learning disabilities and business performance of firms. However, we believe that the results do not show that there is a strong direct relationship between the three.
74 The trans-level effectiveness of organizational learning We posit the following theoretical hypothesis:
Hypothesis 18:
Organizational learning has a significant positive effect on financial performance.
The role and effect of organizational innovation
Are organizational innovation and financial performance parallel when organizational learning influences the process of organizational innovation and financial performance at the organizational level? Organizational financial performance is the core goal of an organization, and organizational learning and organizational innovation are the methods to attain this goal. In the relationship between organizational learning and organizational innovation, the former is the premise of the latter. Only by improving organizational learning capability can firms have the basis of innovation. Therefore, this study hypothesizes that relationship between organizational learning and financial performance is mediated by organizational innovation.
Hypothesis 19:
Organizational innovation is the full mediator variable of organizational learning’s effect on financial performance.
Therefore, the research framework of this study can be summarized as shown in Figures 3.18 and 3.19. First, study the direct effects of organizational learning on these two variables (see Figure 3.18, including Hypotheses 17 and 18); then, study the mediating effect of organizational innovation on organizational learning’s impact on organizational financial performance (see Figure 3.19, including Hypothesis 19).
Figure 3.1S Research framework 1: direct effect of organizational learning on collective- level (H17.H18)
Figure 3.19 Research framework 2: the mediating role of organizational innovation between organizational learning and financial performance (HI9)
The trans-level effectiveness of organizational learning 75
