Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to determine the effects of seven different learning organization types—such as continuous learning, inquiry and dialog, team learning, embedded systems, empowerment, system connection, sharing systems, strategic leadership on innovative work behaviors of white-collar employees who work in different companies. In order to test these effects, an inquiry was conducted on the employees who were the labor of Turkey’s top 500 industrial companies determined by Istanbul Chamber of Industry. Data obtained from 526 participants were used in the analysis of the research. As a result of the correlation analysis, significant and positive relations were determined between all components of learning organization and IWB. Regression analysis was performed to reveal the effects of learning organizations on IWB. According to the results, it has been identified that only continuous learning (0.479, p < 0.000) and strategic leadership (0.381, p < 0.000) have statistically significant and positive effects on innovative behavior. Whereas, it was found that all the other subdimensions of learning organization (inquiry and dialog, team learning, embedded systems, empowerment, system connection, sharing systems) do not have statistically significant effects on the innovative work behaviors of employees.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York, NY: Springer.
Amabile, T. M. (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 10(1), 123–167.
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity and innovation in organizations. Harvard Business School Backround Note, pp. 196–239.
Appelbaum, S. H., & Goransson, L. (1997). Transformational and adaptive learning within the learning organization: A framework for research and application. The Learning Organization, 4(3), 115–128.
Argyris, C. (1977). Double loop learning in organizations. Harvard Business Review, 55(5), 115–125.
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Awang, A. H., Sapie, N. M., Hussain, M. Y., Ishak, S., & Yusaof, R. (2014). Organizational learning and work environment: A formation of innovative work behavior at Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In ICICKM 2014 11th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Sydney (pp. 30–39), Sydney.
Bateson, G. (1973). Steps to an ecology of mind. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Bennett, J. K., & O’Brien, M. J. (1994). The building blocks of the learning organization. Training, 31(6), 41–49.
Binnewies, C., Ohly, S., & Sonnentag, S. (2007). Taking personal initiative and communicating about ideas: What is important for the creative process and for idea creativity? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16(4), 432–455.
Brazeal, D. V., & Herbert, T. T. (1999). The genesis of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(3), 29–46.
Cadwallader, S., Jarvis, C. B., Bitner, M. J., & Ostrom, A. L. (2010). Frontline employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 219–239.
Calvert, G., Mobley, S., & Marshall, L. (1994). Grasping the learning organization. Training & Development, 48(6), 38–44.
Cavus, M. F., & Bicer, M. (2016). Relationship between organizational ethical climate and innovative behavior: An example from Turkey. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(10), 117–127.
Corbett, A. C. (2005). Experiential learning within the process of opportunity identification and exploitation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(4), 473–491.
Crossan, M. M., & Apaydin, M. (2010). A multi-dimensional framework of organizational innovation: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Management Studies, 47(6), 1154–1191.
Cummings, A., & Oldham, G. R. (1997). Enhancing creativity: Managing work contexts for the high potential employee. California Management Review, 40(1), 22–38.
Daniels, S. (1994). The learning organization. Work Study, 43(8), 5–6.
Davis, J. E. (1997). Two questions which opened the door to organizational growth. Journal of Workplace Learning, 9(4), 116–123.
De Jong, J. P. J. (2006). Individual innovation: The connection between leadership and employees’ innovative work behavior. Paper provided by EIM business and policy research in its series scales research reports with number R200604. Retrieved January 9, 2019, from http://www.entrepreneurship-sme.eu/pdf-ez/R20 0604.pdf
De Jong, J. P., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2007). How leaders influence employees’ innovative behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 10(1), 41–64.
De Jong, J., & Den Hartog, D. (2008). Innovative work behavior: Measurement and validation (pp. 1–27). Zoetermeer-Netherlands: Scientific analysis of entrepreneurship and SMEs.
De Jong, J., & Den Hartog, D. (2010). Measuring innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(1), 23–36.
Dulaimi, M. F., Ling, F. Y., & Bajracharya, A. (2003). Organizational motivation and inter-organizational interaction in construction innovation in Singapore. Construction Management and Economics, 21(3), 307–318.
Edmondson, A., & Moingeon, B. (1998). From organizational learning to the learning organization. Management Learning, 29(1), 5–20.
Er-Ming, X., & Han, Z. (2008). Organizational learning and innovation: Research based on different ownership identity. In 15th International Conference on Management Science & Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 10–12 September (pp. 921–926), CA.
Eshlaghy, A. T., & Maatofi, A. (2011). Learning orientation, innovation and performance: Evidence from small-sized business firms in Iran. European Journal of Social Sciences, 19(1), 114–122.
Ezzamel, M., Lilley, S., & Willmott, H. (1994). The ‘new organization’ and the ‘new managerial work’. European Management Journal, 12(4), 454–461.
Fiol, C. M., & Lyles, M. A. (1985). Organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 803–813.
French, W. L., & Bell, C. H. (1978). Organization development: Behavioral science interventions for organization improvement. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Garavan, T. (1997). The learning organization: A review and evaluation. The Learning Organization, 4(1), 18–29.
Gardiner, P., & Whiting, P. (1997). Success factors in learning organizations: An empirical study. Industrial and Commercial Training, 29(2), 41–48.
Gardner, J. W. (1963). Self-renewal: The individual and the innovative society. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Garvin, D. (1993). Building a learning organization. Harvard Business Review, 71(4), 78–91.
Gephart, M. A., Marsick, V. J., Van Buren, M. E., Spiro, M. S., & Senge, P. (1996). Learning organizations come alive. Training & Development, 50(12), 34–46.
Griego, O. V., Geroy, G. D., & Wright, P. C. (2000). Predictors of learning organizations: A human resource development practitioner’s perspective. The Learning Organization, 7(1), 5–12.
Harrison, R. (1993). Human resource management: Issues & strategies. Wokingham: Addison-Wesley.
Hayes, R. H., Wheelwright, S. C., & Clark, K. B. (1998). Dynamics manufacturing: Creating the learning organization. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. In S. T. Fiske, D. L. Schachter, & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Annual review of psychology (Vol. 61, pp. 569–598). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
Hirst, G., Van Knippenberg, D., & Zhou, J. (2009). A cross-level perspective on employee creativity: Goal orientation, team learning behavior, and individual creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 52(2), 280–293.
Hitt, W. D. (1995). The learning organization: Some reflections on organizational renewal. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 16(8), 17–25.
Hodgkinson, M. (2000). Managerial perceptions of barriers to becoming a ‘learning organization’. The Learning Organization, 7(3), 156–167.
Holyoke, L. B., Sturko, P. A., Wood, N. B., & Wu, L. J. (2012). Are academic departments perceived as learning organizations? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 40(4), 436–448.
Howell, J. M., Shea, C. M., & Higgins, C. A. (2005). Champions of product innovations: Defining, developing, and validating a measure of champion behavior. Journal of Business Venturing, 20(5), 641–661.
Hurley, R. F., & Hult, G. T. M. (1998). Innovation, market orientation, and organizational learning: An integration and empirical examination. The Journal of Marketing, 62(3), 42–54.
Iles, P. (1994). Developing learning environments: Challenges for theory, research and practice. Journal of European Industrial Training, 18(3), 3–9.
Isen, A. M. (2001). An influence of positive affect on decision making in complex situations: Theoretical issues with practical implications. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 11(2), 75–85.
Janssen, O. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 287–302.
Janssen, O. (2004). How fairness perceptions make innovative behavior more or less stressful. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 201–215.
Janssen, O. (2005). The joint impact of perceived influence and supervisor supportiveness on employee innovative behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78(4), 573–579.
Janssen, O., Van de Vliert, E., & West, M. (2004). The bright and dark sides of individual and group innovation: A special issue introduction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 129–145.
Johnston, R. E., & Bate, J. D. (2013). The power of strategy innovation: A new way of linking creativity and strategic planning to discover great business opportunities. New York: AMACOM Division of American Management Association.
Kanter, R. (1988). When a thousand flowers bloom: Structural, collective, and social conditions for innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 10, 169–211.
Kezar, A. (2005). What campuses need to know about organizational learning and the learning organization. New Directions for Higher Education, 131, 7–22.
Kleysen, R. F., & Street, C. T. (2001). Toward a multi-dimensional measure of individual innovative behavior. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 2(3), 284–296.
Leiter, M. P., & Bakker, A. B. (2010). Work engagement: Introduction. In A. B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 1–9). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Levitt, B., & March, J. G. (1988). Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14(1), 319–338.
Lippitt, G. L. (1969). Organizational renewal. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1975.
Lippitt, M. (1997). Creating a learning environment. Human Resources Professional, 10, 23–26.
Lipshitz, R., Friedman, V. J., & Popper, M. (2007). Demystifying organizational learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Marquardt, M. J. (1996). Building the learning organization: A systems approach to quantum improvement and global success. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Marsick, V. J., & Watkins, K. E. (1999). Facilitating learning in organizations: Making learning count. Aldershot: Gower.
Marsick, V. J., & Watkins, K. E. (2003). Demonstrating the value of an organization’s learning culture: The dimensions of the learning organization questionnaire. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 5(2), 132–151.
McManus, K. (1995). Acquiring knowledge and skills for twenty-first century supervision. Management Development Review, 8(5), 18–24.
Messmann, G., & Mulder, R. H. (2011). Innovative work behaviour in vocational colleges: Understanding how and why innovations are developed. Vocations and Learning, 4(1), 63–84.
Messmann, G., & Mulder, R. H. (2012). Development of a measurement instrument for innovative work behaviour as a dynamic and context-bound construct. Human Resource Development International, 15(1), 43–59.
Monica Hu, M. L., Horng, J. S., & Sun, Y. H. C. (2009). Hospitality teams: Knowledge sharing and service innovation performance. Tourism Management, 30(1), 41–50.
Morris, L. (1993). Learning organization. In valuing the learning organization. Paper presented at the Ernst & Young National Professional Development Group, McLean, VA.
Mumford, M. D., & Gustafson, S. B. (1988). Creativity syndrome: Integration, application, and innovation. Psychological Bulletin, 103(1), 27–43.
Nadler, L., & Nadler, Z. (1994). Designing training programs: The critical events model (2nd ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
Oldham, G. R., & Cummings, A. (1996). Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal, 39(3), 607–634.
Park, Y. K., Song, J. H., Yoon, S. W., & Kim, J. (2014). Learning organization and innovative behavior: The mediating effect of work engagement. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(1/2), 75–94.
Patterson, F. (2000). Maximizing innovation in the workplace: The development of a new model and measurement tool. Training Journal, 8, 23–25.
Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J., & Boydell, T. (1988). Learning company project: A report on work under-taken October 1987 to April 1988. Sheffield: The Training Agency.
Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J., & Boydell, T. (1991). The learning company: A strategy for sustainable development. London: McGraw-Hill.
Pieterse, A. N., Van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M., & Stam, D. (2010). Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(4), 609–623.
Ramadani, V., & Gërguri, S. (2011). Innovations: Principles and strategies. Strategic Change, 20(3–4), 101–110.
Ramadani, V., Gërguri, S., Rexhepi, G., & Abduli, S. (2013). Innovation and economic development: The case of FYR of Macedonia. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 15(3), 324–345.
Rhee, J., Park, T., & Lee, D. H. (2010). Drivers of innovativeness and performance for innovative SMEs in South Korea: Mediation of learning orientation. Technovation, 30, 65–75.
Robinson, T., Clemson, B., & Keating, C. (1997). Development of high performance organizational learning units. The Learning Organization, 4(5), 228–234.
Rowley, J. (1998). Creating a learning organization in higher education. Industrial and Commercial Training, 30(1), 16–19.
Sackmann, S. A., Eggenhofer-Rehart, P. M., & Friesl, M. (2009). Sustainable change: Long-term efforts toward developing a learning organization. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 45(4), 521–549.
Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 600–619.
Salanova, M., Agut, S., & Peiro, J. M. (2005). Linking organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1217–1227.
Salanova, M., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). A cross-national study of work engagement as a mediator between job resources and proactive behaviour. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(1), 116–131.
Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W. B., Xanthopoulou, D., & Bakker, A. B. (2010). The gain spiral of resources and work engagement: Sustaining a positive worklife. In A. B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 118–131). New York: Psychology Press.
Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schön, D. A. (1975). Deutero-learning in organizations: Learning for. Organizational Gynamics, 4(1), 2–16.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1998). Following the leader in R&D: The joint effect of subordinate problem-solving style and leader-member relations on innovative behavior. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 45(1), 3–10.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.
Shane, S. A. (1994). Are champions different from non-champions? Journal of Business Venturing, 9(5), 397–421.
Škerlavaj, M., Song, J. H., & Lee, Y. (2010). Organizational learning culture, innovative culture and innovations in South Korean firms. Expert Systems with Applications, 37(9), 6390–6403.
Song, J. H., Lim, D. H., Kang, I. G., & Kim, W. (2014). Team performance in learning organizations: Mediating effect of employee engagement. The Learning Organization, 21(5), 290–309.
Stata, R., & Almond, P. (1989). Organizational learning: The key to management innovation. The Training and Development Sourcebook, 2, 31–42.
Van de Ven, A. H. (1986). Central problems in the management of innovation. Management Science, 32(5), 590–607.
Van der Vegt, G. S., & Janssen, O. (2003). Joint impact of interdependence and group diversity on innovation. Journal of Management, 29(5), 729–751.
Vinarski-Peretz, H., & Carmeli, A. (2011). Linking care felt to engagement in innovative behaviors in the workplace: The mediating role of psychological conditions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(1), 43–53.
Wang, Z., & Wang, N. (2012). Knowledge sharing, innovation and firm performance. Expert Systems with Applications, 39(10), 8899–8908.
Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (1993). Sculpting the learning organization: Lessons in the art and science of systemic change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (1996). In action: Creating the learning organization. Arlington, TX: ASTD Press.
Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. (1997). Dimensions of the learning organization questionnaire [survey]. Warwick, RI: Partners for the Learning Organization.
Weerawardena, J., O’Cass, A., & Julian, C. (2006). Does industry matter? Examining the role of industry structure and organizational learning in innovation and brand performance. Journal of Business Research, 59, 37–45.
West, P. (1994). The concept of the learning organization. Journal of European Industrial Training, 18(1), 15–21.
West, M. A. (2002). Sparkling fountains or stagnant ponds: An integrative model of creativity and innovation implementation in work groups. Applied Psychology, 51(3), 355–387.
West, M. A., & Farr, J. L. (1989). Innovation at work: Psychological perspectives. Social Behaviour, 4, 15–30.
Wheatley, M., Tannenbaum, R., Griffin, P. Y., & Quade, K. (2003). Organization development at work: Conversations on the values, applications, and future of OD (Vol. 22). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Academy of Management Review, 18(2), 293–321.
Yoon, S. W., Song, J. H., Lim, D. H., & Joo, B. K. (2010). Structural determinants of team performance: The mutual influences of learning culture, creativity, and knowledge. Human Resource Development International, 13(3), 249–264.
Young, L. D. (2012). How to promote innovative behavior at work? The role of justice and support within organizations. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 46(3), 220–243.
Yuan, F., & Woodman, R. W. (2010). Innovative behavior in the workplace: The role of performance and image outcome expectations. Academy of Management Journal, 53(2), 323–342.
Zhang, X., & Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mehmet, B. (2020). Exploring the Effects of Learning Organization on Innovative Work Behaviors of White-Collar Workers: Sample from Turkey. In: Ramadani, V., Palalić, R., Dana, LP., Krueger, N., Caputo, A. (eds) Organizational Mindset of Entrepreneurship. Studies on Entrepreneurship, Structural Change and Industrial Dynamics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36951-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36951-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36950-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36951-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)