Is organizational learning culture a good bet?

Abstract

Purpose Interest in the relationship between organizational culture and performance is not new but it still attracts considerable attention from researchers. In the literature on organizational learning, organizational culture is mainly conceived as an essential condition to facilitate and support learning and consequently as an important feature in achieving organizational performance nowadays. In the scope of this research topic, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of organizational learning culture on two organizational outcomes – profitability and customer satisfaction, and the mediation effect of total quality management (TQM) in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 107 firms and the technique used for data analysis was structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal a positive direct impact of organizational learning culture on organizational profitability and a positive indirect effect, through TQM, on customer satisfaction. Originality/value These findings support to a body of literature that claims the relevance of developing a cultural orientation toward learning in organizations in order to contribute to organizational success. This study also takes into account some methodological features in order to increase the quality of culture-performance research.