Effects of organizational learning on performance: the moderating roles of trust in leaders and organizational justice

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify how organizational learning processes influence perceived organizational performance and examine the moderating roles of organizational justice and trust in managers therein.Design/methodology/approachThis study develops a theoretical model to exhibit how knowledge acquisition and transfer activities influence perceived organizational performance. Data were collected from 515 respondents and analyzed by PROCESS macro for SPSS.FindingsThis study found that feedback learning flows are strongly mediated between learning stocks and organizational performance. It also found that organizational justice moderates the effect of learning stocks on organizational performance through feed-forward learning flows, while trust in manager moderates the effect of learning stocks on organizational performance through feedback learning flows.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has a limitation in which it uses self-report data to measure all constructs. The objective measure may be necessary for future study.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study are twofold. First, it finds that the higher organizational justice, the better the transfer of knowledge from the bottom up. When firms need to explore new knowledge, fairness in procedure and the distribution system is critical. Second, the higher the trust in management, the better the transfer of knowledge from the top down. The role of managers is instrumental in persuading employees and disseminating knowledge.Originality/valueCombining functionalist and critical perspectives and developing a theoretical model, this study contributes to the understanding of how trust and justice facilitate learning activities within organizations.