Small firm organisational learning: comparing the perceptions of need and style among UK support service advisors and small firm managers

Abstract

It is increasingly the case that within the academic literature, firms seeking to survive in rapidly changing and/or highly competitive markets are being advised to consider adopting an organisational learning philosophy as a strategy through which to develop new approaches to delivering greater customer value. This view is apparently shared by the UK Government, which has incorporated the concept of Lifelong Learning into its small firms support policy. This is despite the fact that to date in the academic literature, there is only limited anecdotal evidence of the positive contribution that organisational learning can make to enhancing the performance of firms. Surveys of small firm advisors and small manufacturing firms were undertaken. These surveys revealed significant differences of opinion between advisors and owner/managers over the need to utilise organisational learning to upgrade management practices. This survey also revealed that small firm advisors perceive most of their client firms as exhibiting a lower‐order learning style. The implications of these findings are discussed. A pilot scheme to embed a learning philosophy into SME sector is described and proposals presented on the needs for further research.