Innovation, organizational learning, and performance

a r t i c l e i n f o Literature examines the relationship between innovation and performance and asserts a positive relationship between organizational learning and both performance and innovation. However, few empirical studies analyze these relationships together. This article explores those relationships using SEM with data from 451 Spanish firms. The findings show that both variables — organizational learning and innovation — contribute positively to business performance, and that organizational learning affects innovation. Another finding of this study is that size and age of the firm, industry and environmental turbulence moderate these relations. play in enhancing a firm's competitive advantage. Some studies suggest that organizational learning and its output, organizational knowledge, are antecedents of innovation The basic assumption is that learning plays a key role in enabling companies to achieve speed and flexibility within the innovation process Organizational learning, innovation and performance relate positively to each other. However, research that studies the interrelationships between the three concepts simultaneously is still scarce. Previous studies usually focus on the innovativeness of the firm, which is to say, on the degree to which the organizational culture promotes and supports innovation (Keskin, 2006; Lee and Tsai, 2005) or analyzes only one type of innovation, mainly product innovation (Salavou and Lioukas, 2003). Thus, previous research provides a partial explanation only of the phenomenon of innovation. Similarly, most studies of organizational learning adopt a cultural perspective for measuring this concept. Very few studies (Darroch and McNaugton, 2003; Tippins and Sohi, 2003) analyzes the process of organizational learning. Since culture values are more difficult to change than specific actions, focusing on the process may be more helpful for practitioners. This study attempts to address the weaknesses of the preceding literature and analyzes the relationships between organizational learning, innovation and performance together in a single model. This study focuses on the organizational learning process and uses a complete measure of innovation. In addition, this paper analyzes the likely moderating effect of firm size and age, industry and environmental turbulence on the relationships between organizational learning, innovation and performance. The article starts with a review of the literature on these topics and a description of the model proposals. Then, the article presents the design of the study to test the model and the findings of this study. In the last section, the article discusses the managerial and academic implications of the study, its limitations and recommendations …