Organizational Learning Style and Competences: A Comparative Investigation of Relationship and Transactionally Orientated Small UK Manufacturing Firms

Abstract:     
In the literature, relationship oriented firms are being advised to exploit organizational learning as a route through which to acquire the knowledge required to survive in rapidly changing and/or highly competitive markets. There is, however, only limited anecdotal evidence of the positive contribution that organizational learning can make to enhancing the performance of firms. To acquire additional empirical data, a survey of learning style and perception of competencies relative to competitors in small manufacturing firms was undertaken. Results concerning organizational learning style appear to indicate that the firms that exhibit a relationship marketing style tend to adopt a double-loop (or higher order) learning style; whereas transactionally oriented firms appear to be single-loop learners. When compared with transactional firms, relationship oriented respondents also reported higher competences for some areas of marketing, HRM and information management practices. This conclusion was further validated through telephone interviews. The implications of these findings are discussed and proposals presented on the need for further research.(Publication abstract)

Keywords: Transactional firms, Relationship oriented firms, Manufacturing industries, Organizational learning, Firm performance, Marketing, Learning styles, Skills

Accepted Paper Series