Assessing the impact of organizational learning capability on product innovation performance: an empirical test

Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 23, Issue 2

Alegre J., Chiva R. Technovation, June 2008, Vol. 28 No. 6, Start page: 315, No. of pages: 12

Purpose – To assess the impact of organizational learning capability(OLC) on product innovation performance (PIP). Design/methodology/approach– Draws on the literature in discussing innovation in the context of OLC. Provides OLC characteristics centered on interaction: experimentation,risk-taking, external environment interaction, dialogue, participative decision-making. Develops related hypotheses and tests these by a Likert-style mail survey of Italian and Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers. Employs Chiva et al.’s (2007) instrument for OLC measurement, and Alegre et al.’s(2006) PIP scale (innovation efficacy and efficiency). Controls for firm size and location. Analyses 82 Italian returns and 100 Spanish returns (50 percent response overall) by structural equation models (SEMs). Uses confirmatory factor analysis for goodness-of-fit checks, and the elliptically reweighted least squares method for hypotheses testing. Findings - Tables factor correlations and displays OLC and PIP SEMs with parameter estimates. Concludes, inter alia, that OLC and PIP are second-order factors that strongly determine their dimensions and, the higher the degree of OLC, the higher the degree of PIP. Research limitations/implications – Seeks research regarding OLC and PIP in other industries and into OLC modes and processes. Originality/value – Shows, as far as Italian and Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers are concerned, that organizational learning capability enhances product innovation performance. Seeks research to support further generalization.ISSN: 0166-4972Reference:37AX500DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2007.09.003

Keywords: Ceramics, Italy, Learning organizations, New products, Product development, Spain