Learning rapidly and competently has become a pre-eminent strategy for improving organizational performance in the
new knowledge era. Improving dynamic learning capability is an exclusive strategy for corporate success in construction
industry. Thus engineering design firms should implement OL to accomplish a state of readiness for change and develop a
competence to respond and identify future business potentials. This study aims to analyze the relationship between
organizational learning (OL) and performance improvement (PI) in civil engineering design firms of Turkish construction
industry. OL structure in engineering design firms incorporates five constructs: organizational environment, strategy
development and implementation, supportive leadership, leveraging knowledge, and learning capability. The empirical data
was collected through a questionnaire survey conducted to engineering design firms registered to the Turkish Chamber of Civil
Engineers. The hypothesized model relationships were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that
each of the variables has a different role and significant positive impact on the OL process and organizational PI. The variables
“Supportive leadership” and “Learning capability” proved to be strongly significant and positively related to organizational
performance in engineering design firms. In engineering design firms, supportive leadership is needed in order to establish a
participative cultural environment that helps design a new form of organization which emphasizes learning, flexibility, and
rapid response. Learning capability is the potential to explore and exploit knowledge through learning flows that make possible
the development, evolution and use of knowledge stocks enacting engineering design firms and their members to add value to
the design business.
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