How does organizational learning contribute to corporate social responsibility and innovation performance? The dynamic capability view

Abstract

Purpose

Innovative organizations are increasingly facing challenges in a dynamic market to address corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues; however, research on how organizational learning (OL) contributes to organizations’ social responsibility and innovation remains sparse. This study aims to bridge the gap in previous research and examines how OL and dynamic capabilities (DCs) act as drivers of CSR performance (CSRP) and innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is survey-based and uses time-lagged, multisource data from 151 pharmaceutical industry-related companies in Iran. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the validity of the measurement model and hierarchical regression was used to test the key hypotheses.

Findings

DCs mediate the relationship between OL and CSRP. Moreover, CSRP significantly mediates the relationship between OL and innovation.

Originality/value

Drawing on the perspective of DCs, this research is among the first to offer new insights in a new context on what antecedent conditions lead to the successful implementation of organizational CSRP and how CSRP would, in turn, lead to subsequent innovation performance improvement.

Citation

Ghasemzadeh, P., Rezayat Sorkhabadi, S.M., Kebriaeezadeh, A., Nazari, J.A., Farzaneh, M. and Mehralian, G. (2022), "How does organizational learning contribute to corporate social responsibility and innovation performance? The dynamic capability view", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 26 No. 10, pp. 2579-2601. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2021-0069