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This study aims to investigate the psychometric characteristics of a Chinese version of the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ^©).

The DLOQ^©, developed by Watkins and Marsick in 1997, assessed the characteristics of a learning organization. This study employed a survey validate utility of the DLOQ^© for the Taiwanese context.

Psychometric analyses revealed that the Chinese DLOQ^© has reasonable reliability, and that the seven‐dimensional factor structure was appropriate for the Taiwanese context. Study results also revealed that the seven dimensions of a learning organization can classify different organization types successfully and demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between organization type and perceptual measures of organizational performance.

This study has implications for both research and practice in HRD. It offers preliminary evidence of reliability and validity for the Chinese DLOQ©. The positive evidence supporting the psychometric properties of the Chinese DLOQ© indicates the potential for particular cross‐cultural applications. Experimental results also suggest that the Chinese DLOQ© can be utilized to determine cultural differences in building a learning organization. Further studies are required to investigate the relationships between the concept of a learning organization and its antecedent and outcomes variables, such as organizational structure, culture, and performance.

This study confirms that the validity of applying the seven dimensions as determinants of a learning organization in the Taiwanese context and, in particular, supports the cross‐validity of the DLOQ© in this context. This study also offers practical help to understand the concept of organizational learning and developing learning organizations.

The aim of this paper is to provide a framework to measure the response of blue‐collar workers to new technology in manufacturing and to establish the relationship between learning culture and that response.

The data were collected with a survey questionnaire from 12 manufacturing sites that were implementing a number of diverse new technologies. The dimensions of worker response were identified with exploratory factor analysis and the relationship between these factors and learning culture was established with path analysis.

Factor analysis identified seven dimensions of worker response: disgruntlement, job‐security concerns, accommodation, informal learning, resistance, discussion, and formal learning. Learning culture had a large, statistically significant relationship with disgruntlement and medium, statistically significant relationships with job‐security concerns, accommodation, informal learning, and formal learning.

The sample was limited to manufacturing locations in the southeastern USA and the respondents were almost all male and either White or African‐American.

These findings establish a strong positive relationship between learning culture and behavioral, affective and cognitive responses of workers to new technology. This is key for supporting learning culture in organizations that naturally are inclined to worker isolation and independence.

Empirical work of this nature is limited in manufacturing facilities. These organizations tend to be closed to research because of concerns regarding the security of proprietary information or the personal safety of the researcher.

The organizational learning and learning organization literatures lack empirical support in delineating the role leaders play in fostering or hindering learning. This study aims to build upon previous research on facilitative leadership in learning organizations to consider how leaders contribute to and detract from learning at the individual and organizational levels in the corporate context.

Preliminary survey research confirmed that the Fortune 500 company being considered for the study was perceived as a learning organization by its employees. The study then proceeded with critical incident interviews with managers and their direct reports, resulting in a cross‐case content analysis of four categories: triggers, beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes, which prompted the development of a preliminary model of the learning process depicted by participants.

The findings revealed that learning leaders have several distinct characteristics and skills, but the participants gave the most emphasis to emotionally intelligent communication, a prominent feature of facilitative leadership.

The study represents the perceptions of participants within a particular context at a specific time. Future research could include longitudinal, cross‐cultural studies that focus on communication processes related to learning.

The study confirmed the importance of facilitative leadership while highlighting both cognitive and emotional aspects of learning. It also pinpointed mechanisms for institutionalizing learning.

The study offers empirical support for the centrality of facilitative leadership while pinpointing communication competence and emotional intelligence as essential aspects of effective learning leadership.