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11 – 20 of 68Joaquín Camps, Joaquín Alegre and Federico Torres
The present study aims to revalidate a measurement scale for organizational learning capability in the context of university faculty members. This is a particularly relevant…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to revalidate a measurement scale for organizational learning capability in the context of university faculty members. This is a particularly relevant context because it deals with knowledge‐intensive services. Following Chiva et al., organizational learning capability was conceptualized as a second factor construct including five dimensions: experimentation, risk taking, interaction with the external environment, dialogue and participative decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, a leading university in Costa Rica. The survey was addressed to faculty members. A total of 795 valid questionnaires were obtained. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the construct measurement model was tested and the scale was validated.
Findings
The results show the internal consistency and the satisfactory factorial structure of the scale within the context of knowledge‐intensive services.
Originality/value
This validation of organizational learning capability measurement instruments has considered cultural differences (Spain vs Costa Rica), sectorial differences (industrial vs services), and the different educational background distribution of the sample. Another contribution of our study is the consideration of the non‐independence of observations through the complex Mplus method, since the samples in human resource research are affected by multilevel influences.
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Joaquín Alegre and Magdalena Cladera
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of tourist intentions to revisit a destination, paying special attention to the effects of satisfaction and the number of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of tourist intentions to revisit a destination, paying special attention to the effects of satisfaction and the number of previous visits. In order to guarantee an incentive to improve the product, satisfaction must be the main determinant. A second objective is to analyse the contribution that satisfaction with different aspects of a destination makes on overall satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation model (SEM) has been estimated. Some of the variables involved in the model are ordinal. Thus, tetrachoric, polychoric and polyserial correlations were calculated and then used as the input for structural equation modelling.
Findings
Both satisfaction and the number of previous visits have a positive effect on intention to return. However, the main determinant is satisfaction. Satisfaction with different aspects of the destination has a differing effect on overall satisfaction. Attributes associated with the basic sun and sand tourist product are the main determinants of overall satisfaction.
Practical implications
To promote repeat visits, it is crucial to identify the determinants of the intention to return. The factors that influence this variable can be improved in order to increase the likelihood of repeat visits.
Originality/value
Methods to estimate SEM with categorical variables have not been applied before to the field of tourism. In comparison with previous studies of repeat visitation, the main contribution of the model is that it simultaneously takes into consideration two causal links with the number of previous visits, the first affecting overall satisfaction and the second having a direct effect on a tourist's intention to return.
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Fermín Mallén, Ricardo Chiva, Joaquín Alegre and Jacob Guinot
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between altruistic leader behaviors, organizational learning capability and organizational performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between altruistic leader behaviors, organizational learning capability and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The sampling frame consists of several databases or listings of business that consider people as a key element of the organization and are considered by their employees to be good firms to work for or organizational environments where human resources management has high priority (n=251). The authors use structural equation modeling to test if the relationship between altruistic leader behaviors and organizational performance is mediated by organizational learning capability.
Findings
Results suggest that organizational learning capability fully mediates between altruistic leader behaviors and organizational performance. Thus, organizational learning capability plays a key role in explaining how altruistic leader behaviors affect organizational performance, essentially because it facilitates the creation of a creative, participatory and dialogue-based environment that promotes organizational learning.
Research limitations/implications
The database used in the study is very heterogeneous. Future research might delimit the database by organization size or sector. Qualitative studies may also improve our understanding of the relationships studied and enable other concepts to be included.
Practical implications
This study provides evidence of the positive relationship between altruistic leaders and performance. However, recruiting and fomenting altruistic leaders is not sufficient on its own to improve performance, and should be accompanied by implementing other facilitating factors of organizational learning such as dialogue or experimentation.
Originality/value
In recent years some studies have linked leadership with organizational learning. However, this is one of the first studies to concentrate on altruistic leader behaviors as such, a concept that has received scant mention in the literature despite its importance in a number of leadership styles, and its relevance today as an alternative to the egotistic leader. The authors offer empirical evidence of the role of altruistic leader behavior as an antecedent of organizational learning capability and subjective measures of performance.
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The fifth volume of the Book Series Progress in International Business Research combines two basic themes in international business studies. On the one hand, global…
Abstract
The fifth volume of the Book Series Progress in International Business Research combines two basic themes in international business studies. On the one hand, global interdependence continues to rise, even though it looked as if the financial and economic crisis of 2008 and its aftermath would retard or stop the globalization process. On the other hand, firms engaged in international activities keep testing out new organizational structures that reconfigure their boundaries. Property rights over assets and control over decisions within and across these boundaries are central to the design of the multinational organization. Although the boundaries of the firm were originally stressed by Reginald Coase in his famous Economica article of 1937 (Volume 4, pp. 254–266) about The Nature of the Firm, the increasing complexity of international activities and the changing relationships between countries and regions make this into a continuous research challenge in international business.
Anabel Fernández-Mesa, José Luis Ferreras-Méndez, Joaquin Alegre and Ricardo Chiva
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of information technology competency (ITC) on internal and external learning competency and the relations among ITC, internal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of information technology competency (ITC) on internal and external learning competency and the relations among ITC, internal and external learning competency and the commercial success of innovation (CSI)
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses survey data from 186 companies. Through structural equation modeling the paper assesses the links between ITC, internal and external learning competency and the CSI.
Findings
First, this study finds that ITC plays a critical role in internal and external learning competencies. Second, internal and external learning competencies are directly related to the CSI. Third, internal and external learning competencies mediate the relation between ITC and the CSI.
Research limitations/implications
The research is cross-sectional, so cause-effect relation cannot be definitively inferred from the results.
Originality/value
This study contributes to organizational learning research, identifying a key antecedent of internal and external learning competencies – ITC – and analyzing the link between internal and external learning competencies and the CSI. Moreover, this study is relevant to IT literature because it shows that ITC, on its own, is insufficient to generate and maintain a competitive advantage. Firms need complementary strategic capabilities such as learning competencies to strengthen the effect of ITC on firm performance.
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Ricardo Chiva, Joaquin Alegre and Rafael Lapiedra
The present study sets out to propose and validate a measurement scale that aims to capture the organisational capability to learn, based on a comprehensive analysis of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study sets out to propose and validate a measurement scale that aims to capture the organisational capability to learn, based on a comprehensive analysis of the facilitating factors for learning. The organisational learning capability scale consists of 14 items grouped into five dimensions: experimentation, risk taking, interaction with the external environment, dialogue, and participative decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from eight Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers. The survey was addressed to shop floor workers. A total of 157 valid questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 61 per cent. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the construct measurement model was tested and the scale was validated.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that the operational measure developed here satisfies the criteria for unidimensionality, reliability, and validity.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the sample features, final results should be considered with caution. Further research is needed to validate the organisational learning capability scale in other contexts and addressed to other kinds of respondents. However, this study contributes to organisational learning research by providing a valid and reliable operational measure that is expected to help researchers in future theory testing.
Practical implications
The proposed measurement scale for organisational learning capability could be implemented as an audit tool. Thus, managers could unveil which organisational learning issues are strong and which are weak. This would provide guidance for improvement.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new measurement instrument for organisational learning capability.
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