Empirical Investigation of Construction Contractors' Organizational Learning
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 128, Issue 5
Abstract
Conceptual frameworks dominate organizational learning literature with limited empirical assessments. This raises several questions about the validity and applicability of the various conceptual frameworks for how managers can build organizational learning capabilities. As such, lessons from the conceptual frameworks of organizational learning for addressing performance improvement that might have been used by construction contractors have been limited. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of organizational learning by construction contractors. The principles that underlie organizational learning and the factors that promote double-loop learning as a strategy for improving construction contractors’ business processes are presented. The paper has also established the learning orientations and focus of the surveyed construction contractors to determine their organizational learning dimensions as well as the factors that induced their double-loop learning, as rich lessons for organizations in the construction industry.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Argyris, C. (1977). “Double-loop learning in organizations.” Harvard Bus. Rev., Sept.–Oct., 115–125.
Barlow, J., and Jashapara, A.(1998). “Organizational learning and inter-firm ‘partnering’ in UK construction industry.” The Learning Organization, 5(2), 86–98.
Calvert, G., Mobley, S., and Marshall, L.(1994). “Grasping the learning organization.” Train. Dev., 48(6), 39–43.
Campbell, T., and Cairns, H.(1994). “Developing and measuring the learning organization.” Industrial Commercial Training, 26(7), 10–15.
Chiesa, V., Coughlan, P., and Voss, C.(1996). “Development of a technical innovation audit.” Prod. Innov. Manage., 13(2), 105–136.
Construction industry statistics, size of firms. (1997). Dept. of Trade and Industry, London.
Crossan, M. M. (1995). “A multi-level framework of organizational learning.” The management of international joint ventures: An organizational learning perspective, A. Inkpen, ed., Routledge, London, 71–89.
De Geus, A.(1997). “The living company.” Harvard Bus. Rev., 75(2), 51–59.
“Financial review of top one hundred UK construction contractors.” (1996). Constr. News, London, August 22, no. 6479.
Forrester, J. W. (1994). “Policies, decision, and information sources for modeling.” Modeling for learning organization, J. D. W. Morecroft and J. D. Sterman, eds., Productivity Press, Portland, 51–84.
Garvin, D. A.(1993). “Building a learning organization.” Harvard Bus. Rev., 71(4), 78–91.
Goh, S., and Richards, G.(1997). “Benchmarking the learning capability of organizations.” Eur. Manage. J., 15(5), 575–583.
Jashapara, A. (1995). “Learning in organizations, a study of the UK construction industry.” PhD thesis, Henley Management College, U.K.
Kim, D. H.(1993). “The link between individual and organizational learning.” Sloan Manage. Rev., 35(1), 37–50.
Kululanga, G. K. (1999). “A framework to facilitate construction contractors' organizational learning.” PhD thesis, Loughborough Univ., Loughborough, U.K.
Kululanga, G. K., Edum-Fotwe, F., and McCaffer, R.(2001). “Measuring construction contractors' organizational learning.” J. Build. Res. Info., 29(1), 21–29.
Kululanga, G. K., McCaffer, R., Price, A. D. F., and Edum-Fotwe, F.(1999). “Learning mechanisms employed by construction contractors.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 125(4), 215–233.
Nevis, E. C., Dibella, A. J., and Gould, J. M.(1995). “Understanding organizations as learning systems.” Sloan Manage. Rev., 36(2), 73–85.
“New Civil Engineer supplement contractors file.” (1997). New Civ. Eng., July, 19–28.
Nonaka, I.(1991). “The knowledge creating company.” Harvard Bus. Rev., 69(6), 96–104.
Pedler, M., Boydell, T., and Burgoyne, J. (1997). The learning company: Strategy for sustainable development, McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead, U.K.
Senge, P.(1991). “The learning organization made plain.” Train. Dev. J., 45(10), 37–44.
Siegel, S., and Castellan, J. N. (1988). Non-parametric statistics for behavioral sciences, McGraw-Hill, London.
Stata, R.(1989). “Organizational learning: The key to management innovation.” Sloan Manage. Rev., 30(3), 63–74.
Tull, D. S., and Hawkins, D. I. (1993). Marketing research: Measurement and method: A text with cases, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Ulrich, D., Jick, T., and Von Glinow, M. (1993). “High impact learning: Building and diffusing learning capability.” Org. Dyn., Autumn, 52–66.
Walsh, J. P., and Ungson, G. R.(1991). “Organizational memory.” Acad. Manage. Rev., 16(1), 57–91.
Wright, P. C., and Belcourt, M.(1995). “Down the trenches: Learning organization.” The Learning Organization, 2(1), 34–38.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 128 • Issue 5 • October 2002
Pages: 385 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 23, 2001
Accepted: Aug 21, 2001
Published online: Sep 13, 2002
Published in print: Oct 2002
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.