IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/amfeco/v13y2011i30p464-481.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploratory Research on the Organizational Learning in Small Enterprises and Implications for the Economic Higher Education

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen Bălan

    (Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Daniela Ioniţă

    (Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

Learning is an issue of critical importance for small enterprises. The aim of this article is to explore the organizational learning processes of such enterprises, in order to identify the potential implications for the economic higher education. The topic is approached from a multi-fold perspective, at the interface among entrepreneurship, management and marketing. The article contributes to better understanding the processes, factors of influence and results of the organizational learning, by means of direct research based on the method of semi-structured interview. The research universe consisted in small enterprises within the services sector, from Bucharest. According to the research results, organizational learning is rudimentary, substantiated on the individual learning of the entrepreneur. Learning is experiential and the main outcomes are skills and concepts. Knowledge dissemination is deficient, the main flow being oriented only from entrepreneur to employees. The entrepreneur cannot control knowledge absorption but can evaluate and encourage it. The research revealed a relationship between learning and entrepreneurial orientation, according to which learning enhancement leads to innovation and opportunity identification. Following the research results, suggestions for future research and conclusions relative to the implications on economic higher education were formulated.

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen Bălan & Daniela Ioniţă, 2011. "Exploratory Research on the Organizational Learning in Small Enterprises and Implications for the Economic Higher Education," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(30), pages 464-481, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:13:y:2011:i:30:p:464-481
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_1057.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marieta Olaru & Vasile Dinu & Ghiorghiţa Stoleriu & Diana Şandru & Violeta Dincă, 2010. "Responsible Commercial Activity Of Smes And Specific Values Of Sustainable Development In Terms Of The European Excellence Model," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(27), pages 10-26, February.
    2. Michael Marquardt & Deborah Waddill, 2004. "The power of learning in action learning: a conceptual analysis of how the five schools of adult learning theories are incorporated within the practice of action learning," Action Learning: Research and Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 185-202, September.
    3. Diamanto Politis, 2005. "The Process of Entrepreneurial Learning: A Conceptual Framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(4), pages 399-424, July.
    4. Chien‐Huang Lin & Ching‐Huai Peng & Danny T. Kao, 2008. "The innovativeness effect of market orientation and learning orientation on business performance," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(8), pages 752-772, November.
    5. Xiaobo Wu & Rufei Ma & Guannan Xu, 2009. "Accelerating Secondary Innovation through Organizational Learning: A Case Study and Theoretical Analysis," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4-5), pages 389-409.
    6. Jerez-Gomez, Pilar & Cespedes-Lorente, Jose & Valle-Cabrera, Ramon, 2005. "Organizational learning capability: a proposal of measurement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(6), pages 715-725, June.
    7. Tanya Menon & Jeffrey Pfeffer, 2003. "Valuing Internal vs. External Knowledge: Explaining the Preference for Outsiders," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 497-513, April.
    8. Marinela Vrîncianu & Liana Anica-Popa & Ionut Anica-Popa, 2009. "Organizational Memory: an Approach from Knowledge Management and Quality Management of Organizational Learning Perspectives," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(26), pages 473-481, June.
    9. Vasile Dinu, 2010. "Commercial Activity And The Sustainable Development," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(27), pages 5-7, February.
    10. Dimo Dimov, 2007. "From Opportunity Insight to Opportunity Intention: The Importance of Person–Situation Learning Match," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(4), pages 561-583, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Plotnikova & Isidoro Romero & Juan A. Martínez-Román, 2016. "Process innovation in small businesses: the self-employed as entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 939-954, December.
    2. Bogdan Gabriel Nistoreanu & Georgica Gheorghe, 2014. "The Perception of the Academics and Students Regarding the Entrepreneurial Education Iin Economic Education," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 16(37), pages 811-811, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Camelia-Beatrice MAEREAN & Eugen ALBU, 2019. "Befriending Innovation €“ From Entrepreneurial Vision To Public Policy," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(1), pages 499-507, November.
    2. Daniel Adrian Gârdan & Mihai Andronie & Iuliana Petronela Gârdan & Irina Elena Andronie & Mariana Iatagan & Iulian Hurloiu, 2018. "Bioeconomy Development and Using of Intellectual Capital for the Creation of Competitive Advantages by SMEs in the Field of Biotechnology," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 20(49), pages 647-647, August.
    3. Tomina Saveanu & Daniel Badulescu & Sorana Saveanu & Maria-Madela Abrudan & Alina Badulescu, 2021. "The Role of Owner-Managers in Shaping CSR Activity of Romanian SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Amal Alnamrouti & Husam Rjoub & Hale Ozgit, 2022. "Do Strategic Human Resources and Artificial Intelligence Help to Make Organisations More Sustainable? Evidence from Non-Governmental Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-23, June.
    5. Jarmila Šebestová & Kateřina Nowáková, 2013. "Dynamic strategy for sustainable business development: mania or hazard?," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(34), pages 442-454, June.
    6. Dorin Maier & Mihaela Maftei & Andreea Maier & Gabriela Elena Bitan, 2019. "A Review of Product Innovation Management Literature in the Context of Organization Sustainable Development," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 21(S13), pages 816-816, November.
    7. Marvel, Matthew R. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Kuratko, Donald F., 2020. "Escaping the knowledge corridor: How founder human capital and founder coachability impacts product innovation in new ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    8. Fan, Terence & Schwab, Andreas & Geng, Xuesong, 2021. "Habitual entrepreneurship in digital platform ecosystems: A time-contingent model of learning from prior software project experiences," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    9. Maerean Camelia-Beatrice, 2021. "E-learning for Business- from Covid-Adaptation to Usual Practice," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 150-159, December.
    10. Newbert, Scott L. & Tornikoski, Erno T. & Augugliaro, Jeff, 2020. "To get out of the building or not? That is the question: The benefits (and costs) of customer involvement during the startup process," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    11. Dorel Mihai Paraschiv & Estera Laura Nemoianu & Claudia Adriana Langă & Tünde Szabó, 2012. "Eco-innovation, Responsible Leadership and Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(32), pages 404-419, June.
    12. repec:aud:audfin:v:20:y:2018:i:49:p:616 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Gallego-Nicholls, José Fernando & Guijarro-García, María, 2021. "A recipe for success: Crowdsourcing, online social networks, and their impact on organizational performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Ifrim Ana Maria & Biţan Gabriela Elena & Maier Dorin & Fogoroş Teodora Elena, 2020. "Improving the performance of organizational innovation processes by applying the Six Sigma methodology," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 1098-1108, July.
    15. Chee‐Yang Fong & Keng‐Boon Ooi & Boon‐In Tan & Voon‐Hsien Lee & Alain Yee‐Loong Chong, 2011. "HRM practices and knowledge sharing: an empirical study," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(5/6), pages 704-723, August.
    16. Francesc Miralles & Ferran Giones & Carla Riverola, 2016. "Evaluating the impact of prior experience in entrepreneurial intention," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 791-813, September.
    17. Cristina Raluca Popescu & Gheorghe N. Popescu & Veronica Adriana Popescu, 2017. "Assessment of the State of Implementation of Excellence Model Common Assessment Framework (CAF) 2013 by the National Institutes of Research – Development – Innovation in Romania," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(44), pages 1-41, February.
    18. Gabriela Tigu & Maria-Cristina Iorgulescu & Anamaria Sidonia Ravar & Ramona Lile, 2015. "A Pilot Profile of the Social Entrepreneur in the Constantly Changing Romanian Economy," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 17(38), pages 1-25, February.
    19. Armenia Androniceanu & Irina-Virginia Drăgulănescu, 2012. "Sustainability of the Organizational Changes in the Context of Global Economic Crisis," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(32), pages 365-379, June.
    20. Dan Popescu & Alina Ciocârlan-Chitucea & Alexandra Steriu & Cristina State, 2012. "Change Management – Condition of Organizational Sustainability in IT&C Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(32), pages 333-348, June.
    21. Viorel Coca & Mihaela Dobrea & Cristinel Vasiliu, 2013. "Towards a sustainable development of retailing in Romania," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(Special 7), pages 583-602, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    organizational learning; strategic orientations; marketing; entrepreneurship; small businesses; higher education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M19 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Other
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:13:y:2011:i:30:p:464-481. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Valentin Dumitru (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aseeero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.