Family SMEs in Ireland as learning organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether small and medium‐sized family businesses in Ireland have the potential to be classified as learning organizations.Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology adopted for this study is that of multiple‐case studies. In this research, personal interviews were selected as the data collection method. On the basis of Eisenhardt's premise that a study of between four and ten cases is suitable for qualitative studies, a total of six owner‐managers of family small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) were interviewed.Findings – The findings of the case studies support the argument that family businesses have the potential to be learning organizations. However, the extent to which these family businesses are potentially learning organizations depends on the size of the family business and the structure imposed on the business. Micro family businesses struggle to be classified as learning organizations due to the lack of a learning orientation....

[1]  Peter Hawkins,et al.  Organizational Learning , 1994 .

[2]  G. Haynes,et al.  Revisiting the Study of Family Businesses: Methodological Challenges, Dilemmas, and Alternative Approaches , 1998 .

[3]  T. Garavan.  The learning organization: a review and evaluation , 1997 .

[4]  Roland K. Yeo,et al.  Revisiting the roots of learning organization , 2005 .

[5]  Karen E. Watkins.  Creating the Learning Organization , 1996 .

[6]  Donald A. Schön,et al.  Organizational Learning: A Theory Of Action Perspective , 1978 .

[7]  Charles Leadbeater,et al.  Living on Thin Air , 1999 .

[8]  Neuman.  Social Research Methods , 2007 .

[9]  M. Easterby-Smith.  Disciplines of organisational learning: contributions and critique , 1997 .

[10]  B. Hedberg.  How Organizations Learn and Unlearn , 1981 .

[11]  Karen E. Watkins,et al.  Demonstrating the Value of an Organization's Learning Culture: The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire , 2003 .

[12]  Graeme A. Murdoch.  Towards a learning organization , 1995 .

[13]  Daniel H. Kim.  The Link between individual and organizational learning , 1997 .

[14]  Gail K. Sergenian,et al.  Transforming the Class into a Learning Organization , 2000 .

[15]  Eric W. K. Tsang.  Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: A Dichotomy Between Descriptive and Prescriptive Research , 1997 .

[16]  C. Cassell,et al.  Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research , 2004 .

[17]  Anders Örtenblad.  The learning organization : towards an integrated model , 2004 .

[18]  Nancy M. Dixon,et al.  Organizational Learning: A Review of the Literature with Implications for HRD Professionals. , 1992 .

[19]  F. Gino,et al.  Is yours a learning organization? , 2008, Harvard business review.

[20]  L. Stern,et al.  Conducting Interorganizational Research Using Key Informants , 1993 .

[21]  A. Edmondson,et al.  From Organizational Learning to the Learning Organization , 1998 .

[22]  J. Bratton.  Why Workers Are Reluctant Learners: The Case of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Industry. , 2001 .

[23]  Jean Hartley,et al.  Case study research , 2004 .

[24]  A. Bryman.  Social Research Methods , 2001 .

[25]  W. Powell,et al.  The Knowledge Economy , 2004 .

[26]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[27]  Anders Örtenblad,et al.  A Typology of the Idea of Learning Organization , 2002 .

[28]  P. Senge.  THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE , 1997 .

[29]  Carmel McCarthy,et al.  Towards a learning organization? Employee perceptions , 2006 .

[30]  R. Poell,et al.  European perspectives on the learning organisation , 2004 .