Purpose

This paper aims to investigate organizational learning (OL) at the individual, group and organizational levels in service and manufacturing firms in Mexico to determine if there are differences in how OL operates or in the link between OL and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed experienced managers from 1,093 Mexican firms across a range of service and manufacturing industries, using the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (Bontis et al., 2002).

Findings

Organizational learning processes (OLPs) were highly similar in service and manufacturing firms and OL had a strong positive association with performance in both types of firms. OLPs at the individual level had a slightly greater impact on performance for service firms.

Research limitations/implications

The results provide further evidence of the strong link between OL and firm performance. There were no significant correlations of firm size or age with the OLPs or firm performance. However, the micro-companies that constitute 95% of Mexican firms were under-represented in the sample.

Practical implications

OLPs are equally important in manufacturing and service firms and across developed and developing economies. Therefore, OL should pervade all organizations. Managers should create cultures that encourage employees to produce new ideas and share those ideas with peers and supervisors through both formal and informal communication processes.

Social implications

The findings indicate that the individual employees’ contributions to OL are the main driver of the impact of OLPs on firm performance and that individual-level learning processes are even more relevant for service firms than for manufacturing firms. As value co-production takes place simultaneously at the moment of the service delivery/service consumption, the individual learning stock is fundamental for enhanced firm performance.

Originality/value

The authors believe this to be the first large-scale study to compare OLPs in manufacturing and service firms across industries in a major emerging market.

中文翻译：

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制造企业和服务企业的组织学习是否不同？来自墨西哥的证据

目的

本文旨在调查墨西哥服务和制造公司在个人、团体和组织层面的组织学习 (OL)，以确定 OL 的运作方式或 OL 与公司绩效之间的联系是否存在差异。

设计/方法/方法

作者使用战略学习评估地图（Bontis等人，2002 年）调查了来自 1,093 家墨西哥公司的经验丰富的管理人员，这些公司横跨一系列服务和制造行业。

发现

服务和制造公司的组织学习过程 (OLP) 高度相似，并且 OL 与这两种类型的公司的绩效都具有很强的正相关关系。个人层面的 OLP 对服务公司的绩效影响稍大。

研究限制/影响

结果进一步证明了 OL 与公司绩效之间的密切联系。公司规模或年龄与 OLP 或公司绩效没有显着相关性。然而，占墨西哥公司 95% 的微型公司在样本中的代表性不足。

实际影响

OLP 在制造和服务公司以及发达和发展中经济体中同样重要。因此，OL 应该遍及所有组织。管理人员应营造鼓励员工产生新想法的文化，并通过正式和非正式的沟通过程与同事和主管分享这些想法。

社会影响

研究结果表明，个体员工对 OL 的贡献是 OLP 对公司绩效影响的主要驱动因素，并且个人层面的学习过程与服务公司比对制造公司更相关。由于价值共同生产在服务交付/服务消费的时刻同时发生，个人学习存量是提高公司绩效的基础。

原创性/价值

作者认为，这是第一次比较主要新兴市场跨行业制造和服务公司的 OLP 的大规模研究。