Family Business Of Organizational Learning And Its Formation Mechanism

Family business is a kind of important power for technique innovation and economic development. The major part of Chinese firms is family business. With the development of globalization and informationization, Chinese family business is facing with many kinds of chances and challenges. For replying the chances and challenges, family business must improve their organizational learning ability. However, former studies on organizational learning of family business stick on using theories of organizational learning to analysis family business qualitatively. The theories of organizational learning the former studies used are put forward by western scholars, can not materialize the characteristic of Chinese family business. In addition, qualitative studies can not study the organizational learning, can only stick on using established theories to analysis the problems of family business, deeply.This study integrated quantitative and qualitative methods, came up with an organizational learning model of Chinese family business on the base of western classical theory, tested the formation mechanism and influence on organizational performance of organizational learning systematically. This study wants to explore four key theoretical questions: how does family business learn, what kinds of knowledge does family business learn, what is the mechanism of organizational learning formation in family business, what is the result of learning of family business? For answering the four questions, we did four studies.Study one came up with eight key elements of organizational learning of family business, on the base of former academic researches and the characters of Chinese family business. We used semi-construct interview method to interview 20 managers and owners in 18 family businesses to explore the key events of the organizational learning of family business. Then we use content analysis technique to analysis the text of interviews, partly proved that organizational learning of Chinese family business includes eight elements: experimenting, information collection, information analysis, education and train, information transfer, plan, inspection and adjustment. We summarized the sentences of the interviews, and defined the 8 elements of organizational learning of family business. We analyzed the text of interview, found that family business is learning four kinds of knowledge: the opportunity of market, technology of manufacture and management, business modes, business philosophy. At the end of the interview study, we analyzed the text of interview, found that family business gains opportunity of market by information collecting, learns technology by education and training and experimenting, learns business modes and business philosophy by education and training and information transferring.Study two came up with a there modes of organizational learning on the base of March's two modes of organizational learning, meta-cognitive theory, self-regulate learning theory, there loop learning theory and result of interviews. Then we integrated the eight elements of organizational learning into the there organizational learning modes. On the basis of questionnaire of Garvin, Edmondson and Gino (2008), we tailored the measurement of this study. Using exploratory factor analysis, we analysis the data of 215 persons in 95 family business firms. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we analysis the data of 377 persons in 151 family business. The result showed that the organizational learning of family business include 8 kinds of elements and there modes. Exploratory learning includes experimention, information collection and information analysis. Exploitative learning includes education and training, information transfer. Regulative learning includes plan, inspection and adjustment. We used generalizability theory to test the reliability of the questionnaire this study used. The result showed us the questionnaire have perfect reliability and validity. At the end of the study, we compared the level of organizational learning of employee in different levels. The results proved the importance of middle-level managers in the process of organizational learning.Study three proved the mechanism of organizational learning formation. We surveyed 738 managers or owners of 246 family business, got 425 questionnaires of 191 family businesses. Aggregating the data of 425 persons, we got the data of 191 family businesses, used technology of regression, we found that leadership, organization character, supportive environment and task character constitute the formation mechanism of organizational learning of family business. They can explain about 50% variance of organizational learning of family business. The influence of family is the character of boarder context of organizational learning of family business, can influent organizational learning and its mechanism of formation. At the same time, we compared the organizational learning of the family business of different development stages and different industries. Form the results, we can see the organizational learning of family business are path-dependent, is very stable across different development stages. Family business in software industry maybe has more behavior of information analysis.Study four used case study and survey methods to explore the influence of organizational learning on organizational performance. By analyzing eight key events of Geely group, we found exploratory learning can greatly improve organizational performance but also make firms meet many risk to fluctuate, exploitative learning can minish the variance of organizational performance but also can improve the means of organizational performance. However the effect of exploitative learning is short-lived. Exploratory learning and exploitative learning must cooperate reciprocally. Regulative learning is a meta-element for balancing exploratory learning and exploitative learning to make the model of learning match with internal and external environment dynamically. Then, we use the technical of structural equation models with latent interactive effects to analysis the sample data of study three. The result revealed the interactive effects of regulative learning and exploratory learning, the interactive effects of exploratory learning and exploitative learning, on organizational performance. By the way, we used regression analysis to explore the relationship between organizational learning and organizational performance in different development stages and different industries. This result supports that family business must choose proper organizational learning mode, making the mode fit with internal and external environment.From this study, we found some characteristic of the organizational learning of family business. Firstly, about the manner of learning, family business is good at information collection and regulating, is bad at information transfer. Secondly, about the content of learning, family business thinks much of gain marketing opportunities by collecting information, look down on gain business modes and business philosophy by information transfer. Thirdly, about the driver of organizational learning, family business has high degree of entrepreneurial orient, leader driven and benefit conflict.This research studied the structure, content, formation mechanism, and consequences of organizational learning of family business, form the view of dynamic fit between organizational learning and internal and external environment.