Dimensions of social capital and learning culture: a case of an IT organization

Abstract

Purpose Earlier studies of social capital have focused on its influence on various aspects of business. There is substantial void in the literature on how social capital enables learning culture in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to explore direct and indirect relations between dimensions of social capital and learning culture in the organizational context. Design/methodology/approach A survey-based research was conducted in which the questionnaire based on the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) and social capital was used. Participants in this study were employees from an IT organization based in India. Data was subjected to structural equation modeling to understand causal relations between social capital and learning culture. Findings This empirical study emphatically shows that parameters of social capital positively influence individual learning. Results show that shared vision, shared narratives in the cognitive dimension; trust and identification in the relational dimension; and mutual confiding in the structural dimension have a positive influence on individual learning. Originality/value Findings in this paper indicate that a culture of learning in organizations starts with individuals and it can be fueled and sustained by social capital embedded within the organization if managers focus on enabling the factors identified in this study through policies and practices.

Do mistakes acceptance foster innovation? Polish and US cross-country study of tacit knowledge sharing in IT

“…This finding aligns with Ö rtenblad ( 2002) that a learning climate encourages learning through trials, experiments and errors, and enhances reflections. Developing these thoughts, Srirama et al (2020) examined the IT sector in India, and noted that it is important to allow employees to experiment, explore and debate. To achieve true learning, organizations must create a working environment where people can discuss without hesitation, and employees must be able to accept critical feedback and questioning.…”

Learning organizations and value creation

“…The theme of socialization is carried forward into the article by Srirama et al (2020), "Dimensions of social capital and learning culture: A case of an IT organization." In the article, the authors conduct survey-based research using the dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire and dimensions of social capital.…”

“…Sumanarathna et al (2020) carry forward the theme of social capital in "Social Capital, Exploratory Learning and Exploitative Learning in project-based firms: The mediating effect of collaborative environment." The authors explore the same social capital elements as Srirama et al (2020): structural, relational and cognitive. However, they conceptualize the elements by viewing network ties, trust and shared narratives.…”

Guest editorial

“…Next, Srirama et al (2020) focused on the interplay between learning culture and social capital. They start from the paper by Chamorro-Premuzic and Bersin (2018) who identify learning culture as the important driver of organizational performance.…”

“…Networking and socialization in learning organizations are very important for sharing knowledge, especially its tacit component, further stimulating learning and innovations in the value creation process. By adopting the dimensions of social capital by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) and conducting the survey-based research, Srirama et al (2020) determined that aspects of the social capital such as shared vision and shared narratives in the cognitive dimension; trust and identification in the relational dimension; and mutual confiding in the structural dimension indeed have a positive effect on aspects of the learning culture. In that way, it is suggested that building a strong social capital leads to increased individual learning.…”