Leveraging learning orientation for superior organizational performance: The role of firm-specific factors

Abstract

Extant literature recognizes organizational learning orientation (LO) as a critical resource, yet the mechanisms and conditions under which it translates into superior performance remain underexplored and often assumed. We draw on Resource-Based View (RBV) and dynamic capability frameworks to develop and test arguments that firm-specific human capital (FSHC) plays an intervening role in the organizational LO-organizational performance relationship and that, such indirect association via FSHC, is conditional upon differences in levels of knowledge-based dynamic capability (KBDC). Using survey data from 331 SMEs in Ghana, a Sub-Saharan African market, the findings reveal that beyond their direct positive association, FSHC mediates the organizational LO-organizational performance link. Further analysis shows that the indirect effect of LO on organizational performance, via FSHC, is amplified under higher levels of KBDC. These results provide a nuanced understanding of the LO–performance pathway, demonstrating how firms can leverage learning processes and dynamic capabilities to build unique human capital and achieve superior performance. Implications for theory and practice are provided.