Background: Learning-based companies, such as steelmaking, need to adapt to transformation and to adopt learning as a competitive strategy in the era of globalization. Assessing the organizational capability to learn is therefore a crucial part of the strategic planning in these companies. The purpose of this research is to assess the extent of adoption of learning organization dimensions in a pioneer market player in the steel industry in Egypt.
Methods: A ‘three-phase embedded single-case study’ research was chosen as a design for this research where data was collected through three phases; preliminary interviews with a selected group of directors and senior managers, followed by a survey using the DLOQ that was administered to a stratified sample of 407 employees at three job levels and from five business units of the company and concluded by post-survey interviews. Data was analyzed using a pattern matching technique for the interviews while a descriptive analysis and non-parametric tests were employed for the survey.
Findings: Compared with the most updated normative scores for benchmarking, a generally positive perception with respect to the adoption of the learning organization dimensions was noticed. However, variations in employee’s perceptions of learning dimensions across the business units as well as the job levels were detected. Moreover, the results revealed a focus from the company on the individual, group and environmental levels of learning at the expense of the most important level; the organizational level.
Conclusions: The results of this research revealed treasured insights into the learning culture of the company under study that assisted in deriving an in-depth understanding of the current learning position’s strengths and weaknesses, and the path the company should follow to achieve a rooted progress on its journey of becoming a learning organization.