Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective
We investigate how Organisational Learning (OL) can occur through Process Improvement (PI) activities, leading to sustained improvements over time in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We study PI practices in six engineering-oriented SMEs via interview-based case studies. We...
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| Format: | Article |
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Emerald
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41337/ |
| _version_ | 1848796252065497088 |
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| author | Matthews, Rupert Lawrence MacCarthy, Bart L. Braziotis, Christos |
| author_facet | Matthews, Rupert Lawrence MacCarthy, Bart L. Braziotis, Christos |
| author_sort | Matthews, Rupert Lawrence |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We investigate how Organisational Learning (OL) can occur through Process Improvement (PI) activities, leading to sustained improvements over time in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We study PI practices in six engineering-oriented SMEs via interview-based case studies. We draw from a range of literature and use an OL conceptual framework, informed by Crossan et al.’s (1999) 4I framework, as an analytical lens. The OL perspective provides new insights to conceptualize the nature of PI as a multi-level practice in SMEs. Effective PI practices within SMEs are shown to be consistent with OL concepts, enabling firms to translate individually identified improvement opportunities into organisational-level changes that result in sustained benefits. A new conceptual model is presented that explains how SMEs can learn through improvement activities. The key role of management support, both operational and strategic, is highlighted. It is necessary for management to provide sufficient PI opportunities to enable and sustain beneficial learning. Management can provide additional learning opportunities by introducing new business that requires exploratory learning. Without such support, the reduction in improvement opportunities reduces the benefits that can be realised from PI. The findings provide a theoretically underpinned framework to achieve OL in engineering-oriented SMEs deriving from PI activities, highlighting the key mechanisms that enable learning from improvement activities. Further case-based, longitudinal, and survey-based research studies with firms of different types will enhance the generalisability of the findings, allowing the confirmation and extension of the new conceptual model. OL provides a multi-level perspective to understand both how smaller firms are able to undergo systematic improvements and the support required to continually improve. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41337 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:01Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Emerald |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-413372020-05-04T18:25:02Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41337/ Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective Matthews, Rupert Lawrence MacCarthy, Bart L. Braziotis, Christos We investigate how Organisational Learning (OL) can occur through Process Improvement (PI) activities, leading to sustained improvements over time in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We study PI practices in six engineering-oriented SMEs via interview-based case studies. We draw from a range of literature and use an OL conceptual framework, informed by Crossan et al.’s (1999) 4I framework, as an analytical lens. The OL perspective provides new insights to conceptualize the nature of PI as a multi-level practice in SMEs. Effective PI practices within SMEs are shown to be consistent with OL concepts, enabling firms to translate individually identified improvement opportunities into organisational-level changes that result in sustained benefits. A new conceptual model is presented that explains how SMEs can learn through improvement activities. The key role of management support, both operational and strategic, is highlighted. It is necessary for management to provide sufficient PI opportunities to enable and sustain beneficial learning. Management can provide additional learning opportunities by introducing new business that requires exploratory learning. Without such support, the reduction in improvement opportunities reduces the benefits that can be realised from PI. The findings provide a theoretically underpinned framework to achieve OL in engineering-oriented SMEs deriving from PI activities, highlighting the key mechanisms that enable learning from improvement activities. Further case-based, longitudinal, and survey-based research studies with firms of different types will enhance the generalisability of the findings, allowing the confirmation and extension of the new conceptual model. OL provides a multi-level perspective to understand both how smaller firms are able to undergo systematic improvements and the support required to continually improve. Emerald 2016-12-20 Article PeerReviewed Matthews, Rupert Lawrence, MacCarthy, Bart L. and Braziotis, Christos (2016) Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management . ISSN 0144-3577 (In Press) Process Improvement; Organisational Learning; Continuous Improvement; SME; Operations Management Theory. doi:10.1108/IJOPM-09-2015-0580 doi:10.1108/IJOPM-09-2015-0580 |
| spellingShingle | Process Improvement; Organisational Learning; Continuous Improvement; SME; Operations Management Theory. Matthews, Rupert Lawrence MacCarthy, Bart L. Braziotis, Christos Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title | Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title_full | Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title_fullStr | Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title_short | Organisational learning in SMEs: a process improvement perspective |
| title_sort | organisational learning in smes: a process improvement perspective |
| topic | Process Improvement; Organisational Learning; Continuous Improvement; SME; Operations Management Theory. |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41337/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41337/ |