Understanding the organizational learning culture—Innovative behavior relation in local government: The roles of knowledge sharing and job autonomy
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| Author | Jaeyong Lee,Myung H. Jin |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12884 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Understanding the organizational learning
culture—Innovative behavior relation in local
government: The roles of knowledge
sharing and job autonomy
Jaeyong Lee
1
|Myung H. Jin
2
1
Korea Research Institute for Local
Administration, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do,
South Korea
2
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and
Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth
University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Correspondence
Jaeyong Lee, Korea Research Institute for
Local Administration, 21, Segye-ro, Wonju-si,
Gangwon-do 26464, South Korea.
Email: jaeyonglee1@gmail.com,jlee@krila.re.kr
Abstract
Drawing from research on organizational learning culture,
knowledge sharing (KS), and job characteristics theory, this
study investigates the mediating role of KS in the link between
organizational learning culture (OLC) and employee's innova-
tive behavior (IB), as well as how this mediating effect might
be moderated by job autonomy (JA). Data captured from
1420 public employees of 33 local governments in
South Korea shows that OLC affects employees' IB, while the
effect size is reduced when controlling for the role of
KS. Further, JA moderates the positive relationship between
KS and IB, such that the relationship becomes invigorated at
higher levels of JA. The findings also reveal that the indirect
effect of OLC on IB through KS is more pronounced at higher
levels of JA, which offers evidence of moderated mediation.
We discuss the significant implications of our findings for
future research and practice.
1|INTRODUCTION
Research has increasingly shown that frontline employees'innovative behavior (IB) is a major contributor in improving
service quality (Borins, 2008; Bowen & Lawler, 1992; Light, 1998;Salge&Vera,2012; Shin et al., 2017). The growing
interest in this topicis not surprising given that the public sector hasbeen dealing with goal ambiguity, high formaliza-
tion levels, and restrictions on the ability to reward extrinsically, which candampen employee innovativeness(Breul &
Kamensky, 2008;Moussaetal.,2018; Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2004). To understand what drives IB in the public sector,
previous research hasconsidered leadership (Osborne, 1998),employee empowerment practices, such as merit-based
pay and job training toacquire technical and problem-solving skills (Fernandez& Moldogaziev, 2013), and task
Received: 23 February 2021Revised: 11 August 2022Accepted: 12 August 2022
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12884
1326 © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Public Admin. 2023;101:1326–1348.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm
characteristicsand organizational social support (Suseno et al.,2020). Although there have been effortsto theorize the
positive associations between organizational culture, and innovation at both individualand organizational levels in the
public sector (see Moussa et al.'s, 2018 in-depth literature review), few empirical studies have explicitly examined
the role of employees' perceived organizational learning culture (OLC) on IB (e.g.,Tang & Yeh, 2015). This oversight is
somewhat surprising, consideringthe increasing focus on the roleof organizational culture, whichMoussa et al. (2018)
propose as a keyingredient fostering innovation.
Furthermore, despite the theoretical propositions in the literature linking organizational culture to IB, the mecha-
nisms of this influence have not been explored, limiting organizations' ability to leverage their cultural resources to
their performance advantage. Specifically, there are three reasons why the relationships between OLC and IB are
important. First, the motivation to work effectively and efficiently stems largely from employees' experience with
their immediate work environment (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Previous research has examined how organizational
culture may determine employees' job satisfaction (Yiing & Ahmad, 2009), organizational commitment (Saha &
Kumar, 2018), and even performance (Mohr et al., 2012; Mohsen et al., 2020). However, because the term culture is
used loosely and often interchangeably with climate, it is important to distinguish between the two. Organizational
climate implies individuals' workgroup perceptions that may or may not be shared (James et al., 2008). For example,
an organization may be known for an efficiency-oriented climate (e.g., the number of consumers served per month),
whereas its employees may believe the focus should be on the quality of the process (e.g., interactions with the pub-
lic). Furthermore, since organizations often comprise different climates depending on the goals (e.g., service, safety,
or achievement), this combination of climates may facilitate and hinder learning (Mikkelsen & Grønhaug, 1999).
Organizational culture, by contrast, emphasizes shared values and perspectives among employees (Cooke &
Szumal, 1993). Using broad definitions and measurements that combine climate and culture may produce unclear
theory and blur relationships between separate facets of organizational culture. To avoid such conceptual problems,
this study focuses exclusively on OLC, without considering organizational climate and other forms of organizational
culture. Although Moussa et al. (2018) identified 10 studies examining different dimensions of organizational climate
or culture (e.g., support culture, bureaucratic culture, and efficiency-driven) as predictors of public sector innovation,
with the exception of Tang and Yeh (2015), no other studies empirically tested the link between OLC and employees'
IB in the public sector. This shortcoming is critical, as learning is a key factor in the push for continuous quality
improvement (Watkins & Marsick, 1993). Understanding whether and how the learning culture influences
employees' IB is crucial in cultivating learning-oriented practices. We posit that employees' IB is higher when they
positively perceive their organization's learning culture.
Second, previous research indicates that knowledge sharing (KS) is more prevalent among organizations striving
to cultivate learning orientation (Moussa et al., 2018), and that employees who share their knowledge and expertise
with others can increase their knowledge and problem-solving ability and improve their work output duration
(Akhavan et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2009), which are key for the innovational process (Alhady et al., 2011). However,
extant studies have not explicated how knowledge-sharing behaviors may function as a critical mechanism through
which OLC influences IB. Thus, to understand how OLC can help steer employees toward generating and
implementing new ideas for better work processes, it is necessary to consider whether promoting learning-
orientation translates to a more open organization-wide communication (Pörzse et al., 2012). Accordingly, we con-
sider the potential mediating role of employees' KS, defined as the “provision of task information and know-how to
help others and to collaborate with others to solve problems, develop new ideas or implement policies or proce-
dures”(Cummings, 2004).
Third, while many have postulated links between KS and employees' IB, recent empirical studies have shown
mixed findings (e.g., Haas & Hansen, 2007; Wang & Noe, 2010). Accordingly, scholars have suggested that situa-
tional factors moderate the transformation of KS into IB (Pian et al., 2019). Research has considered perceived orga-
nizational support (Woo et al., 2019), strategic flexibility (Feng et al., 2017), regional culture (Pian et al., 2019), and
proactive personality (Piao & Chung, 2021) as moderators of the aforementioned relationship. However, based on
our literature review, the moderating effect of job autonomy (JA) on the KS–IB association has not been examined.
LEE AND JIN 1327
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