Do compassionate firms outperform? The role of organizational learning

Purpose Based on a new management paradigm rooted on care and compassion, this study explores the consequences of compassion at work on organizational learning and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the research model by using data from two different samples. Findings Results confirm that compassion increases firm performance through organizational learning capability; however, compassion do not enhances directly firm performance. Research limitations/implications The study findings indicate that when compassion is propagated among organizational members, organizations are better able to learn so they obtain a competitive advantage that is difficult to imitate and leads to higher firm performance. Originality/value This study takes a step forward on literature by providing empirical evidence for a promising area of management research such is compassion in organizations.