Examining the relationships between individual, team and organizational learning in an Australian hospital

The concept of organizational learning has continued to capture the interests of scholars and practitioners. At the core of this notion is the belief that organizational learning provides a number of advantages. Some of these advantages include improved team performance, enhanced service quality, better quality‐of‐work life and, ultimately, competitive advantage. Hence, not surprisingly, there is a sustained upsurge in the interest of organizational learning. Moreover, there is widespread acceptance that learning could occur at the individual, team and organizational levels. Understanding of learning orientations at these three levels has the capacity to advance the current knowledge and practice of organizational learning. In spite of an outpouring of literature on learning, empirical research on organizational learning is still scarce. Thus, the three linkages addressed in this current study include: individual learning and organizational learning; team learning and organizational learning; and individual learning and team learning. These linkages were examined in a field study of an Australian hospital, where 189 respondents participated in an organization‐wide survey. Interestingly, individual learning was not significantly related to organizational learning. However, individual learning was a significant predictor of team learning. Team learning was significantly related to organizational learning. The implications of the research findings are discussed.