Organizational learning : Perception of external environment and innovation performance

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedent, perception of the external environment, and its relationship to organizational learning, as well as explore the relationships between organizational learning and innovation performance at two levels, including individual and organizational‐level innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 268 senior R&D project team members who reported their perception about the external environment and organizational learning along with 83 R&D managers who evaluated their employees' innovative behaviors. Findings – The results indicated that the antecedent of organizational learning, perception of external environment, was significant to organizational learning, and organizational learning was significant to both individual and organization‐level innovation performance and contributed more to the individual‐level than organizational innovation performance. Originality/value – The value of the study lies in its contributions to the scholarly literature on organizational learning and innovation because examining the antecedent perception of the external environment and the relationships between organizational learning and innovation performance as well as the relationship between individual and organizational‐level innovation performance have not received considerable empirical attention.