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Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 3(1) 2018 pp. 452-455

Original Research Article

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEDIUM OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND

SERVICE PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN LAGOS STATE,
NIGERIA

*1Eyakwanor, A.A., 1Omobude, I.F. and 2Ikuabe, M.O.

1
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
2
Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
*akpovi.eyakwanor@uniben.edu

ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT

Article history: This study focused on the relationship between medium of

Received 03 May, 2018 organizational learning and service performance in construction
Revised 18 May, 2018 companies in Lagos state, Nigeria. Emphasis was on Individual, Group
Accepted 20 May, 2018 and Organizational forms of learning. A total of 82 questionnaires were
Available online 30 June, 2018 administered to key professionals in the construction industry and 68
were returned for analysis. Regression Analysis was used to test the
relationship between the medium of organizational learning and
Keywords: service performance in construction companies. The type of research
Construction design deployed was descriptive research, and also the study adopted
Organizational learning random sampling technique. Findings revealed that Organizational,
Service performance Group and Individual medium of learning all had a positive effect on
Regression analysis service performance with p-values of 0.009, 0.346, and 0.556
Questionnaire respectively, but with a criterion of p <0.05, only organizational
medium of learning was significant. The study recommended that the
best way of learning in construction companies is to enhance the
organizational learning medium.

© 2018 RJEES. All rights reserved.

1. INTRODUCTION

The construction sector is a vital part of any economy because of its size and the potential role it can play in the
development efforts of the economy (Nisa, 2006). Construction is often used as an indicator of the socio-economic
development of a nation and, is therefore, indispensable in the process of socio-economic development. Its
contribution to the national economy is well represented through the construction value addition, investment,
employment, trade balance and sectoral linkages (Senaratne and Sabesan, 2008). As Nigeria’s construction industry
strives to improve and become globally recognized, it must undergo a major transformation to equip and enhance the
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3(1) 2018 pp. 452-455

skills of its members so as to catch-up with the developed nations which will thereby improve the economy of the
country. A major way to improve Nigeria’s construction industry is by enhancing the learning skills, modes and
techniques. Learning would enable organisations to develop their intellectual capital, which provides the engine for
growth, the power to manage change and help to generate innovations (Dulaimi and Ang, 2009).

Susana and Jose (2005) stated that an organisation that dynamically deals with a changing environment should not
only process information efficiently, but also create information and knowledge. Analysing the organisation in terms
of its design and ability to process information constitutes an important approach to interpreting certain aspects of
organizational activities (Nonaka, 1995). In practice, the lack of knowledge sharing has proved to be a major barrier
to the effective management of knowledge in organizations (Davenport and Prusak, 1998). For a firm to prosper and
survive it must sustain a competitive advantage. Practitioners and academics alike agree that, for service firms, one
means to achieve this competitive advantage is by offering superior service quality (Julie and Arthur, 1999). However,
if the firm cannot find a way to sustain its advantage, it cannot last long (Kit-yu, 2007). In fact, the ultimate goal of
organizational learning is to ensure continuous improvement of an organization.

Learning is mainly understood as education and training (Matzdorf, 2000). In a more theoretical sense, learning is a
process of change in the situation-action linkages (Carroll, 2003). Learning is a process of change in cognition and
behaviour, and it does not necessarily follow that these changes will directly enhance performance (Crossan and
Berdrow, 1995). Learning covers all efforts to absorb, understand and respond to the world around us. Learning is the
essential process in expanding the capabilities of people and organisations. Learning is not just about knowledge. It is
about skills, insights, beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, feelings, wisdom, shared understandings and self awareness. In
the project cycle, learning is seen as a means to increase organisational efficiency and reduce repetition of mistakes.

Learning can occur in three ways: An area of learning that happens before a project is started can be called ‘Learning
before’ and focuses on taking time to learn from others and drawing practical conclusions from past lessons. ‘Learning
during’ occurs while a project is being carried out and focuses on continuous reviewing of the project’s objectives and
the organization’s capacity. Lastly, ‘Learning after’ which happens after a project has been completed, focuses on
giving a structure to general reflection, follow up and future reapplication of lessons.

In view of the aforementioned benefits of learning in any organization, this study is geared towards establishing the
relationship between the various medium of organizational learning and service performance of construction
companies in Lagos state, Nigeria.

2. METHODOLOGY

The study explored the opinions of a sample of Nigerian construction professionals. The target population for the
study comprised of Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Builders and Structural Engineers. These were randomly selected
from Consulting firms, Construction companies and government establishments all in Lagos State, Nigeria. The data
for the study were collected through the use of questionnaire survey. However, 68 questionnaires were returned out
of 82 administered which represented an 82.9% response rate. Ordinal multiple regression analysis was used to
ascertain the relationship between organizational learning and service performance.

Perf = b0 + b1 Ik + b2Gk + b3Ok − b4 Mis (1)

Where: Perf= Performance; Ik = Individual knowledge; Gk = Group knowledge; Ok = Organisational knowledge; Mis
= Misalignment
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3(1) 2018 pp. 452-455

Bontis and Crossan (1999) asserted that misalignment between knowledge mediums and knowledge flow as well as
rating of each medium of learning and performance should be calculated using;

Perf = a12 + b12 + c12 + d12 + e12 + f 12 + g12 + h12 + i12 (2)

Mis = ( Ik +Gk3 +Ok ) − ( FF 2+ FB )

(3)

Where: FF = Feed Forward; FB = Feed Backward

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To establish the relationship between organizational learning and service performance, regression analysis was carried
out and results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Relationship between organizational learning and service performance

Model Performance
Model
B t-value p- value
Constant 20.847 4.351 0.000
Ok 0.458 2.780 0.009
Gk 0.131 0.956 0.346
Misc -0.037 -0.187 0.853
Ik -0.069 -0.594 0.556
Df 4.33
criteria = p <0.05; Predictors: (Constant), Ok, Gk, Ik and Mis

Table 1 reveals that Individual level knowledge medium, group level knowledge medium and organizational level
knowledge medium all had a positive effect on service performance. Admittedly, the result was only able to confirm
that the organisational knowledge medium is statistically significant to the proposed service performance model. This
result also shows group medium has a relationship to business performance. Misalignment and individual medium of
learning had a negative effect on the proposed model, though these three variables are not statistically significant at
5% level of significance. However, the result was not able to confirm that misalignment of knowledge mediums and
knowledge flows must have negative association with service performance due to their insignificance.

Perf = 20.847 + 0.458Ok (4)

Ok explains 45.8% of variations in performance; thereby proving to be an efficient means of boosting service
performance in construction companies. The value of the R2 indicates the strength of the relationship between the
dependent variable and the independent variables. There is a perfect relationship when R2 is 1 and otherwise when it
is 0. The value of the Adjusted R2 from the regression analysis is 0.384; this implies that 38.4% of the dependent
variable is defined by the model.

Table 2: Regression values between Organizational learning and service performance

Variables R R2 ftab p
Organizational learning
0.671 0.384 6.34 0.009
and service performance
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Organizational knowledge medium being a medium of organizational learning, therefore there is a significant positive
relationship between organizational learning and service performance in construction companies.

4. CONCLUSION

This result from the study conclusively portrays the best way of learning to enhance service performance in
construction companies is to enhance the organizational knowledge medium.

5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There is no conflict of interest associated with this work.

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