The learning organization and intrapreneurship: pharmaceutics in a developing economy

Abstract

This research aims to investigate and establish an in-depth understanding of the relationship between learning organization and intrapreneurship in a developing economy, the context of the pharmaceutical sector in Jordan. The literature review covers the key definitions, dimensions, and importance of the relevant concepts and the related areas to formulate the research gaps. Evident knowledge gaps have emerged from the review of relevant literature. Accordingly, a new framework has been developed. The framework explores the learning organization by combining various dimensions “supportive learning environment, concrete learning processes and practices, leadership that reinforces learning, and creating learning structures”. At the same time, intrapreneurship is defined by combining the dimensions of “new business venturing, innovativeness, self-renewal, proactiveness, and risk-taking”. Moreover, the research examines the effect of the organization age and size on implementing the learning organization and intrapreneurship aspects. The context of the developing economy, the pharmaceutical sector in Jordan has been chosen to test the hypotheses. The adopted research methodology is based on the ontological philosophy of Objectivism and the epistemological philosophy of Pragmatism. It adopts the deductive approach; it attempts to test a theory and examine the independent variable / dependent variable and their relationship. To answer the research questions, mainly the quantitative and partially qualitative methods have been employed. The survey was used as the primary strategy to collect the data. The population of this research comprises the managers and heads of departments in the pharmaceutical sector in Jordan, with a sample of 263 participants distributed between small, medium, and large organizations using the stratified sampling technique. In addition, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with the managers in the small, medium and large organizations. The quantitative data was collected with a self-administered and electronic questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 26) was used to analyze the quantitative data. The quantitative findings of this research indicated a significant and positive correlation between learning organization and intrapreneurship. The qualitative findings strongly supported the quantitative findings and provided an in-depth understanding of the learning organization, intrapreneurship and their relationship. The quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that organizations could implement the aspects of learning organization and intrapreneurship regardless of their age and size. Qualitative data provided the research with richer information by spotting the light on other items to measure the learning organization and intrapreneurship. Moreover, the qualitative findings concentrated on some factors that could hinder the implementation of learning organization and intrapreneurship. The research bridges the identified knowledge gaps and presents a novel work. It adds value, enrich and contribute to the body of knowledge and practice.