Assessing the effects of learning organization characteristics in Korean non-profit organizations: Focusing on the association with perceived financial performance and employee satisfaction

During the last decade in Korea, non-profit organizations (NPO) have shown incredible growth in both their number and size due to the development of civil society and government-subsidizing policies. Most registered NPOs are subsidized by the government but their learning capacities and financial performance in meeting new social needs in an innovative manner is somewhat limited and even less sustainable. In this article, the authors assume that the learning organization characteristics of NPOs influence their levels of performance and employee satisfaction. An analytical framework that enables a better understanding of the relationship between learning organization and perceived financial performance is proposed. On the basis of the proposed framework, the hypothesis that the learning organization characteristics improve the financial performance of NPOs is empirically tested. The analysis results confirmed that the learning organization characteristics enhance financial performance and employee satisfaction.