Promoting organizational learning in nursing: examining the influence of participatory leadership, psychological ownership and motivation

Purpose The study was designed to investigate the moderating role of employee motivation as a mediator of psychological ownership in the relationship between nurses’ perception of participatory leadership and their organizational learning behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The study included 476 nurses working in a training and research hospital in the east of Turkey. This study, prepared in accordance with the Strobe checklist, was designed as a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were collected using a demographic information form, a participative leadership scale, an organizational learning scale, a psychological ownership scale and a motivation scale. Correlation analyses and mediator model tests were performed to examine the relationship between these variables. Findings As a result, it was found that nurses’ perceptions of participative leadership positively and significantly affected organizational learning (r = 0.74; p < 0.01), participative leadership positively affected psychological ownership (r = 0.29; p < 0.01) and nurses’ psychological ownership positively and significantly affected organizational learning (r = 0.41; p < 0.01). In addition, it was found that nurses’ psychological ownership had a mediating role in the effect of participatory leadership perceptions on organizational learning (CI [0.030, 0.089]) and nurse motivation had a moderating role between psychological ownership and organizational learning (β = 0.168, 95% CI [0.064, 0.271]). Originality/value The study’s findings have practical implications for the Turkish health system and healthcare administrators. Administrators can significantly enhance organizational learning by implementing participative leadership training and fostering a sense of ownership among nurses. Empowering nurses to take charge of their learning and emphasizing the role of motivation can further drive organizational growth.