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Motivation constitutes a central element when going through the process of human learning. If the organization does not possess the ability to motivate its employees, the knowledge within the organization is not practically used to a maximum. Therefore, it becomes the aim of every successful learning organization to find the factors that enable it to motivate its employees to continuous learning and to take advantage of this knowledge to ensure its living. Many motivational theories have been constructed to find these motivational factors, but the values of the employees in the specific organization are seldom included in the theories. Since a suitable combination of motivational factors only can be created through an understanding of the values in the measured object (i.e. employees), this can be seen as a risk for validity problems in the measuring instrument. A closer survey of the measured object, where such factors as society, organizational culture and personality of the employee are taken into account, is required. To respond to this requirement a dynamic model for the application of existing motivational theories based on needs is created in this article. In the model the shortcomings, which result from an often non‐existing dialogue between the examiner and the examined, are removed.

Recognises that often researchers really need interviewees to become informants rather than respondents, to tell stories rather than answer structured questions. Presents a technique to ensure that, when conducting research via face‐to‐face interviews, a true picture emerges. It may well be necessary to prompt the interviewee who, not used to the role of “informant”, may be less than forthcoming. The article discusses a method of prompting interviewees by introducing the major points the interview should cover but letting the interviewee move between them on their own terms.

The purpose of this paper is to broaden previous work on organizational learning and the factors that influence learning in organizational settings.

Qualitative and quantitative research methods that included in‐depth interviews and questionnaire distribution were used. Data gathered were analyzed using qualitative analysis along with statistical Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis.

Research results indicate that individual motivation to learn, team dynamics, and organization culture practices all have a significant level of influence on organization learning sustainability in non‐profit organizations.

This study provides a better understanding of what influences learning in organizations. The study adds on to existing definitions, theories and concepts and enables another depth of understanding to be explored. A major limitation of this study is its focus on the non‐profit sector and a selected number of organizations thereby limiting its applicability and ability to be generalized.

The findings of the study can help differentiate the learning phenomenon that takes place in organizations. Moreover, non‐profit organizations as well as managers and leaders would be able to better appreciate the learning that takes place in their organizations and create interventions that would enable them to motivate employees to learn effectively, enhance team dynamics, and shape their organization culture to promote their overall learning performance.

More empirical research is needed to better understand the nature of learning in organizations. This research adds to other empirical studies on organization learning while providing a basis for studying the factors that influence an organization's ability to sustain its learning in the long run.