89 Copyright © Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures ISSN 1923-841X [Print] ISSN 1923-8428 [Online] www.cscanada.net www.cscanada.org International Business and Management Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, pp. 89-103 DOI:10.3968/j.ibm.1923842820130601.1170 Exploring and Measuring Organizational Learning Capability and Competitive Advantage of Petroleum Industry Firms Naveed Akhtar [a],* ; Rasheed Ahmed Khan [b] ; Bahaudin G. Mujtaba [c] [a] Naveed Akhtar, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at the Department of Management Sciences at National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. Naveed Akhtar has served as in Glaxo-Wellcome Pakistan in marketing and sales department for twelve years. He has been teaching MBA & BBA in Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan in the department of Management Sciences as visiting faculty member for more than five years. Presently he is full time faculty member of National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad. He teaches “The Learning Organization”, and Decision Making and Problem Solving to the Ph.D classes. His areas of research are Organizational Learning, Strategy, and Quality Culture. Department of Management Sciences, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. [b] Rasheed Ahmed Khan, Ph.D. is currently the Dean at the Department of Management Sciences at National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. He has served as Director General, Management Services Division (Government of Pakistan). He has conducted more than 250 research studies in this capacity for Government of Pakistan. He teaches “Advanced Human Resource Development” and “Supply Chain Management” to the PhD classes. His areas of research are Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management, Human Resource Development, and Training & Development. Department of Management Sciences, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. [c] Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, D.B.A., is Professor of Management and Human Resources at Nova Southeastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. Bahaudin has served as a manager, trainer and management development specialist in the corporate world as well as a director, department chair and professor in academia for nearly three decades. He is author and co-author of seventeen books in the areas of leadership, coaching, and performance management. His areas of research are management, training, diversity management, and cross- cultural management. The H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA 33314 *Corresponding author. Address:Department of Management Sciences, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan. Received 1 January 2013; accepted 14 February 2013 Abstract Organizational learning is important in today’s dynamic and discontinuous environment of change. This study attempts to test the theoretical underpinning that organizational learning is related to competitive advantage. Through personal interviews and mailed surveys, 94 responses from employees of the petroleum industry were used in the regression analysis. Empirical findings show that theoretically assumed dimensions of the learning organization and organizational learning contribute significantly towards the achievement of competitive advantage. Multiple regression analysis showed the existence of significant relationships between seven independent variables and the dependent variable of competitive advantage. Strategic thinking and team learning explained 59.2% and 22.3% of variance respectively in achieving a competitive advantage. A discussion of the results along with implications and recommendations are provided. Key words: Learning capability; Competitive advantage; Organizational learning; Petroleum Naveed Akhtar, Rasheed Ahmed Khan, Bahaudin G. Mujtaba (2013). Exploring and Measuring Organizational Learning Capability and Competitive Advantage of Petroleum Industry Firms. International Business and Management , 6 (1), 89-103. Available from: http://www. cscanada.net/index.php/ibm/article/view/j.ibm.1923842820130601.1170 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.ibm.1923842820130601.1170 INTRODUCTION Modern firms must proactively and strategically work to survive and remain alive in a world of ever changing scenarios where scarce resources are becoming more and more costly to acquire. This period of immense competition necessitates the use of these costly resources optimally while exploiting their full potential without waste and rework ( Mujtaba, Marschke, & Nguyen, 2012) . In times of technological changes and the knowledge-based economy, organizations need not only to adapt quickly to changes but must also develop such mechanisms that help them to be ahead of traditional and non-traditional competitors. It has been suggested that organizations which are struggling should try to have a