Purpose – Previous research has shown that user-oriented care quality predicts satisfaction with elderly care. What is yet to be researched is how management facilitates the user-oriented care process in the organization. The present study set out to investigate the learning principles and management climate characterizing successful elderly care.

Design – The department in one highly ranked municipality was compared with a more average municipality. On-site, semi-structured in-depth interviews with department managers and participatory observations at managers’ meetings were conducted in both municipalities.

Findings – The results revealed three important learning principles for a successful care organization: 1) organizing from the viewpoint of the needs and wants of the older person, 2) recruiting and training autonomous employees, 3) instilling a vision for the mission that guide operations in all situations.

Using climate theory to interpret the material, the highly successful management was characterized by affective support and cognitive autonomy, in contrast to a more instrumental work climate primarily focusing on structure and doing things right, in the more average municipality.

Discussion – We propose that management climate is intertwined with learning principles (see Table 1). These results can facilitate quality developments and increase understanding of the learning organization.