In today's rapidly changing business environment, lifelong learning is crucial for both employees and organizations. Traditional universities often fail to meet the specific knowledge needs of enterprises, leading to the rise of corporate universities as a strategic response. This study focuses on the internal mechanisms of corporate universities in China that enable organizational lifelong learning. The research employs a knowledge-based view (KBV) to understand how these universities empower organizations, addressing the gap in existing research which often focuses on individual or executive-level empowerment rather than organizational-level impact. The study aims to build a theoretical path model illustrating how Chinese corporate universities enhance lifelong learning within organizations, contributing valuable insights to both academic literature and management practices in China's unique institutional context.

The concept of lifelong learning, first developed in the 1970s, gained prominence in the 1990s, emphasizing human capital development. Corporate universities, evolving from traditional training centers, are now recognized as key players in lifelong learning initiatives. While some research has explored their educational, learning, and knowledge management aspects, a comprehensive understanding of how they empower organizational development, especially in emerging economies like China, remains limited. Existing studies often focus on individual or executive-level empowerment, neglecting the organizational-level impact. This review highlights the need for a theoretical framework that analyzes the unique characteristics and best practices of Chinese corporate universities and their contribution to organizational competitiveness within the context of China's specific institutional environment.

This study utilized a qualitative research design grounded in the principles of grounded theory. The researchers selected a sample of seven outstanding corporate universities in China, representing diverse industries and ownership structures (five state-owned, one foreign-funded, and one private). Selection criteria included independent legal entity status, provision of talent training for internal and external stakeholders, operational history of over two years, demonstrable advanced practices, and industry diversity. Data collection involved analyzing internal documents (over 200,000 words of textual data and various multimedia content), and conducting semi-structured interviews with corporate university practitioners, scholars, and experts (a total of 32 interviews, with an average interview duration of about 200 minutes). Data analysis followed a three-step coding procedure: label extraction, item extraction, and dimension extraction, facilitated by NVivo 12 software. This process aimed to identify recurring themes and patterns and build a theoretical framework explaining how corporate universities enable organizational lifelong learning.

The analysis revealed four key enabling paths through which corporate universities empower organizational lifelong learning: 1. **Generating Strategic Knowledge:** Corporate universities participate in high-level strategic decision-making, execute strategic initiatives, and translate high-level strategies into actionable projects. This involvement ensures strategic alignment across the organization. 2. **Sharing Business Knowledge:** These universities foster user-oriented thinking, provide market insights, and promote business innovation through digital learning platforms and knowledge management systems. They facilitate information sharing and collaboration across different departments. 3. **Optimizing Governance Knowledge:** Corporate universities enhance organizational capabilities through efficient collaboration, agile adaptation to market changes, high-skilled employee training, and refined knowledge management governance. They optimize internal processes and promote effective resource allocation. 4. **Transforming Cultural Knowledge:** Corporate universities shape organizational culture by embedding the company's mission, vision, and values into learning and development programs, fostering a shared understanding and commitment among employees. This strengthens the organizational identity and promotes a unified company culture. The study constructed a path model illustrating the interconnectedness of these four enabling paths, demonstrating how corporate universities leverage knowledge management to improve organizational performance and create a sustainable competitive advantage.

The findings of this study address the research question by demonstrating the significant role of corporate universities in empowering organizational lifelong learning. The identified four paths highlight the multifaceted nature of this influence, extending beyond traditional knowledge management approaches. The significance of these findings lies in their contribution to the understanding of how corporate universities can drive organizational development in emerging economies. The study's path model offers a valuable framework for understanding the interplay between various types of knowledge within organizations and how corporate universities can facilitate lifelong learning processes at the organizational level. The results have implications for both theoretical development and practical applications in the field of knowledge management and corporate university development.

This study contributes to the literature by developing a path model that explains how corporate universities empower organizational lifelong learning through four key paths: generating strategic knowledge, sharing business knowledge, optimizing governance knowledge, and transforming cultural knowledge. The findings highlight the importance of knowledge management within corporate universities and their evolving role beyond supplementary training units. Future research could explore the enabling mechanisms in different contexts (developed vs. emerging economies) and analyze challenges faced by corporate universities in adapting their lifelong learning functions. This would further refine the proposed path model and provide practical guidance for corporate university administrators.

The study's limitations include the sample size and potential biases associated with focusing on high-performing corporate universities. Privacy concerns limited access to certain sensitive data within the organizations, potentially influencing the depth of analysis in some areas. Future research could address these limitations by incorporating a larger sample, including diverse performing corporate universities and seeking wider access to organizational data to provide a more robust and comprehensive analysis.