This study aimed to explain the process of the formation of research identity and organizational learning in successful and model schools. Given the experiential nature of these concepts, a qualitative approach was adopted, employing grounded theory based on the framework of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Participants included principals, vice-principals, and teachers from schools aligned with the Fundamental Reform Document of Education, selected on the basis of evidence of educational performance and indicators of organizational learning. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Sampling began purposively and continued theoretically until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis was conducted concurrently with data collection through open, axial, and selective coding. The conceptual organization of findings was guided by the paradigmatic model, including causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening factors, strategies, and consequences. The findings indicate that a school’s research identity emerges through a gradual causal–contextual process in which the need for professional reflection and supportive leadership function as initiating drivers within the structural and cultural conditions of the school. Through mechanisms such as professional learning communities, problem-based action research, and evidence-informed decision-making, this process leads to the gradual and context-bound development of research identity. This identity, characterized as nonlinear and grounded in professional trust, enhances the quality of teaching and learning, strengthens teachers’ professional motivation, and institutionalizes a problem-oriented mindset within the school. Accordingly, sustainable organizational learning is realized when research identity extends beyond individual attitudes and becomes embedded in leadership practices, structural arrangements, and professional interactions within the school.