The Effects of Job Autonomy, Learning Culture, and Organizational Cynicism On Learning Transfer in MBA.

AutorMaggi-da-Silva, Patricia Teixeira

1 Introduction

The study "The training panorama in Brazil 2020/2021" revealed that in 2020 companies invested approximately R$ 7.7 billion in training and development (T&D) (Associacao Brasileira de Treinamento e Desenvolvimento, 2021). In 2015, global investment in T&D was approximately US$ 356 billion, which shows that organizational leaders have the view that when their employees acquire new knowledge and skills in formal learning events, there are positive impacts over the competitive advantage of the company as a whole (Baldwin et al., 2017). However, research has presented controversial results regarding the real benefits of formal learning for organizations in different aspects. There are studies with positive results in terms of innovation (Sung and Choi, 2013) and productivity at work and increased profits (Kim & Ployahart, 2014) and financial performance in the long run (Kwon, 2019). Others reveal that formal learning has not improved organizational performance (Vandergoot et al., 2020) and results at the individual level (Ford et al., 2018).

These controversial results can be explained by the difficulty of isolating the effects of different types of formal learning in relation to other organizational factors (Noe et al., 2014). Organizations need to assess individual behaviors that show that individuals are using what they have learned in the execution of their work, that is, learning transfer, also called training transfer, which was initially defined in the seminal study of Baldwin and Ford (1988) as the level to which students effectively apply in their work the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired in training. Although the transfer topic is one of the most important and active in research on T&D (Saks et al., 2014), with increased publications in the last two decades (Baldwin et al., 2017; Schoeb et al., 2020), it still presents some gaps, particularly two. The first relates to the learning transfer construct, which needs to be better defined, operationalized, and differentiated between use and effectiveness (Blume et al., 2010; Vandergoot et al., 2020). The second concerns the lack of studies involving long-duration educational programs with more generic and abstract contents (Soerensen et al., 2017).

Thus, the present investigation can contribute to filling the previous two gaps. For the first, we developed and operationalized a learning transfer scale based on the taxonomy of use of Yelon et al. (2014), who define transfer as the use of the knowledge and skills acquired in formal learning in order to meet the job requirements. For the second gap, the object of investigation is the Brazilian MBA, which according to the criteria established by Resolution n. 1 of June 8th of2007 of the National Education Council are lato sensu postgraduate courses lasting a minimum of 360 hours (Resolution n. 1, Brasil, 2007).

From the objective and instrumental perspective, MBAs have been the target of criticisms, which focus on aspects of the courses and the role of business schools (Boff et al., 2018). Despite the criticisms, there are international (Mihail and Kloutsiniotis, 2017) and national (Pires and Sarfati, 2019) empirical studies that reveal the positive impact of MBAs over the career and remuneration of their graduates. However, these studies do not present evidence of whether the MBA graduates had better job performance as a result of the use of the knowledge and skills learned during the course.

In line with the above discussions, it is possible to infer that the learning transfer literature, in which there is a predominance of studies with quantitative models that test the relationships between different antecedents and their influence on transfer (Lancaster et al., 2013), can provide contributions to overcome the previous gaps, since besides the aspects related to the course in itself, it broadens the focus of the investigation to the student and to the organization. Based on that assumptions, we followed the recommendations of Grossman and Salas (2011) and analyzed the main literature reviews (Blume et al., 2019; Burke and Hutchins, 2007; Cheng and Hampson, 2008; Tonhauser and Buker, 2016) and meta-analyses (Blume et al., 2010) in order to identify what antecedents can exert a greater influence on learning transfer considering the specificities of the type of formal learning under investigation, in the present study the MBA.

As a result of that review, we selected three antecedents classified as general environmental factors that do not intentionally focus on formal learning events but can influence students' transfer behaviors (Holton et al., 2000). They are: job autonomy, learning culture, and organizational cynicism. So, the research question that guided this study is: "How do job autonomy, learning culture, and organizational cynicism relate with learning transfer?" To answer it, we defined the following as the general objective: propose and test a model of learning transfer in MBA, assessing the influence ofjob autonomy, learning culture, and organizational cynicism on learning transfer.

This study contributes theoretically by proposing a multidimensional scale of learning transfer as use ("as use" is explained in section 2.1). The scale, in turn, provides the following practical contributions: 1) it broadens the understanding of how students effectively use the knowledge and skills acquired, revealing the MBA's contribution not only to individuals but also to organizations; 2) the scale can be adapted to other types of formal learning and adopted in models with different antecedent and consequent variables, helping organizations to more effectively assess the results of their formal learning initiatives. Finally, as a social contribution, the study broadens the understanding of the role of formal education and of business schools in the development of organizational leaders.

2 Literature review and hypothesis development

2.1 Learning transfer as use

Despite the growth of academic research on learning transfer in recent decades, there remains a divergence between the operational definitions and their measurement instruments (Schoeb et al., 2020). Inconsistent operationalizations can explain why the research results are contradictory (Vandergoot et al., 2020). In this context, one of the most important advances in the transfer literature in relation to the operationalization and measurement of the transfer construct is its distinction between use and effectiveness (Ford et al., 2018), highlighting the contributions ofYelon et al. (2014), who based on qualitative studies with an inductive approach proposed a model for conceptualizing and operationalizing different modes of application or use of knowledge and skills acquired in formal learning, which was called taxonomy of use.

According to Yelon et al. (2014), transfer as use occurs when the student employs something learned for a specific purpose. In the context of courses focused on developing open skills such as MBAs, that "something" is often intangible: ideas, rules, principles, or procedures to guide actions. The concept of use also considers the personal choices of professionals with relative autonomy, since they decide when, what content, and how to use what they have learned. These different uses in different situations broaden the concept of transfer to the use of the knowledge and skills acquired in formal learning in order to meet the job requirements (Yelon et al., 2014). Use is a multidimensional construct. Table 1 presents the five types of use of the knowledge and skills acquired in formal learning and their respective definitions.

Yelon et al. (2014) suggest that the taxonomy of use should be generalized and adopted to analyze learning transfer in different formal learning events. In this context, MBAs are an opportunity to assess the different uses. Based on the types and definitions from Table 1, we developed and tested a scale of learning transfer as use of the knowledge and skills acquired in formal learning according to the procedures presented in section 3.1.

2.2 Job autonomy

According to Hackman and Oldham (1975), the ways individuals experience and perceive the characteristics of their work affect their behaviors and attitudes in different situations. Among these characteristics, Hackman and Oldham (1975, p. 162) emphasize job autonomy and defined it as: "the degree to which the job provides the employee with substantial freedom, independence, and judgment to plan their work and determine the procedures for carrying it out." With regard to learning transfer, organizational environments where employees have control and autonomy over their work facilitate learning transfer (Helle et al., 2011), as they are free to decide what and how to do things in their work (Laker and Powell, 2011). The studies presented below positively relate job autonomy with learning transfer.

In the study of Axtell et al. (1997), job autonomy had a significant effect on learning transfer. The same study revealed that students with greater job autonomy depend less on other factors related to the climate of transfer (supervisor support, peer support, etc.), as well as being more motivated to transfer learning and more easily identifying opportunities for application.

In the study of Pham et al. (2012) with MBA students, job autonomy had a statistically significant relationship with learning transfer.

Tho's (2017) study revealed that job autonomy had a significant effect as a direct predictor of transfer and as a moderator of the relationship between acquired knowledge and learning transfer.

Therefore, in line with the above discussions, we have the first research hypothesis: H1--Job autonomy positively influences learning transfer.

2.3 Learning culture

The concepts of organizational culture and organizational learning and their relationships gave rise to the concept of learning culture (Banerjee et al., 2017), which is the...

Para continuar a ler

PEÇA SUA AVALIAÇÃO

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT