Most recent papers:

• The 70:20:10 framework and the transfer of learning.
  Samantha J. Johnson, Deborah A. Blackman, Fiona Buick.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. October 26, 2018
  --- - |2 The capacity of an organization to innovate, change, and be effective depends on the skills and abilities of employees, highlighting the importance of developing individual capabilities. The 70:20:10 framework is used by practitioners to guide them when developing effective learning and development programs. Although the framework has been adopted globally in both private and public sectors, its effectiveness has not been assessed in relation to the transfer of learning. Using qualitative data from the Australian public sector, this study explores how the framework is being implemented and whether it facilitates the transfer of learning to build middle management capability. Results showed that despite middle managers' awareness of, and willingness to take part in, ongoing skill development, attempts to develop capability through learning transfer by implementing the 70:20:10 framework were not achieving the desired outcomes. The research suggests that learning transfer and managerial capability development was hindered through four misconceptions regarding the framework's implementation. These are: an overconfident assumption that unstructured experiential learning automatically results in capability development; a narrow interpretation of social learning; the expectation that managerial behavior would automatically change following formal training and development activities without the need to actively support the process; and a lack of recognition of the requirement of a planned and integrated relationship of all three aspects of the framework. We suggest future research seeks to explicate the role of social learning in supporting the efficacy of both formal and experiential learning. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  October 26, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21330   open full text
• Entrepreneurs' human resources development.
  Sylvia Veronique Hubner, Matthias Baum.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. October 24, 2018
  --- - |2 This study explores how entrepreneurs develop human resources within their firms. Based on an analysis of interviews with entrepreneurs and new venture consultants, we describe entrepreneurs' human resources development (HRD) approaches. We found that entrepreneurs rely on networking and creativity, aim to leverage employees' interest and competencies, and allow cocreation by employees; current requirements and situational conditions shape entrepreneurs' HRD decisions. To elaborate on our findings, we draw on the distinction between causation and effectuation. We describe an entrepreneurial HRD process that combines both a causation‐based and an effectuation‐based HRD approach. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  October 24, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21328   open full text
• Reciprocity matters: Idiosyncratic deals to shape the psychological contract and foster employee engagement in times of austerity.
  Amanda S. Davis, Beatrice I. J. M. Van der Heijden.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 10, 2018
  --- - |2 Following the 2007/2008 global financial crisis, the UK public sector has experienced major funding cuts resulting in staffing reductions and a dilution in the employment deal. Consequently, the aim of this study is to understand how i‐deals, which are unique conditions of employment negotiated between an individual and their employer (Rousseau, 2005), may be used to accept a new psychological contract and foster employee engagement during austerity. Four qualitative team case studies were conducted comprising senior, middle‐line, and first‐line managers, and either professional or nonprofessional employees, within one English local authority (LA). Methods included 29 × one‐to‐one and three focus group semistructured interviews incorporating the critical incident technique. By examining i‐deals through the lens of social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), this research demonstrates the role of reciprocity in the form of i‐deals to accept the new psychological contract and foster engagement. Here, for some employees, once concrete and universal resources were available to a certain level (e.g., pay), the difference (e.g., universal resources such as a pay rise, external training) was substituted by more particularistic resources (e.g., flexibility and developmental i‐deals) herewith extending Foa and Foa's (1976, 1980, and 2012) resource theory. Furthermore, resultant economic or social exchange may be due to the individual attribution of why the i‐deal was agreed, rather than the i‐deal content. Finally, when i‐deals are denied, action to lower the risk of psychological contract breach is advised. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  September 10, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21327   open full text
• Information for Contributors.
  
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 03, 2018
  --- - - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 287-292, Fall 2018.
  

  September 03, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21299   open full text
• Issue Information.
  
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 03, 2018
  --- - - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 187-192, Fall 2018.
  

  September 03, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21298   open full text
• How does self‐direction within learning operate to affect idea generation in small‐medium enterprise contexts?
  Graham Perkins.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. August 17, 2018
  --- - |2 Extant literature draws numerous links between aspects of human resource development (HRD) activity and organizational creativity/innovation, noting that investments in learning positively impact creative output. Within this research base, studies suggest that the ability to self‐direct learning activity can influence creative performance, but we do not yet understand how such processes operate, particularly in small‐medium enterprise (SME) contexts. Given the positive economic and social impacts generated by SMEs, themselves often being sources of breakthrough product or service innovation, this is an important research problem that requires our collective attention. This article argues that while the ability to self‐direct learning activity does contribute to the generation of ideas in SME contexts, the presence of multiple stakeholder voices in the learning conversation suggests that learning is better conceptualized as codirected rather than self‐directed. This study finds that codirected approaches to learning operate through a mechanism termed “participative dialogue,” whereby both employees and managers contribute to learning conversations. It also highlights the role of employee critical self‐appraisal in driving self‐directedness and contributing to the generation of ideas. Findings ultimately suggest that codirection of learning benefits idea generation because such approaches facilitate the emergence of unexpected patterns of thinking, which drive the divergence that creativity depends upon. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  August 17, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21326   open full text
• Measuring semantic components in training and motivation: A methodological introduction to the semantic theory of survey response.
  Jan K. Arnulf, Anders Dysvik, Kai R. Larsen.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. August 09, 2018
  --- - |2 This is a methodological presentation of the relationship between semantics and survey statistics in human resource development (HRD) research. This study starts with an introduction to the semantic theory of survey response (STSR) and proceeds by offering a guided approach to conducting such analyses. The reader is presented with two types of semantic algorithms and a brief overview of how they are calculated and how they can be accessed by interested researchers. Subsequently, we use semantic data to reanalyze a previously published study on the relationships between perceptions of a trainee program, intrinsic motivation, and work outcomes. The semantic algorithms can explain between 31 and 55% of the variation in the observed correlations. This article shows how the statistical models originally used to explore the survey data can be replicated using semantics either alone or as an identifiable source of variation in the data. All the steps are presented in detail, and the datasets as well as the statistical syntax necessary to perform the analyses are made available to the readers. Implications for methodology and the improvement of predictive validity in HRD research are discussed. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  August 09, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21324   open full text
• The relationship between participation in different types of training programs and gainful employment for formerly incarcerated individuals.
  Candace Flatt, Ronald L. Jacobs.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. July 30, 2018
  --- - |2 According to the U.S. Department of Justice (2007), over 10,000 formerly incarcerated individuals are released each week from federal and state prisons. The purpose of this study is to draw upon human capital theory to examine the relationships between the types of training programs and gainful employment for formerly incarcerated individuals. Three types of training programs considered in this study are school‐based training programs, pre‐employment training programs, and postemployment training programs. Generalized linear mixed models are used to determine if each type of training program is related to employment status and income. Based on a sample from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), postemployment training programs are positively related to gainful employment for formerly incarcerated individuals. This result emphasizes the pivotal role of employers in addressing mass incarceration through human resources development (HRD). - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 263-286, Fall 2018.
  

  July 30, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21325   open full text
• Testing multi‐group measurement invariance of data from the knowledge creation practice inventory.
  Shinhee Jeong, Jihoon Song, Yu‐Yu Hsiao.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. July 24, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined the extent to which the factor structure of the Knowledge‐Creation Practice Inventory (KCPI) is invariant across different occupational groups in South Korea, based on the studies of Song et al in 2011 and 2012. Inspired by Nonaka's (1994) knowledge‐conversion theory, the inventory consists of four dimensions (i.e., knowledge sharing, creating concepts, justifying concepts, and building prototypes), measured by 11 items. A total of 2,364 responses collected from school teachers (n = 1,864), public‐sector employees (n = 214), and private‐sector employees (n = 286) were utilized to examine the measurement invariance, using a series of hierarchical multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. The results indicated that the four‐factor, 11‐item measurement model is equivalent across the three groups, supporting configural invariance, metric invariance, scalar invariance, and factor variance/covariance invariance, except factor mean invariance. A series of post‐hoc tests were additionally conducted to identify the factor mean differences among the three groups. Based on the results of this study, future researchers should use more diverse samples including a wide range of cultures or different subcultural groups (e.g., occupations, genders, and educational backgrounds) to expand the universality of the factor construct. Relevant organizations can utilize the inventory to assess their current capacity of knowledge creation and design for appropriate human resource (HR) or organizational development interventions to nurture and enhance employees' learning‐related behaviors. Since the generalizability and validity of the KCPI were supported in this study, at least among these three groups, more reliable, rigorous group comparisons are available for future research utilizing this inventory. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 243-262, Fall 2018.
  

  July 24, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21323   open full text
• Managerial coaching of frontline employees: The moderating role of gender.
  Claudio Pousa, David A. Richards, Carole Trépanier.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. July 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Managerial coaching (also known as the leader‐as‐coach model) is becoming prevalent as a new management paradigm to develop and empower employees and help them increase their performance. At the same time, the composition of the workforce has changed, with female employees reaching almost 50% of workers and around 30% of managers. Accordingly, scholars have set out to understand if gender affects managerial behaviors and employee responses. The goal of this study is to evaluate if significant differences in performance should be expected when coaching female and male employees. The results suggest that female and male responses to managerial coaching are more complex than expected. Managerial coaching positively affects female behavioral and result performance and male behavioral performance, but—contrary to expectations—no significant effect was found for coaching on male result performance. Additionally, female and male employees differ in their self‐evaluation of the focal performance constructs, with females evaluating their contribution to performance at lower levels than their male counterparts. The results suggest that, to be an effective developmental tool, the approach taken with coaching should take into consideration the recipient's gender and address different areas of performance. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 219-241, Fall 2018.
  

  July 13, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21322   open full text
• Enhancing the trustworthiness and credibility of human resource development: Evidence‐based management to the rescue?
  Claire Gubbins, Brian Harney, Lisa van der Werff, Denise M. Rousseau.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 27, 2018
  --- - - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 193-202, Fall 2018.
  

  June 27, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21313   open full text
• Identifying latent profiles in work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work conflict.
  Yunsoo Lee.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 21, 2018
  --- - |2 From the perspective of a person‐centered approach, the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze latent profiles of employees according to the employees' levels of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) and family‐to‐work conflict using latent‐profile analysis. This study utilized work, family, and health study (WFHS) data compiled from 823 employees at select Fortune 500 information technology (IT) companies. The data were examined using multinomial logistic regression analysis to determine whether individuals could be grouped into certain profiles according to their demographic characteristics. The group differences in the outcome variables of the WFC were also considered using the analysis of variance technique. The results suggest that HR/HRD professionals should consider how various types and intensities of conflicts combine to influence employees and should deploy this information when designing strategies and interventions to reduce WFCs. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 203-217, Fall 2018.
  

  June 21, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21312   open full text
• Leadership development for undergraduate students at U.S. universities: The case for HRD research and practice.
  K. Peter Kuchinke, Alexandre Ardichvili, Lisa Wocken, Jaekyo Seo, Witsinee Bovornusvakool.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. March 12, 2018
  --- - |2 The development of leaders and building of leadership capacity are central concerns of HRD research and practice, yet the large and high‐impact area of leadership education provided by U.S. universities to undergraduate students is missing from the domain literature. Over the past 20 years, leadership education has become a common feature at universities and colleges in the United States and is experiencing strong demand and institutional support. Leadership development operates in parallel to the traditional curriculum shaping the career trajectories of university graduates and adding to the talent pool of hiring organizations. This article outlines the status of university‐based leadership education in the United States, offers a critical assessment, and highlights areas in need of investigation and scholarship of relevance to HRD. - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  March 12, 2018   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21309   open full text
• Current status and promising directions for research on the learning organization.
  Karen E. Watkins, Kyoungshin Kim.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. October 05, 2017
  This article examines the state of research on the learning organization in the field of HRD and future directions that hold promise for enriching our understanding of organizational learning and the learning organization. The article differentiates these two streams of research and explores areas where one body of research may be useful to the other. The article draws heavily on studies using the Dimensions of a Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ©). Emerging work testing cross‐cultural validity and levels of analysis, as well as social network analyses, shows promise in deepening our understanding of the construct. Finally, a case is made for the need for studies of learning organization interventions in order to continue to test the usefulness of the construct of a learning organization for HRD practitioners.

  October 05, 2017   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21293   open full text
• Beyond the Single Organization: Inside Insights From Gaining Access for Large Multiorganization Survey HRD Research.
  Mark N. K. Saunders, David E. Gray, Alexandra Bristow.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. May 10, 2017
  Gaining physical access to potential respondents is crucial to human resource development (HRD) survey research. Yet a review of the HRD, human resource management, and best‐selling business and management research methods texts in the United States, and United Kingdom reveals that, even where the process of gaining access is discussed and its cruciality stressed, inside accounts and insights regarding the daunting and problematic nature and its impact on data collected are rarely emphasized. More specialist methods literature, although outlining some potential issues, again offers few insights into the actual realities likely to be faced in the real world. Consideration of recent articles in HRD journals highlights also that, despite the widespread use of surveys, often via the Internet, such issues of physical access are rarely mentioned, reporting at best merely summarizing from whom and how data were obtained. We speak to this problem by offering two inside accounts of multiorganization research studies utilizing a survey strategy and Internet questionnaire, where gaining access to people across a large number of organizations threw up many challenges. These accounts offer clear insights into the issues and implications for rigor associated with gaining access when undertaking Internet surveys using both purchased lists (databases) and volunteer panels. In particular, they highlight the importance of recognizing that gaining access is often problematic, and provide a context for our recommendations for research practice, thereby assisting the mitigation of potential problems.

  May 10, 2017   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21285   open full text
• The State of Transfer of Training Research: Moving Toward More Consumer‐Centric Inquiry.
  Timothy T. Baldwin, J. Kevin Ford, Brian D. Blume.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. February 10, 2017
  Over the past 30 years, there has been an explosion of research in the human resource development (HRD) literature devoted to transfer of training ‐ and much has been learned. Yet despite recent demands for evidence‐based practice, too little of the science of transfer is informing professionals in their design and execution of training initiatives. We offer three broad prescriptions for moving future transfer research toward more consumer‐centric outcomes: (1) systematically report more and richer information related to the trainees, trainers, and organizational contexts under study; (2) focus explicitly on the optimization of transfer ‐ not just learning; and (3) expand the measurement and reporting of transfer outcomes. We conclude with a general call for transfer scholars to adopt a more consumer‐centric mind‐set where studies are designed with an eye to informing training interventions of greatest frequency and importance to contemporary organizations and training practitioners.

  February 10, 2017   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21278   open full text
• Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader.
  Reviewed By Hona Amer.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. November 24, 2016
  --- - - Human Resource Development Quarterly, EarlyView.
  

  November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21277   open full text
• Problematizing HRD in SMEs: A “Critical” Exploration of Context, Informality, and Empirical Realities.
  Ciara T. Nolan, Thomas N. Garavan.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. July 27, 2016
  Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the backbone of the global economy and therefore are an integral part of the HRD research agenda. The HRD literature has predominantly focused on both large firms and formal practices, and as a consequence HRD in SMEs is considered deficient. In this article, we question these assumptions by invoking Mingers’ (2000) “four aspects of being critical” framework. We argue that the current knowledge base is flawed as research has not moved beyond the deficiency model to explore, accommodate, and explain HRD in the SME setting. The role of SME context and informality is insufficiently conceptualized in the literature. We make theoretical and methodological recommendations to advance HRD research.

  July 27, 2016   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21261   open full text
• The Effects of Different Behavioral Goals on Transfer from a Management Development Program.
  Travor C. Brown, Amy M. Warren, Vipul Khattar.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. May 18, 2016
  The present field study examined transfer from a training program that focused on interpersonal skills for public‐sector management development participants (n = 172). Using a quasi‐experimental design, participants were assigned to one of three behavioral conditions (behavioral outcome goals, behavioral specific goals, rank‐ordered behavioral goals) or a comparison do‐your‐best condition. Transfer was assessed using a self‐report survey, self‐BOS (behavioral observation scale) ratings, and workplace observer (median = 4) BOS ratings. Overall, the results suggest that the management development program was effective. Self‐efficacy and transfer (self‐BOS ratings) scores, across all conditions, were higher post‐program relative to pre‐program. Post‐program self‐BOS ratings revealed that behavioral outcome goals increased transfer relative to the other two forms of behavioral goals. Behavioral specific goals reduced transfer, as assessed by workplace observer BOS ratings, relative to all other study conditions. There was no evidence that either form of behavioral goals was superior to do‐your‐best.

  May 18, 2016   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21257   open full text
• Social Competence in Small Firms—Fostering Workplace Learning and Performance.
  Thomas Lans, Frans Verhees, Jos Verstegen.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. April 08, 2016
  While it is widely accepted that social networks are key to small‐firm success, detailed studies on the specific contribution of owner‐managers’ social competence to learning and performance are scarce. In this article, the importance of owner‐managers’ social competence was explored in a specific, innovative small‐firm sector in the Netherlands: the agri‐food sector. This was done by means of a qualitative (n = 13) and quantitative (n = 556) study. In the qualitative study, the two social competence domains most frequently cited and employed in entrepreneurial workplace learning practices were a social learning orientation and the ability to interact with strategic social partners. The quantitative study illustrated that social competence, overall, influences small‐firm performance significantly. However, the relationships between social competence and small‐firm performance seem to depend on the specific strategies that owner‐managers pursue. In particular, this research supports the idea of social competence being an important driver of success for specific small‐firm strategies and for the ongoing development of existing and new capabilities. As such, it underlines the importance of the capability‐driven approach to HRD in the small‐firm context. This, in turn, has implications for small‐firm support programs.

  April 08, 2016   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21254   open full text
• Diversity Training Programme Outcomes: A Systematic Review.
  Hussain Alhejji, Thomas Garavan, Ronan Carbery, Fergal O'Brien, David McGuire.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 21, 2015
  This article analyzes the scholarship on diversity‐training outcomes utilizing a systematic literature review (SLR) and provide insights for future research. The article advances our understanding of diversity‐training outcomes through the integration of three perspectives: the business case, learning, and social justice perspectives. The SLR revealed: (a) a literature that is fragmented and diverse in terms of publication outlets; (b) researchers conduct diversity‐training outcomes research in a diverse range or organizations, sectors, cultural and training contexts; (c) studies primarily reflect the business case or learning perspectives; and (d) existing studies have significant methodological limitations. We argue the need for future research to adopt multiple perspectives ensure better cross‐fertilization of perspectives and make use of more sophisticated methodologies.

  September 21, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21221   open full text
• Employees’ Perceived Use of Leader Power and Implications for Affect and Work Intentions.
  Drea Zigarmi, Taylor Peyton Roberts, W. Alan Randolph.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. August 25, 2015
  The concept of power in organizations has been studied at both the macro level (analyses of structural systems or policies) and at the micro level (individual perceptions). In this study, we examine employee perceptions of their leader's use of power at the individual/psychological level. Applying social cognitive theory, employee perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power were explored in relationship to employees’ negative or positive affect and corresponding work intentions. Structural equation modeling was used to examine data from 651 employees. Positive and negative affect mediated employees’ perceptions of their managers’ use of various power bases and five work intentions: intentions to perform, to endorse the organization and its leadership, to stay in the organization, to use discretionary effort, and to be an organizational citizen. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

  August 25, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21216   open full text
• Organizational Attitudes as Precursors to Training Performance.
  Sungjun Kim, Huh‐Jung Hahn, Jinkyu Lee.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. August 25, 2015
  In most prior research on training and development, employees’ attitudes toward their organization have been viewed as consequences of training interventions rather than as antecedents. This study asserts that affective organizational commitment and organizational identification are performance predictors of training designed to directly address the collective interests of the organization. Additionally, we expected that organizational identification has a stronger positive effect on training performance than does organizational commitment. To test these hypotheses, the independent variables were measured in 149 trainees prior to the beginning of the training program. Observers’ ratings of behavioral performance were evaluated as the training outcome using an assessment center method. The analysis showed that organizational identification significantly predicts training performance, whereas organizational commitment does not.

  August 25, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21218   open full text
• Developing and Applying a New Instrument for Microanalysis of the Coaching Process: The Coaching Process Q‐Set.
  Tatiana Bachkirova, Jonathan Sibley, Adrian Christopher Myers.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. August 25, 2015
  This paper presents the results of a project aimed at the development and the use of an instrument designed to identify differences and similarities across coaching approaches at the level of a specific coaching session. 41 professional coaches described one of their typical coaching sessions using this instrument and found it comprehensive. Q‐mode Factor analysis suggests that there was one overarching shared viewpoint about the way a mid‐engagement coaching session is typically facilitated. This suggests that there may be considerable similarities in how coaching is actually practiced in spite of the existence of a variety of coaching traditions, genres and contexts in which coaching takes place, leading to one extended conceptual definition of coaching. We suggest that the tool makes possible a number of research projects, allows a clearer understanding of services typically provided by contracted coaches and assists in self‐evaluation of professional and ‘on‐the‐job’ types of coaching.

  August 25, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21215   open full text
• Measuring the Business Impact of Employee Learning: A View From the Professional Services Sector.
  Shahron Williams van Rooij, Jerusalem Merkebu.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 22, 2015
  Although the HRD literature is fairly consistent in affirming the recognition that employee learning is critical to organizational performance, there has been little agreement about how best to demonstrate the contribution of employee learning to the organization's bottom line, with approaches varying from industry to industry and from organization to organization. Focusing on the professional services sector, an industry sector that has garnered little attention in terms of HRD measurement research, this paper draws on the analytical techniques from Grounded Theory to explore how 15 professional service firm (PSF) decision‐makers who are responsible for their firm's learning and development strategy measure the business impact of professional employee learning. The outcome of this study is a preliminary theory, grounded in the interview data, that explains what learning opportunities are offered to professional employees and why, how the business impact of professional employee learning is measured, and how PSF decision‐makers use those business outcome measures to make decisions. The unifying theme emerging from the study is Win Rate, a composite of multiple quantitative measures that include direct as well as indirect contributors to the firm's bottom line. Implications of our findings for HRD research and practice are also addressed.

  June 22, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21211   open full text
• Learning Transfer in Practice: A Qualitative Study of Medical Professionals’ Perspectives.
  Myungweon Choi, Kathryn Roulston.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 22, 2015
  This article explores how medical professionals’ understanding of their own profession relates to their learning transfer. Based on qualitative interviews with medical professionals participating in a mind–body medicine training program, we examined the rationales provided by medical professionals for their decisions on whether to integrate new learning in their current and future clinical practice. The findings show that medical professionals’ beliefs and values about the profession of medicine and knowledge of the wider healthcare system affect their decisions concerning applying what they had learned in practice. Specifically, (a) medical professionals’ prior beliefs and developing understandings of the purpose of the profession, (b) their prior beliefs and developing understandings of good clinical practice, and (c) their understandings of clinical practice as a marketplace geared to client satisfaction and regulated by the healthcare system are critical to understanding how they decided to transfer what they had learned and to make changes in their practices. Based on the findings, implications for research and practice are proposed.

  June 22, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21209   open full text
• Psychological Capital Intervention (PCI): A Replication and Extension.
  Silvia Dello Russo, Petya Stoykova.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 18, 2015
  Psychological Capital (PsyCap) is a positive individual characteristic, and its malleability and openness to development have made it the focus of considerable attention in recent years. A training procedure for improving individuals’ PsyCap has been advanced and tested by Luthans and colleagues in a North American sample. The purpose of the current study was to generalize the effectiveness of the PsyCap Intervention (Luthans, Avey, Avolio, Norman, & Combs, 2006) when conducted by different trainers (i.e., replication), and to explore its longer term effects (i.e., extension). We trained a pooled sample ( N = 40) of students and professionals in Bulgaria and conducted a one‐month follow‐up assessment of PsyCap in order to examine the durability of the training effects. The statistical analyses revealed significant improvements in the overall PsyCap after training as well as in each of its four dimensions, namely, self‐efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism; remarkably, these improvements remained stable over one month, attesting to the durability of the training effects in the samples of both students and professionals. These results contribute to the accrual of scientific knowledge on a theory‐driven and evidence‐based HRD intervention.

  June 18, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21212   open full text
• The Invisible Learning Ceiling: Informal Learning Among Preschool Teachers and Assistants in a Norwegian Kindergarten.
  Vidar Schei, Ida Nerbø.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 18, 2015
  Individuals and society invest ever‐increasing resources in formal educational programs. However, informal workplace learning may be an effective alternative source for enhancing competencies, but, unfortunately, our knowledge about informal learning is still limited. We extend the research on informal learning to the unexplored occupational group of kindergarten employees. Our research questions pertain to identifying activities that lead to informal learning, to conditions that promote or prevent such learning, and to differences between two groups of employees (preschool teachers and assistants). We used a qualitative case‐study approach and conducted semistructured, in‐depth interviews in a Norwegian kindergarten. The data indicated that the participants were involved in a variety of learning activities. However, preschool teachers and assistants differed regarding the conditions for informal learning, with assistants perceiving greater barriers to learning in the workplace. We argue that the assistants are easily trapped in situations in which further learning is difficult, and, paradoxically, those employees with the lowest formal education also seem to be disfavored with regard to informal learning. Clever organization of the work and careful leadership might be key actions to break through this invisible learning ceiling.

  June 18, 2015   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21213   open full text
• The Organizational Context and Performance Implications of Human Capital Investment Variability.
  Mousumi Bhattacharya, D. Harold Doty, Thomas Garavan.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. March 19, 2014
  In contrast to the traditional focus of HRD on human capital accumulations we examine the issue of variability in human capital investment. Drawing on Real Options Theory, we theorize that larger firms and firms that are faced with greater organizational risk will create a greater number of options in terms of human capital investment decisions resulting over time in greater variability in labor costs. Based on a large sample of U.S. firms and longitudinal data, we found that labor cost variability was positively related to organizational risk and firm size, but negatively related to capital intensity. These relationships were significant even after controlling for employment variability. Overall, we found that in the long term, firms with greater variability in labor costs achieved better performance. Implications for strategic HRD theory and practice are discussed.

  March 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21182   open full text
• Assessing the Influence of Managerial Coaching on Employee Outcomes.
  Sewon Kim.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. March 19, 2014
  The present study investigates relationships between managerial coaching behavior and employee role clarity, attitude, and performance‐related responses. Using data from a sample of 234 South Korean employees in a private conglomerate, structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized conceptual model. The results found support for the proposed model and core structural relations, such that managerial coaching had a direct impact on employee role clarity and satisfaction with work and an indirect impact on satisfaction with work via role clarity, organization commitment via satisfaction with work, and job performance via role clarity. The study provides empirical evidence for managerial coaching effectiveness, the identification of mediating mechanisms between managerial coaching and employee work‐related outcomes, and finally cultural contexts and perspectives to managerial coaching practice. Implications of these results for theory and practice and directions for future research are discussed.

  March 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21175   open full text
• Informal Workplace Learning in Austrian Banks: The Influence of Learning Approach, Leadership Style, and Organizational Learning Culture on Managers' Learning Outcomes.
  Dominik Froehlich, Mien Segers, Piet Van den Bossche.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. March 19, 2014
  Informal workplace learning takes an increasingly focal role in human resource development (HRD) practice and research, as it contributes to or ganizations' adaptability and competitiveness. However, little is known about how individual managers' approaches to learning and contextual influences such as leadership and organizational learning culture influence learning outcomes. This study narrows these gaps by examining the relationship between learning approaches, experienced leadership style, organizational learning culture, and learning outcomes among 143 Austrian bank managers in a cross‐sectional, quantitative questionnaire study. Results show that the choice of learning approach significantly affects several conceptualizations of learning outcome. Moreover, we have found that learning approaches partially mediate the effects of experienced leadership style on learning outcomes. Also, organizational learning culture moderates the effects of leadership style and learning approaches. These findings call for further research of the process and outcome of informal workplace learning and imply a need for greater awareness of both individuals' learning approaches and contextual influences of the learning process in practice.

  March 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21173   open full text
• What Do the Next 25 Years Hold for HRD Research in Areas of Our Interest?
  Darlene Russ‐Eft, Karen E. Watkins, Victoria J. Marsick, Ronald L. Jacobs, Gary N. McLean.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. March 19, 2014
  This invited feature article presents the perspectives of five highly recognized and influential HRD Scholars who are also past and present leaders within the Academy of Human Resource Development. These scholars were asked to reflect on the past and present of research in an area of their interest and expertise and they have each offered projections for the next 25 years of HRD Research in their respective areas.

  March 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21180   open full text
• Learning About Managing the Business in the Hospitality Industry.
  Li Li, David E. Gray, Andrew John Lockwood, Dimitrios Buhalis.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. December 10, 2013
  This research examines the learning experiences of general managers (GMs) in the hospitality industry, a sector much neglected in terms of research into management learning and human resource development. Our research focused on four large hospitality organizations (two hotels and two contract catering companies) and adopted an approach that integrates multiple data collection strategies in supporting our qualitative case studies. Data were collected by using document analysis plus detailed, qualitative interviews with 21 general managers, of whom 7 were subsequently observed at work and observation notes generated. Data analysis revealed that the participants learned to manage the business primarily through experience, a process consisting of four key stages: Being Challenged, Information Searching, Information Transformation, and Testing. Reflective thinking plays a central role in their learning, taking the form of “actions” involving association, integration and validation, and of “products” involving content, process and context reflections. We argue that the way hospitality managers learn, while sharing the learning approaches taken by other professionals, differs in that these managers' learning is more highly contextualized.

  December 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21171   open full text
• Quality‐Related HR Practices, Organizational Ethics, and Positive Work Attitudes: Implications for HRD.
  Sean Valentine, David Hollingworth, Clare A. Francis.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. December 10, 2013
  Existing research suggests that human resource (HR) practices and corporate ethics, both of which are orchestrated through human resource development (HRD), enhance employees' work attitudes. Consequently, this study examined the degree to which employees' perception of organizational ethics mediates the relationship between their perceptions of quality‐related HR practices and work attitudes. Results obtained from structural equation modeling of data acquired from 187 professionals in a financial services firm showed full mediation. Stronger perceptions of quality‐related HR practices were associated with increased perceptions of organizational ethics, and stronger perceptions of organizational ethics were associated with more positive work attitudes. The results suggest that quality‐based HR practices can be used in companies to advance an ethical context, ultimately yielding more favorable work attitudes.

  December 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21169   open full text
• The Influence of Passion and Work–Life Thoughts on Work Satisfaction.
  Sara Thorgren, Joakim Wincent, Charlotta Sirén.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. December 10, 2013
  The Dualistic Model of Passion has gained increasing attention in social psychology in the past decade. Besides defining passion as “a strong inclination or desire toward an activity that one likes, finds important, and in which one invests time and energy” (Vallerand et al., 2003, p. 757), it acknowledges two types of passion, harmonious and obsessive, which develop according to how individuals internalize an activity in their self‐concept. A growing body of empirical research, particularly in nonwork settings, has demonstrated that harmonious passion and obsessive passion have distinct outcomes. As such, this two‐dimensional passion construct may be particularly useful for developing a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals engage with work compared to the existing one‐dimensional constructs of job engagement used in organizational literature. The present study develops hypotheses and tests the direct effect of harmonious and obsessive passion with work satisfaction. It also aims to develop theory by connecting the dualistic passion approach with work–life conflict; in doing so, it tests how individuals' off‐task thoughts at work and on‐task thoughts off work may mediate this relationship. Using a quantitative survey, the hypotheses are tested on a random sample of individuals engaged in business start‐ups in Sweden. Whereas harmonious passion exhibits a direct effect with work satisfaction, obsessive passion exhibits an indirect effect through on‐task thoughts off work with work satisfaction.

  December 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21172   open full text
• The Contrasting Effects of Coaching Style on Task Performance: The Mediating Roles of Subjective Task Complexity and Self‐Set Goal.
  Ray Tak‐yin Hui, Christina Sue‐Chan, Robert E. Wood.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. December 10, 2013
  The effects of two coaching styles, one guidance and one facilitation, on the performance of coached and transfer tasks were examined in an experimental study. With the aim of improving and enhancing individual performance, guidance coaching entails the coach as a role model, delivering clear expectations and feedback about how to improve in a directive manner, while facilitation coaching involves the coach's helping the individual to explore and evaluate the task and self‐developing the correct responses for improving performance. Tests of the mediating effects of self‐set goals, which are defined as desired levels of performance to be attained on a task, and subjective task complexity, which is defined as an individual's perception of the complexity of a task, on the coaching style–performance relationship were also conducted. Participants (n = 127) were coached in the use of two software programs, PowerPoint and Excel 2007. The results showed that guidance coaching is more effective for improving coached task performance than facilitation coaching, while facilitation coaching is more effective for improving transfer task performance than guidance coaching. Subjective task complexity and self‐set performance goals mediated the effects of coaching style on the performance of both coached and transfer tasks. Implications for theory and managerial practice are discussed.

  December 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21170   open full text
• Toward a British Taxonomy of Perceived Managerial and Leadership Effectiveness.
  Robert G. Hamlin, Alf Hatton.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 16, 2013
  A long‐standing problem in management research has been the lack of agreement about the specific managerial behaviors that are most closely associated with effective management practice and leadership practice. The study reports the results of a qualitative multiple cross‐case and cross‐sector exploration of what managers and nonmanagerial employees within British public‐, private‐, and third‐sector organizations perceive as effective and least effective/ineffective managerial behavior. Based on empirical findings obtained from nine prior emic replication studies, our derived etic comparative analysis has led to a deduced taxonomy of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness comprised of eight positive (effective) and six negative (least effective/ineffective) generic behavioral criteria. Comparisons against extant U.S.‐derived taxonomies have revealed many similarities but also significant differences. The findings go against the grain of predominant discourse, and challenge long‐held, taken‐for‐granted assumptions about the “contingent” nature of management and leadership. Implications for HRD research and practice are discussed.

  September 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21163   open full text
• Making a Change: The Role of External Coaches in School‐Based Communities of Practice.
  Anysia P. Mayer, Robin S. Grenier, Larisa Warhol, Morgaen Donaldson.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 16, 2013
  External coaches, provided by intermediary organizations, are being utilized to support and develop principals, teachers, and schools and bring about substantive change through communities of practice (CoPs). These coaches provide an external perspective and are integral to the reform process. HRD recognizes the value of coaching in organizational improvement and change, yet understanding the use of external coaches in CoP is lacking in the literature. This article seeks to address this gap by presenting the results from a qualitative case study exploring the roles and experiences of three coaches, in seven elementary–middle schools implementing the Together Initiative (TI) school reform. Researchers' fieldwork consisted of informal site visits and 155 formal interviews with stakeholders involved in the Together Initiative, a reform aimed at improving urban public schools. This study provides a new context for understanding the role of coaching in supporting organizational change.

  September 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21164   open full text
• Developing Customers as Partial Employees: Predictors and Outcomes of Customer Performance in a Services Context.
  Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben, Oliver K. Stoutner.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 16, 2013
  Scholars within the field of HRD have acknowledged the need for more research in services contexts, particularly a consideration of how customers might be developed as human resources in service exchanges. To that end, this research investigates the antecedents and consequences of customer performance within the context of service exchanges. With a matched sample of service providers and customers (n = 164 pairs, 328 total participants), we found that customer–service provider fit was related to customer performance, which was associated with outcomes for the customer (satisfaction and loyalty) and the service provider (greater satisfaction and commitment). We offer a discussion of the implications of this research for human resource strategies aimed at developing customers in service firms.

  September 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21167   open full text
• The Role of Perceived External Prestige in Predicting Customer‐Oriented Citizenship Behaviors.
  Dae‐seok Kang, Kenneth R. Bartlett.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. September 16, 2013
  Increased attention on the relationships between customer service training and organizational results is prompting human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners to more broadly consider outcomes. This study examined the role of perceived external prestige, an underexplored area in the service excellence literature. We proposed that employee perceptions of organizational prestige relate positively with customer‐oriented citizenship behaviors (COCBs). In the perceived external prestige–COCBs relationship, we also explored the mediating role of psychological empowerment, as well as the moderating effect of organization‐based self‐esteem (OBSE) and leader–member exchange (LMX). Valid and reliable self‐report and supervisory evaluation measures were collected from a sample of employees from luxury hotels in South Korea. The results indicate that perceived external prestige was a significant predictor for service employees' citizenship performance and the perceived reputation impact was indirect through psychological empowerment. The study also identified LMX as a key precondition for service organizations to engage employees in customer‐oriented behaviors beyond formal role. In discussing these results, we present significant insights in terms of reputation management as a motivational and competitive strategy to be included in HRD practices focused on customer service.

  September 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21165   open full text
• To Infinity and Beyond: Using a Narrative Approach to Identify Training Needs for Unknown and Dynamic Situations.
  Alison M. Dachner, Brian M. Saxton, Raymond A. Noe, Kathryn E. Keeton.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 13, 2013
  Training effectiveness depends on conducting a thorough needs assessment. Traditional needs assessment methods are insufficient for today's business environment characterized by rapid pace, risk, and uncertainty. To overcome the deficiencies of traditional needs assessment methods, a narrative‐based unstructured interview approach with subject matter experts (SMEs) is proposed for dynamic jobs in uncertain environments. First, the rationale for a narrative approach to training needs assessment is presented. Second, the utility of a narrative approach is examined using SME interviews from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to identify crew training needs for a future long duration mission. Third, the value of a narrative approach and importance of training are discussed with respect to the NASA interview results along with managerial and theoretical implications.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21160   open full text
• Individual and Contextual Inhibitors of Sexual Harassment Training Motivation.
  Benjamin M. Walsh, Timothy J. Bauerle, Vicki J. Magley.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 13, 2013
  Studies have evaluated the outcomes of sexual harassment training, but considerably less research has focused on variables that influence sexual harassment training effectiveness. To address this need, we developed and tested a model of individual and contextual inhibitors of sexual harassment training motivation to learn. Survey data collected from male and female participants across three time points were used to test the mediating role of pessimism about sexual harassment change in the relationship between sexual harassment myth endorsement and motivation to learn, as well as the moderating role of organizational tolerance for sexual harassment on the relation between sexual harassment myth endorsement and pessimism. Results were consistent with the hypotheses, and exploratory analyses also revealed unhypothesized sex differences. The strengths and limitations of the study, implications for practitioners, and directions for future research are discussed.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21158   open full text
• Organizational Support for Action Learning in South Korean Organizations.
  Yonjoo Cho, Toby Egan.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 13, 2013
  The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the impact of organizational support on employee learning and performance and (2) to elaborate on the context of organizational support for action learning in South Korean organizations. For this inquiry, two central questions were posed: What are employee reactions to organizational support for action learning? And what are key elements of organizational support for action learning? Framed by organizational support theory (OST), this study involved a mixed methods research design, including (1) a survey involving 268 action learning participants and their supervisors from 28 participating companies asked to report their perceptions of their organizations' support of action learning and (2) one‐on‐one, semistructured interviews with 34 HR managers and executives aimed at elaborating on the nature of support for action learning in their organization. Study findings support OST and indicate that South Korean organizations support action learning in a variety of ways and that such support was a critical factor in the success of their action learning efforts.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21154   open full text
• What Does an Executive Coaching Intervention Add Beyond Facilitated Multisource Feedback? Effects on Leader Self‐Ratings and Perceived Effectiveness.
  Levi R. G. Nieminen, Ryan Smerek, Lindsey Kotrba, Daniel Denison.
  Human Resource Development Quarterly. June 13, 2013
  Multisource ratings and feedback are now central components of many leader development programs. Research evaluating the outcomes of multisource feedback (MSF) underscores the importance of facilitation strategies that help leaders to interpret and use their feedback throughout the development process. Scholars and practitioners have recommended executive coaching as one such facilitation strategy. However, there is little empirical basis to substantiate the benefits of executive coaching beyond other less costly strategies, most notably feedback workshops with groups of leaders. This quasi‐experiment followed 469 managers from a large government agency participating in a 15‐month leader development program. Changes over time in MSF ratings of leadership behaviors and effectiveness were compared for two groups of leaders. The first group of uncoached managers participated in a feedback workshop shortly after the premeasure MSF, and the second group participated in the feedback workshop plus several sessions with an executive coach thereafter. Results indicated that managers in both groups improved similarly as rated by direct reports, peers, and supervisors, whereas only those managers who received the executive coaching improved according to self‐ratings. Specifically, the executive coaching intervention had a unique positive effect on managers' self‐rated involvement, consistency, and mission‐focused leadership behaviors. These findings are discussed in light of “psychometric” and self‐efficacy perspectives, and in relation to exploratory regression analyses linking managers' self‐ratings to others' ratings of their effectiveness at the conclusion of the program.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21152   open full text