1. Organizational Training Climate and Employees' Perception and Acceptance of Competency-based E-learning at the Workplace Bo Cheng, Minhong Wang Faculty of Education The University of Hong Kong ICELW 2010, New York

2. Background  Workplace E-learning  Competency-Based Approach to E-learning  Adoption of E-learning Technology  Training theory and workplace learning 2

3. Workplace E-learning: Research & Practices  Understanding the definition of “E-learning”  a training “medium”  an “instructional strategy”  a learning “environment” 3

4. Workplace E-learning: Research & Practices (cont’)  Research on Workplace E-learning  Theoretical foundations theories of organizational learning socio-cultural theories of learning cognitive theories of learning 4

5. Workplace E-learning: Research & Practices (cont’)  Research on Workplace E-learning (cont’)  Evaluation of E-learning  outcome assessment  return on investment (ROI)  completion rate 5

6. Workplace E-learning: Research & Practices (cont’)  Practices in Workplace E-learning  why are organizations using E-learning  how are organizations using E-learning  what are the key success factors and solutions of best practices 6

7. Competency-Based Approach to E-learning  Competency  A knowledge, skill, ability, or characteristics associated with high performance on a job (Mirabile,1997)  Competency Movement  competency-based approach to training and education in professional backgrounds such as management education and medical education 7

8. Competency-Based Approach to E-learning (cont’)  Current work  Aligning competency-driven learning process to business process contexts via E-learning technology (Leyking, Chikova, & Loos,2007)  Competency modeling approach to context- aware workplace learning support (Schmidt & Winterhalter, 2003 )  Competency-based E-learning System 8

9. Adoption of E-learning Technology  Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989)  Meta-Analysis of the Technology Acceptance Model (King & He, 2006) 9

10. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) 10

11. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (cont’)  Categories of modifications  Prior factors— situational involvement prior usage or experience and personal computer self-efficacy  Factors from other theories — subjective norm, expectation, task-technology fit, risk, and trust  Contextual factors — gender, culture, and technology characteristics  Consequence factors — attitude, perceptual usage, and actual usage King, W. R. and J. He (2006) "A meta-analysis of the technology acceptance model," Information & Management (43pp.740-755. 11

12. Adoption of E-learning Technology (cont’)  TAM applied in E-learning acceptance  Students’ intention and continuance to use E- learning systems  Adoption of E-learning technology in workplace contexts are relatively rare 12

13. Training Theory and Workplace Learning  A continuous process relevant to training, socialization, and employee development within an organizational context (Ford et al, 1997  Individual and organizational factors are usually identified as antecedents of training outcome  Noe, Wilk, Mullen, & Wanek’s (1997) conceptual model 13

14. Purpose of the Study  Investigating the influences of organizational contexts on employees’ perception on competency-based workplace E-learning and their intention to adopt this new learning approach in work environment.  1) whether organizational context factors will impact employees’ perception of competency-oriented workplace E-learning;  2) whether employee’s perceptions have influences on their intention to use competency-oriented workplace E-learning. 14

15. Hypothesized Model Managerial Support Job Support Organizational Support Learning outcome expectation Social outcome expectation Intention to use Training Climate 15

16. Methodology  Instrument  Organizational training climate Tracey, & Tews’s (2005) General Training Climate Scale (GTCS)  Learning outcome expectation Kirkpatrick et al. (2006), Arbaugh (2000), Davis (1989), and Thurmond, Wambach & Connors (2002)  Social outcome expectation Nahapiet, & Ghoshal (1998)  Intention to use Venkatesh, & Davis’s (2000) and Kirkpatrick et al. (2006) 16

17. Methodology (cont’)  Sample  Gender Male 9856.98% Female 7443.02%  Age 18-253017.44% 26-359052.33% 36-453620.93% 46-55158.72% >55 10.58% 17

18. Methodology (cont’)  Sample (cont’)  Education High school 105.85% College (3 years) 3419.88% University (4years)8046.78% Graduate school 4727.49%  Work experience 0-3 years3922.67% 3-6 years 4224.42% 6-9years 169.30% 9-12 years2816.28% over 12 years4727.33%  Experience in using online training course Yes11566.86% No 5733.14% 18

19. Methodology (cont’)  Manipulation  A competency-based workplace E-learning system was demonstrated at a website  The system was introduced in a ppt file Background, main functions, interfaces, workflow  A questionnaire website was developed 19

20. Results 20

21. Findings Managerial Support Job Support Organizational Support Learning outcome expectation Social outcome expectation Intention to use Training Climate 21 + + + + +

22. Findings (cont’)  Significant relations  Management support  Learning outcome expectation  Management support  Social ties  Organizational support  Social ties  Learning outcome expectation  Intention to use  Social ties  Intention to use 22

23. Implications  Managers’ encouragement of on-the-job learning, innovation, and skill acquisition, and their support of these activities, have significant positive influences on employees’ outcome expectation towards competency based workplace E-learning in terms of individual learning and assessment. 23

24. Implications (cont’)  Managers’ encouragement of on-the-job learning, innovation, and skill acquisition, and their support of these activities, have significant positive influences on employees’ outcome expectation towards competency based workplace E-learning in terms of closing social ties among colleagues. 24

25. Implications (cont’)  Organizational policies, procedures, and practices that demonstrate the importance of training and development efforts have significant positive influences on employees’ outcome expectation towards competency based workplace E-learning in terms of closing social ties among colleagues. 25

26. Implications (cont’)  Employees’ perception and outcome expectation towards competency based workplace E-learning on individual and social outcomes have significant positive influences on their intention of use. 26