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The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and personal resources (social support from the leader and colleagues and adaptability). Specifically, the authors tested the mediating role of motivation to transfer in the relationship (1) between the perceived support from the supervisor and colleagues and performance after training and (2) between adaptability and performance in an extreme context of the pandemic crisis – the first peak of COVID-19 in Portugal. Further, an inspection of the factors that predicted knowledge transfer and adaptability under an extreme context was carried out.

To do so, necessary training about the new safety rules regarding the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 was implemented in a healthcare institution as a strategy to help healthcare workers deal with the increasing uncertainty and complexity that was threatening their work. It consisted of three sessions (each with one hour of training) regarding procedures, rules and safety norms. The training occurred in May 2020. Overall, 291 healthcare workers participated in the study and answered one online questionnaire one week after training completion.

The results showed that the motivation to transfer had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between colleagues' and supervisors' support and performance and between adaptability and performance. Additionally, complementary analyses showed that the mediations depended on the levels of self-efficacy in such a way that the indirect relationships were stronger when self-efficacy was higher. Thus, adaptability and support, both from colleagues and the supervisor, are determining factors for knowledge transfer and resultant performance in extreme contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Lastly, the results showed that the most significant predictors of transference were self-efficacy and the motivation to transfer the learned knowledge. On the other hand, self-efficacy, peer support and the opportunity to use the knowledge were the most significant predictors of adaptability.

These findings provide support for the role of employee motivation to transfer as a mechanism connecting both perceived support and adaptability to performance outcomes under extreme working contexts.

This study, conducted in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic context – an extreme and uncertain working context – shows the relevance of both job and individual factors to predict employees' adaptability to such contexts.

Executive isolation, also known as workplace loneliness, its factors and impact are major issues for organizational development, future of work for leadership and learning culture. The purpose of this study is to examine the Executive isolation phenomenon where relationships between power distance, organizational culture and executive isolation of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are analysed on how it is considered by their teams. The same is contextualized through the inputs received through interviews conducted with CEOs and employee surveys.

The qualitative in-depth interviews of five CEOs, and survey across 34 of the 50 employees, were undertaken over the course of two phases of this study. The investigation focused on identifying executive isolation of CEOs and perspectives of employees that can impact the leadership and learning progress of organizations based on work culture, power distance and decision-making; awareness and experience of executive isolation; workplace friendliness and rejection; and management development initiatives to minimize the impact of executive isolation. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA 2022 (Verbi Software, Berlin, Germany), which is a qualitative data analysis software.

The findings highlight and expose the significant gap between understanding and analysing of the factors due to which the CEOs undergo executive isolation. It also extends to providing details related to the lack of awareness of the teams’ actions contributing to the CEOs’ isolation. It further highlights the fact that the difference of perspectives between the CEOs and teams leads to the organization slowing in its learning activities due to the leaders’ own challenges of executive isolation The findings also provide immense need of developing knowledge assets and management development initiatives for learning interventions, to help understand, analyse and mitigate executive isolation, in the interest of the organizational learning and development.

Earlier research work have contextualized the executive isolation impact on CEOs ability to be a leader. This study extends it to include the implications of leadership and learning culture on the teams that are affected by organization culture, power distance, decision-making and analysing the gap between the understandings about executive isolation of the CEOs. Eventually, it interprets how CEOs courting the executive isolation impacts the overall developmental culture of the organization. This will help in asserting the serious need of new learning frameworks needed to minimize the impact of CEO-level executive isolation.

This study aims to increase the understanding of the starting points and presuppositions of organizational learning (OL) processes in a hospital’s surgical department based on the existing theory of OL and to make visible the practical possibilities of the theory in this context.

The study was conducted as a case study. The data were collected from personnel of the hospital’s surgical department and consisted of 26 thematic interviews. The data were analyzed using qualitative theory-driven content analysis.

This study found different starting points for both employee-oriented and organization-oriented learning processes that could potentially progress to different levels of the organization: from individuals to a wider group or from a large group to an individual. The starting point of employee-oriented learning processes was depicted as everyday life problems or situations or was based on the person’s interest. The starting points of organization-oriented learning processes were described as achieving or maintaining the organization’s expected skill levels, pursuing continuous development or pursuing the organization’s specific development needs. Different kinds of presuppositions were also located within the OL processes.

This study produced new practice-based knowledge about the starting points of OL processes and their presuppositions. In health-care organizations, learning is especially important due to intensive and complex changes, and this study provides empirical evidence on how to enhance learning.

This study aims to examine the relationships among structured-on-the job training (ST), mentoring, job rotation and the work environment factors on tacit knowledge transfer from training.

This study used quantitative research techniques to examine the causal relationships among the key study variables. A questionnaire-based survey has developed to evaluate the research model by drawing a convenience sample includes 239 employees working in the Arab Potash Company located in Jordan. Surveyed data were examined following the structural equation modeling procedures.

The results revealed that adapting of the ST, mentoring and job rotation in industrial firms had direct effect on the employees’ abilities to learn and transfer tacit knowledge from training to the actual work, and how these learning strategies strengthen employees’ abilities in solving work problems, improving customers’ satisfaction and quality of products and services. As well as, it affirmed the strong direct effect of work environment factors such as supervisor and peer support on the employees’ abilities to learning and transferring tacit knowledge to their jobs. However, this study showed that work environment factors have no significant mediating role on the relationship among ST, mentoring, job rotation and the employees’ abilities to learn and transfer tacit knowledge to their jobs.

The study results are opening the doors for future studies to examine the relationships among the methods of training and learning in the workplace, the work environment factors and tacit knowledge transfer from training to the jobs as prerequisites for improving the employees and organization performance. These results would be validated by conducting future research, examining larger samples of industrial companies to give more accurate data and clear explanations to the relationships among the study variables. It also suggests to replace the characteristics of work environment (supervisor support and peer support) by trainees’ characteristics (self-efficacy and career commitment) to give a better understanding to the relationships among the key study variables.

With regard to improving the employees’ competency while doing their jobs, this study developed a conceptual framework that guides managers to recognize the importance of ST, mentoring and job rotation in increasing the employees’ learning together; and giving them the chance to use the new learned experiences and knowledge to improve the organization performance and its competitive advantage. This study helps managers build a positive work environment that encourages social interaction, respect and mutual interest among employees, and increases their sense of responsibility for learning and transferring skills and knowledge to the jobs.

The training methods in the workplace go beyond immediate work performance to act as a promising tool make employees’ learning more easily and faster, and help them to transfer and retain new skills and knowledge, adapt with changing environments, build stronger relationships with stakeholders and at the same time, make the organizations ensure that employees comply with their societal goals.

The authors have noticed that large portions of the studies on training and human resources development neglected the role effect of (ST, mentoring and job rotation) on the tacit knowledge transfer from training to the jobs. Hence, these gaps in researches have motivated to develop a theoretical model that helps to examine the relationship between the two constructs. This study also suggests to examine the mediating role effects of work environment factors on the relationships among (ST, mentoring and job rotation) and tacit knowledge transfer, as well as it extends to examine the mediating role of work environment factors on transferring knowledge to jobs, attributed to the demographic variables such as gender, age, work experience and education level.

Human capital is acquired not only through formal education (e.g. general skills) but also through training at the workplace. Prior studies have ignored the role of government subsidies explicitly for on-the-job training, which may influence firm training decisions and firm innovation performance. Hence, the authors establish a comprehensive theoretical framework to consider these issues and fill these gaps.

Considering the Chinese manufacturing firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2017, the authors investigate the influence of training investment on innovation performance by illustrating the role of human capital updating in enhancing firm innovation. The authors also explore serval mechanisms on how training investment influences innovation performance.

The authors propose that training investment promotes firm innovation performance, whereas government training subsidies negatively moderate this relationship. The authors also reveal how technicists' involvement and corporate culture mediate the relationship between training investment and innovation performance.

This study provides policy implications for stimulating firm innovation by improving learning and absorption ability, strengthening cultural identity and implementing system norms. Effective policies should be adopted to provide subsidies for on-the-job training of enterprises, particularly for firms with technical executives and firms in diversified life-cycle.

This work contributes to the literature on the role of on-the-job training in promoting firm innovation and reveals the crowding-out effect of subsidies. This study also shows the heterogeneous effects of training investment on firm innovation.

This study aims to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic disruptive event on delivery of the built environment degree apprentice programme in higher education in the UK and identify the key strategies to minimise the effect.

A qualitative approach was used to collect and analyse data from a sample set of built environment degree apprenticeship stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 key stakeholders to collate emerging themes on their perceptions of the impacts of the pandemic and strategies to adopted to minimise it.

The investigation reveals that the core impacts of Covid-19 on the apprentices training programme are lack of access to the site, furlough, limited access to off the job training, limited interaction with tutors and peers, too much time on the screen, limited pastoral care and lack of contact with a mentor. The census from the research participants is that despite the development and gain with the various virtual platform used during pandemic physical meetings with their mentor remain pivotal to the built environment apprentices learning and training.

The results provide relevant stakeholders and actors supporting degree apprentices training programmes (training providers and employers, among others) with the information needed to improve the delivery of built environment degree apprenticeship training programmes during a disruptive event Covid-19. The study identifies various strategies to minimise the impact of disruptive events on the apprentices training, including technology, regular meeting with mentors online, and personal and pastoral care.

The study is the first to document the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on degree apprenticeship programs in the built environment. This study provides an in-depth understanding of how these programs have been affected and offers potential solutions to reduce or mitigate potential damage. The research will inform future policy decisions related to degree apprenticeship programs in the built environment.

In recent decades, researchers have increasingly begun to study the effects of transformational leadership on various teachers’ attitudes in K-12 settings. However, studies on the effect of transformational leadership on the job satisfaction of vocational high school teachers are not sufficient. Therefore, in this study, the nature of the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in Turkish vocational high schools was examined.

The study data came from 847 teachers working at 82 state vocational high schools located in 12 regions in Türkiye. To test the research model, we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling to explore the structural relationships between transformational leadership, teacher professional learning, teacher’ self-efficacy and job satisfaction.

The analysis confirms that teacher professional learning and self-efficacy are prominent mediators in the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in Turkish vocational high schools.

The present study is expected to contribute to the body of research focusing on the effects of transformational leadership on job satisfaction in vocational high schools. Implications for theory, practice and policy are discussed.

This study aims to explore vocational teachers' perceptions regarding workplace learning that align with students' training models and collaborative teaching involving specialised professionals within the context of industry-university collaboration.

Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted nine semi-structured interviews from three subject areas to better understand how vocational teachers’ work-based learning enhances their pedagogical practice in guiding students’ professional training. Thematic analysis was adopted to identify patterns that emerged from concepts and theories related to coding categories.

The authors identified three key components: vocational teachers’ workplace learning in connection with students’ training models, collaborative teaching with specialised professionals and teachers’ regular interactions with enterprises. The findings demonstrate that vocational teachers’ engagement in workplace learning pertaining to specific subjects provides a valuable avenue for enhancing curriculum design with collaboration with industry experts. This is key for supporting vocational students’ transitions into the workplace and ensuring their knowledge and skills are tailored to the industry-standard practice.

The data are limited to the review of interviews from three vocational subject areas as the representative sector in the study. However, this research implies effective knowledge transfer between workplace settings and vocational institutions, and vocational teachers need to integrate work-based vocational knowledge and skills in a relevant and applicable way across diverse classroom settings.

Fostering collaborative partnerships with local industries and professionals can be a primary way to facilitate authentic learning experiences that are linked to a specific vocational field and bridge the gap between diverse classroom learning and real-world work scenarios.

This study combines contemporary workplace learning theories with the conceptual understanding of vocational teachers’ involvement with industry-specific practice. Connecting teachers’ knowledge to the industry extends the input and collaboration from professionals and field experts to the diverse vocational classrooms.

This study aims to focus on key approaches to education for sustainability (EfS) leadership development in the context of Malaysian and Japanese universities. The authors identify key indicators of effective EfS leadership development approaches using both descriptive and inferential analyses, identify and compare the preferred leadership learning methods of academics and examine the impact of marital status, country of residence and administrative position on the three EfS leadership development approaches.

The study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Data were collected from 664 academics and analysed using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) methodology. To provide higher education researchers with more analytical insights, the authors re-estimated the models based on the maximum likelihood methodology and compared the results across the two methods.

The inferential results underscored the significance of four EfS leadership learning methods, namely, “Involvement in professional leadership groups or associations, including those concerned with EfS”, “Being involved in a formal mentoring/coaching program”, “Completing formal leadership programs provided by my institution” and “Participating in higher education leadership seminars”. Additionally, the authors noted a significant impact of country of residence on the three approaches to EfS leadership development. Furthermore, although marital status emerged as a predictor for self-managed learning and formal leadership development (with little practical relevance), administrative position did not exhibit any influence on the three approaches.

In addition to the theoretical and methodological implications drawn from the findings, the authors emphasize a number of practical implications, namely, exploring the applicability of the results to other East Asian countries, the adaptation of current higher education leadership development programmes focused on the key challenges faced by successful leaders in similar roles, and the consideration of a range of independent variables including marital status, administrative position and country of residence in the formulation of policies related to EfS leadership development.

This study represents an inaugural international comparative analysis that specifically examines EfS leadership learning methods. The investigation uses the research approach and conceptual framework used in the international Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education initiative and uses the PLSe2 methodology to inferentially pinpoint key learning methods and test the formulated hypotheses.

This study aims to examine the impact of China's “Manufacturing and Internet Integration Development Pilot Demonstration Project” (MIP) policy on the digital transformation (DT) and labor structure optimization (LSU) of manufacturing enterprises, reveal the relationship between DT and LSU at the micro level and investigate the mechanism between them.

This study employs MIP as a quasi-natural experiment and develops a time-varying difference-in-difference (DID) model based on a sample of 2,445 Chinese A-share listed manufacturing enterprises in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets from 2013 to 2021.

The implementation of MIP significantly increases DT by 0.4366 and optimizes LSU by 0.0507. By enhancing the two mediated variables of organizational learning inputs (SI) and employees' personal digital cognition (PDC), DT can optimize the LSU of pilot enterprises by 0.035 and 0.034, according to the results of the mechanism analysis. The study also reveals that the impact of MIP on LSU is highly heterogeneous. With effects of 0.0691 and 0.0632, the optimization effect is more pronounced in state-owned firms and firms with low ownership concentration, respectively.

This study demonstrates the dual effects of the MIP pilot on DT and LSU. In addition, this study pioneers research on the significance of optimizing the labor structure through SI and PDC on the basis of DT, which provides an empirical foundation for the Chinese Government to expand the scope of MIP pilots and revise policy content, as well as for manufacturing enterprises to upgrade the labor structure.