Purpose This study aims to examine whether persistent between-firm differences and annual within-firm changes in human resource development (HRD) resources are differently associated with firm revenue. It tests whether this distal financial association is more consistent with accumulated organizational capacity than with a short-term input–output response. Design/methodology/approach Four waves of South Korean firm-level panel data from 2020 to 2023 were analysed. Linear mixed-effects models decomposed HR staffing capacity and HRD expenditure into between-firm means and within-firm deviations using 1,791 firm-year observations from 554 firms and directly tested differences between the corresponding between- and within-firm coefficients. Training hours were examined separately in 1,333 observations from 501 firms, and XGBoost was evaluated on a 2023 temporal hold-out. Findings Higher average HR staffing capacity and HRD expenditure were associated with higher revenue, whereas annual deviations were nonsignificant. For both indicators, the between-firm association was significantly stronger than the corresponding within-firm association. Managerial learning emphasis and training hours were nonsignificant. XGBoost achieved R2 = 0.702 and RMSE = 0.693, with HRD expenditure and HR staffing capacity the most important HRD-related predictors. Practical implications HRD should be evaluated as sustained organizational and financial capacity rather than through short-term budget changes or training volume alone. Originality/value The study advances HRD–performance research by showing that the HRD–revenue relationship lies primarily in persistent firm differences rather than annual changes.
Purpose Understanding the mechanisms that enhance the meaningfulness of employees’ work and careers is critical. Scholars and practitioners have shown growing interest in the dynamics and factors influencing career adaptability. This study aims to examine the relationship between meaningful work and career adaptability, focusing on the potential mediating roles of career resilience and job crafting. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from South Korea. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data and test the hypotheses in the study. Findings The findings revealed significant positive relationships among meaningful work, career resilience, job crafting and career adaptability. In addition, career resilience and job crafting were found to mediate the relationship between meaningful work and career adaptability. Originality/value This study provides valuable insights into the work-related psychological factors influencing employees’ career adaptability by focusing on the relationships among meaningful work, job crafting and career resilience. It also offers implications for practitioners and counselors seeking to better understand the mechanisms that foster career adaptability.
To identify the impact of the quality of blended learning on knowledge acquisition (KA), employee engagement (EE) and employee performance improvement (PI). This study aims to examine the mediating effect of EE and the moderating effect of KA. A survey method was applied for data collection from 424 corporate employees who have undergone the blended learning training programs working in IT, electronics and manufacturing firms located in Bengaluru, India. A specially designed questionnaire was used, and it was validated. Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and the PROCESS macro (Model 14); moderated mediation analysis was verified. Blended learning quality (BLQ) enhances EE, KA and employee performance. KA moderated the association between EE and PI; however, EE mediated the connection between BLQ and employee performance. The outcome of the research guides HR managers and training designers to invest in high-quality blended learning programs that promote EE and cognitive retention. Organisations can use these insights to design further effective learning ecosystems that enhance productivity, innovation and employee satisfaction. This study uniquely integrates BLQ, EE and employee performance within a moderated mediation framework, proposing a comprehensive understanding of how learning environments contribute to organisational outcomes.
Purpose This study aims to examine how manufacturing industry leaders understand the development of green employability skills through multi-level organizational learning (OL) processes and the role this development plays in building organizational sustainability competencies. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive qualitative design was used using reflexive thematic analysis. Sixteen manufacturing leaders representing diverse organizational sizes, functional areas and geographic regions across the United States were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling in collaboration with a state-level manufacturing trade association. Findings Three themes emerged: Learning Agility for Green Role Evolution, in which individual employees develop adaptive capacity for continuous skill renewal as green roles evolve; Green Employability Co-Design with Educational Ecosystems, in which organizations and educational institutions collaboratively develop sustainability-aligned curricula and credentials; and Green Learning Culture as a Catalyst for Organizational Change, in which embedded sustainability values and Human Resource Development (HRD) infrastructure drive enterprise-wide transformation. Practical implications Manufacturing leaders and HRD practitioners would benefit from designing learning interventions that operate across individual, team and organizational levels, integrating sustainability competencies into talent management systems, educational partnerships and leadership development rather than treating green skill development as a standalone training initiative. Originality/value This study presents a three-level OL framework comprising adaptive, generative and transformational green learning that advances green HRD theory by systematically integrating individual employability development, team-based knowledge creation and organizational cultural transformation, providing a theoretically grounded architecture for manufacturing sustainability workforce development.
Purpose This study aims to analyze the work and learning experiences of ten work-from-home (WFH) employees in Silicon Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using qualitative case study methods, this study examines employees’ work and learning experiences during telecommuting and offers insights for post-pandemic flexible workplace. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews with ten telecommuters were analyzed using thematic analysis procedures, providing seven main themes. Ecological systems theory served as the theoretical framework to interpret findings across multiple layers. Findings The findings of this study reveal how the shift to WFH simultaneously disrupted multiple ecological layers. At the microsystem level, online meetings became the primary form of daily work, while digital tools replaced informal interactions. At the mesosystem level, eroding connections weakened collaboration, turned colleague networks instrumental and left newcomers without social scaffolding. At the exosystem level, company-initiated social programs failed to compensate for the loss of organic interaction. At the macrosystem level, Silicon Valley’s performance-driven norms shaped how employees interpreted autonomy and accountability, producing divergent outcomes. These disruptions illustrate how WFH fundamentally restructured the ecological systems in which employees work and learn during the pandemic. Research limitations/implications Findings are based on a small, context-specific sample and may not generalize broadly. Future research should use larger-scale, comparative and quantitative designs to extend understanding of remote work learning dynamics. Practical implications Organizations should design inclusive virtual environments, invest in hybrid work strategies and support self-directed learning and newcomer socialization to sustain engagement and performance in remote settings. Originality/value By empirically mapping WFH experiences onto ecological layers, this study extends ecological systems theory to remote work contexts and offers a multilevel framework for how environmental disruptions simultaneously reshape work, learning and relationships.
