Measuring the organizational impact of training: the need for greater methodological rigor

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2019-03-28
Authors
Garavan, Thomas N.
McCarthy, Alma
Sheehan, Maura
Lai, Yanqing
Saunders, Mark N. K.
Clarke, Nicholas
Carbery, Ronan
Shanahan, Valerie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. on behalf of the Academy of Human Resource Development
Published Version
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
We review the methodological rigor of empirical quantitative studies that have investigated the training and organizational performance relationship. Through a content analysis of 217 studies published in quality journals, we demonstrate significant validity threats (internal, external construct, and statistical conclusion validity) that raise questions about the methodological rigor of the field. Our findings suggest that the time is appropriate for a renewed methodological endeavor to understanding the relationship between training and organizational performance. We make specific recommendations to enhance methodological rigor and generate research findings that will enhance operationalization of theory, help researchers to make inferences about causality, and inform the decision-making of Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners.
Description
Keywords
Methodological rigor , Training and organizational performance , Validity
Citation
Garavan, T., McCarthy, A., Sheehan, M., Lai, Y., Saunders, M. N. K., Clarke, N., Carbery, R. and Shanahan, V. (2019) 'Measuring the organizational impact of training: the need for greater methodological rigor', Human Resource Development Quarterly, 2019, pp. 1-19. doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21345
Copyright
© 2019, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. All rights reserved.