The effects of formal learning and informal learning on job performance: the mediating role of the value of learning at work

Abstract

Although research has widely recognized the relationships between formal and informal learning and job performance, empirical studies have not paid sufficient attention to these relationships. In addition, there is little understanding how individual perceptions toward learning influence the relationships between the aforementioned two types of learning and job performance. In the present study, it was proposed that formal and informal learning can influence job performance. Moreover, in the relationships between formal and informal learning and job performance, the value of learning at work was considered as a mediator. With a sample of employees from small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea, the research showed that formal and informal learning influences job performance through the value of learning at work. Based on the results of the study, several implications were discussed.