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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore managers’ learning-oriented leadership, and what conditions managers face when working with the promotion of employees’ learning. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with managers in three manufacturing firms. Verbatim expressions of the interview participants were analysed using stepwise analytical procedures. Findings The managers used many kinds of activities to promote learning. Most common were activities related to learning opportunities that arose during daily work. The identified activities ranged from being planned to occurring more spontaneously. Depending on the situation or the learning activity, the managers used different behaviours to promote learning. They supported, educated and confronted employees, and they acted as role models. Factors constraining the implementation of learning-oriented leadership included limited resources, and a lack of commitment from top management, employees or the managers themselves. Research limitations/implications Future research should study learning-oriented leadership from the employees’ perspective. Practical implications Managers’ notions about learning and development constitute an important condition for learning-oriented leadership. Therefore, managers need to be trained in how to promote their employees’ learning at work. Originality/value This study adds to the limited knowledge of how managers carry out a learning-oriented leadership in their daily work. The findings contribute knowledge regarding managerial practices of promoting employees’ workplace learning by identifying different activities and behaviours that managers could incorporate into their leadership.

Abstract:Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the relationships between the workplace as a learning environment, strategies for competence development used by SMEs and learning outcomes. Specifically, there is a focus on a distinction between formal and integrated strategies for competence development, the conditions under which these strategies are likely to be used, and their effects in terms of individual learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -The study was based mainly on questionnaire data collected through a survey of 14 SMEs that had received support from the European Social Fund"s Objective 3 programme. In addition, data collected through interviews and analyses of documents were used. Findings -The results indicate interactions between the strategy of competence development used by the firms (formal vs. integrated) and the type of learning environment in the workplace (constraining vs. enabling). The use of an integrated strategy in an enabling learning environment was the most successful combination in terms of learning outcomes, while the use of an integrated strategy in a constraining learning environment was the least successful combination. Research implications/limitations -There is a need to elaborate the theoretical and empirical basis of the distinction between formal and integrated strategies for competence development, and to study the effects of the two types of strategy, not only for individual learning outcomes, but also for effects at an organizational level. Practical implications -HRD practitioners need to question a traditional reliance on formal training, as the presented results indicate the importance of using competence development strategies that are based on an integration of formal and informal learning. Originality/value -The study indicates that the effects of competence development efforts are likely to be a function not only, or primarily, of the training methods and strategies that are used, but also a function of the characteristics of the learning environment of the workplace.

Few studies have examined workplace factors that influence informal learning in small businesses and in general the studies are not framed by the characteristics of small businesses.To address this weakness in existing literature we conducted a review of literatures which examine (a) workplace factors that influence informal learning; (b) small business characteristics; and (c) factors influencing informal learning in small businesses. The several workplace factors that influence learning were categorised as job, relational and organisational characteristics. Each category was examined in relation to characteristics of small businesses.We outline what is known about each category and what we need to learn about them as they relate to informal learning in small businesses. For each category propositions are generated that should be examined in future research. We also produce a heuristic conceptual framework that can be employed to focus and bound future research that tests a different set of propositions.

Few studies have examined the owner-manager as facilitator of learning in small businesses. Furthermore, these studies are typically not framed by distinctive characteristics of small businesses. These limitations of the literature stimulated us to ask: How do the situational opportunities and constraints that emanate from the distinctive characteristics of small businesses affect the small business ownermanager's role as a facilitator of learning? To address this question, we first conducted a narrative review of existing research on the owner-manager as facilitator of learning in small businesses (10-49 employees). Four themes emerged from our analysis of research findings, including a theme that owner-managers are seldom directly involved in facilitating employees' learning. Next, we conducted an integrative review of literatures that discuss (a) indirect approaches managers can adopt to facilitate learning; and (b) small business characteristics. We focussed on four high-impact indirect approaches owner-managers can use and examined how employment of each approach might be enabled or constrained by distinctive characteristics of small businesses. The integrative review generated ten research propositions. We also synthesised a conceptual framework that illustrates the main variables to be studied and presumed relationships among them. Based on our analysis of literature, implications for policy and practice are proposed.