Culture: The Link to Learning Transfer

Abstract

Organizations worldwide spend large amounts of money and resources on developing their employees, yet the money invested in professional learning (PL) yields low to moderate results at best. Because culture is a predominant force in people’s life, multinational corporations and other institutions should take culture into account at every stage of the PL process or they will not obtain the desired return on their investments. Despite the numerous studies on learning transfer, practitioners continue to experience challenges when it comes to altering their practices and generate better outcomes. Scholars have not yet fully taken into consideration culture when developing learning transfer models. Although some learning transfer models address transfer climate as an enhancer or a hindrance to learning transfer, none have considered the overall influence of culture on the transfer phenomenon. This article proposes a culturally grounded multidimensional model of learning transfer (MMLT). The MMLT is designed to assist practitioners and PL organizers before, during, and after the PL event. This innovative model aims at enhancing the implementation of new knowledge, skills, or behaviors in the workplace. The MMLT is based on qualitative data collected and analyzed over 6 years in educational institutions in five African nations. The model is relevant to any organizations across sectors whose aspirations are to maximize learning transfer and obtain a return on their investments that would in turn positively affect organizations’ outcomes.

The Impact of Culture on Learning Transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana

“…This study sought to understand the influence of cultural factors on the learning transfer process in the areas of pretraining and follow-up. To better comprehend the impact of culture on learning transfer, I used the Multidimensional Model of Learning Transfer (MMLT) (Brion, 2021) and Hofstede's (2011) model of national culture to analyse the data.…”

“…On the basis of the literature on the role of culture in the learning transfer process, some authors argue that there is a need for a comprehensive, multidimensional, and unifying model of learning transfer that considers culture as a key factor (Raver & Van Dyne, 2017). Therefore, I merged and extended existing models of learning transfer to construct the MMLT (Brion, 2021).…”

“…The MMLT (Brion, 2021) is a culturally grounded and evidence-based model that developed from data collected, analysed, and synthetised over six years in educational institutions in five African nations (Brion, 2021). Even though the data were collected in Africa, the findings could be informative to nations with similar scores on Hofstede's (2011) six dimensions of national culture.…”

“…Even though the data were collected in Africa, the findings could be informative to nations with similar scores on Hofstede's (2011) six dimensions of national culture. In the MMLT, I assert that culture is the predominant enhancer and inhibitor to transfer and that culture affects the entire learning transfer process (Brion, 2021). Considering culture as the main enhancer or inhibitor to transfer is useful because organisations spend large amounts of money and resources on PL that do not often yield improved outcomes.…”

“…First, to enhance learning transfer post-PL and get a return on investment that would in turn positively affect organisation outcomes, PL events should account for culture before, during, and after PL events. PL organisers and facilitators should consider using the MMLT (Brion, 2021) to organise, prepare, deliver, and evaluate their PL offerings. Since learning is a social endeavour, the MMLT enables PL organisers to take culture into consideration for each of the MMLT dimensions for maximum learning transfer.…”