The Training Process of SMEs: What Motivates SMEs to Use E-Learning

Abstract

Abstract-For centuries, traditional ways of teaching and learning were used around the world. Shifting from these well known traditional ways of teaching and learning to a more modern way -E-Learning -to adapt to the needs of the knowledge-based economies is requiring some adjustment on the part of businesses. One of these adjustments is to use e-Learning in the different phases of the training process. This research discusses the reasons which motivate SMEs to use or not to use e-Learning in the different phases of the training process.

Learning in SMEs

“…This lead Wenger (1998, 8), while researching SMEs as Communities of Practice, to observe that 'learning is an integral part of our everyday lives'. SMEs are also typically seen as informal organizations (Roy 2009) which is reflected in their learning, although employees often seem to consider that 'only formal training is "real" training' (Coetzer and Perry 2008, 649). Consequently, the ubiquity and on-going nature of learning in SMEs can result in it being overlooked (Geldenhuys and Cilliers 2012;Higgins and Aspinall 2011;Van Woerkom and Poell 2010).…”

HRD in SMEs: A research agenda whose time has come

“…However, based on their ethnographic research into HRD in three SMEs, they concluded that HRD did occur in such organizations, but that it did not fit the narrow framework into which organizational learning and development was (then) traditionally placed. They attribute this "bad fit" to both the informal nature of such HRD (Ekanem & Smallbone, 2007;Roy, 2009;Sambrook, 2003) and the inappropriateness of predominantly quantitative research techniques used to investigate it. Saru's (2007) case study of a Finnish SME echoes this, additionally noting the inappropriateness of scaling down large-organization learning methods for use in SMEs, as also found by Anderson and Boocock (2002), Billett (2001), andHill (2004).…”

“…There are indications that lack of resources has led to SMEs being characterized as cost-conscious, while the entrepreneurial origins of many of them encourage informality. Consequently, HRD within SMEs is often reported as being informal (Ekanem & Smallbone, 2007;Roy, 2009;Sambrook, 2003), job-oriented (Ahlgren & Engel, 2011), and socially situated, being based on common meaning and practice (Devins & Gold, 2002). The development and growth of a culture that encourages learning needs common language (Senge, 1990), and this may be particularly pertinent to SMEs, each of which often has its own unique language and customs (Devins & Gold, 2002).…”

Barriers to e-Learning in SMEs — Are they Still There?

“…The barrier which was most often mentioned in the 2006 case study (for more details on the 2006 case study, see references [27,28,60]), in fact which was mentioned by all SMEs inter-viewed, was the one connected with the bandwidth, which is part of the accessibility. The capacity to download e-Learning courses was not available because the required bandwidth was not always available in the workplace or in regions where employees reside.…”