The influence of feedback on employees’ goal setting and performance in online corporate training: a moderation effect

Abstract

Purpose The study examined the impact of feedback types through a learning management system (LMS) on employees’ training performance. The purpose of this study is to establish effective feedback on advanced technologies for promoting corporate training. Design/methodology/approach A total of 148 trainees were recruited from a multinational medical company. Employees were randomly assigned to receive feedback from shallow to more constructive details on their learning performance with LMS. Data sources included are employees’ goal setting (GS) performance evaluated by the experts and their posttest scores obtained from the LMS. A series of statistical analyses were performed to investigate the impact of feedback intervention on employees’ GS and their impacts on corporate training results. Findings GS has a significant impact on learning outcomes. Employees who set greater specific goals attained higher scores. Furthermore, feedback with more formative evaluation and constructive developmental advice resulted in the most significant positive influence on the relationship between participants’ GS and learning outcomes. Practical implications Organizations can benefit from delivering appropriate feedback using LMS to enhance employees’ GS and learning efficacy in corporate training. Originality/value This study is one of the first to examine the moderating effect of feedback provided by LMS on GS and online learning performance in corporate training. This study contributes to GS theory for practical application and proposes a viable method for remote learning. The current study’s findings can be used to provide educational psychological insights for training and learning in industrial contexts.