This paper focuses on employees' e-learning processes during online job training. A new categorization of self-regulated learning strategies, that is, personal versus social learning strategies, is proposed, and measurement scales are developed. The new measures were tested using data collected from employees in a large company. Our approach provides context-relevant insights into online training providers and employees themselves. The results suggest that learners adopt different self-regulated learning strategies resulting in different e-learning outcomes. Furthermore, the use of self-regulated learning strategies is influenced by individual factors such as virtual competence and goal orientation, and job and contextual factors such as intellectual demand and cooperative norms. The findings can (1) help e-learners obtain better learning outcomes through their active use of varied learning strategies, (2) provide useful information for organizations that are currently using or plan to use e-learning for training, and (3) inform software designers to integrate self-regulated learning strategy support in e-learning system design and development.
Witnessing both opportunities and challenges in virtual work arrangements, researchers have explored a number of technological, social, and organizational factors in order to improve virtual work effectiveness. However, there is limited understanding of an important element of virtual work—the individuals. Our review of the literature indicates that the composition of individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to work virtually would benefit from further research. In this study, we theoretically and empirically develop the construct of individual virtual competence that captures the key KSAs required to perform effectively in today’s virtualized workplace, within a parsimonious nomological network. Substantiated by its explanatory power on individual perceived performance and satisfaction, individual virtual competence contributes to the literature by acknowledging a distinct workplace competency that can be incorporated in future individual-level studies of virtual phenomena. This research provides managers with a lens to understand differences in individual work outcomes and provides a lever to developing individuals’ capabilities so as to improve work outcomes.