Career‐related continuous learning : Longitudinal predictive power of employees' job and career attitudes

Purpose – Within the framework of learning in organizations, the concept of career‐related continuous learning (CRCL) has gained increasing attention from the research community. The purpose of the present study is to explore the combined effect of job‐ and career‐related variables on formal CRCL activities. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on a longitudinal framework with multiple sources of data. A total sample of n =106 call center agents provided information about job‐ and career‐related variables. Subsequently, their CRCL activities within their first 18 months in one of 11 call centers were assessed from company records. Findings – Regression analysis revealed that job involvement predicted subsequent CRCL. Interestingly, women engaged in more CRCL activities than their male colleagues. Research limitations/implications – In addition to objective measures of formal CRCL activities, future research should include subjective measures (i.e. survey methodology) of informal CRCL. Practical implications – Via interventions such as active participation in decisions, and in task and work design, organization might want to foster employees' job involvement to ensure high degrees of subsequent CRCL behaviors. Originality/value – The paper addresses a phenomenon (i.e. CRCL) that receives increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers; objective, longitudinal data provide evidence for the proposed relationship between job attitudes and CRCL and thus, causal inferences can be drawn.