Differenze Individuali nella learning agility in ambito lavorativo: sviluppo e preliminare validazione di un nuovo strumento di misura. Uno studio mixed methods

The present research flows from the unprecedented complexity and unpredictability of today’s business and working environment that require employees and leaders to constantly learn new skills, be adaptable and open to embracing change. Over the past two decades, the construct of learning agility has been extensively used in talent management systems as an individual indicator of the ability to learn from experiences and readiness to change. Although the concept has played a significant role in organizations and practitioners’ world, academics only recently directed their attention to the concept. Moreover, the lack of consensus in terms of the conceptual definition of learning agility has limited the full availability of valid and comparable psychometric tools. Psychometric research in this field is then imperative to ensure reliable and consistent measures of individual differences in learning agility. To fill this gap, the present research aims at developing and validating a new scale to measure learning agility at work. More broadly, the research intends to explore and understand in depth the experiences of employees and managers about learning and dealing with change in complex and uncertain working environments. The dissertation provides a rigorous analysis and systematic review of the extant literature about learning agility and its application to talent management (TM). Our findings revealed that a scientific approach to the construct remained limited and that learning agility is becoming a multidimensional construct with similarities and connections with other psychological constructs such as learning goal orientation, self-awareness, and resilience in the workplace. For the purposes of the research, we designed a multiphase, mixed methods study. Specifically, the present research project consists of two main phases: study 1) an exploratory qualitative study by means of interviews and focus groups to assess and validate the provisional items’ list and content; study 2) an extensive quantitative study for defining the factor structure, factorial invariance, reliability, and nomological validity of the scale. In addition, a secondary qualitative data analysis was embedded in the mixed methods design to investigate senior managers’ experiences and perspectives about learning and dealing with change in real working situations. The studies are based on independent samples of professionals and managers working in twelve banking companies, located in Central-Eastern European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine), Italy, Egypt. Our findings illustrated a final scale of eleven items, entitled the Learning Agility at Work (LAW) scale. A two-factor solution was identified; specifically, the extracted factors were named as follows: 1) Learning Mindset - it describes people who are interested in intentionally developing their competencies and who consider any experience as an opportunity for growing; 2) Adaptation to Change- it describes people who can positively adapt to changes, bounce back from setbacks and are quick and flexible to embracing new ideas and approaches. Although the LAW scale is in the initial stage of development, we provide evidence of its reliability and nomological validity. Scholars and practitioners can use the instrument to investigate individual differences in learning agility in managerial and nonmanagerial roles. Furthermore, our study contributes to the literature by advancing a novel proposition about the conception of learning agility. In comparison with the traditional definition of learning agility -as the ability to learn from experiences-, our study posits a new two-dimensional model that comprises a dynamic interaction between motivation for learning, and adaptation to change. Directions for future research are discussed along with implications for organizations.

La complessità dell'attuale contesto lavorativo richiede a leader e professionisti di apprendere nuove skills e di essere adattabili e aperti al cambiamento. Sono richieste nuove abilità e nuovi mindset e la disponibilità di strumenti psicometrici validi con cui valutarle è diventata strategica per le organizzazioni. Negli ultimi venti anni il concetto di learning agility è stato molto utilizzato nei sistemi di talent management come indicatore della capacità di apprendere dall'esperienza. Nel mondo accademico solo recentemente si è iniziato a studiare il concetto e la mancanza di una definizione condivisa ha limitato la disponibilità di strumenti di misura validi e comparabili. La ricerca psicometrica in questo ambito è quindi necessaria per assicurare strumenti affidabili e rigorosi di valutazione del costrutto. La presente ricerca intende rispondere a questo gap sviluppando e validando uno strumento di misura delle differenze individuali di learning agility utilizzabile in ambito lavorativo. Più in generale, la ricerca intende esplorare e comprendere le esperienze di apprendimento di manager e lavoratori in un contesto lavorativo di continuo cambiamento e incertezza. Per sviluppare e validare lo strumento è stato utilizzato uno studio multifase e mixed methods, strutturato in: 1) studio esplorativo qualitativo attraverso interviste e focus group per valutare e validare la lista preliminare di item; 2) studio quantitativo per definire la struttura fattoriale, l’invarianza di misura, attendibilità e validità nomologica della scala. La scala è stata validata su un campione di manager e lavoratori di paesi del Centro-Est Europa, Italia ed Egitto. La scala ha mostrato soddisfacente validità di contenuto, costrutto e validità nomologica. La scala finale di 11 items fornisce a ricercatori e professionisti del settore HR una misura rigorosa, concisa e concreta da integrare nei sistemi di valutazione e sviluppo del personale. Lo studio presenta inoltre e discute future direzioni di ricerca e implicazioni pratiche.