1. Introduction
In the age of knowledge-based economies, enterprises are facing rapid changes in their operations and external environments, and they have begun to explore ways to create and maintain their competitive advantages in order to achieve the goal of operational sustainability. Therefore, enterprises must transform to increase their organizational soft power. The integration of employees, knowledge, and skills is the key factor that determines a successful transformation. Peter Drucker [
1] mentioned that in this new economic era, knowledge is not only the source of an enterprise’s competitive advantages, but also its single most important resource. When facing volatile operating environments, organizations must, in order to avoid continuous losses in their competitive advantages, constantly learn new knowledge and develop new technologies, thereby increasing their competitiveness in the market. For businesses, the value of learning is pre-eminent over that of other resources [
2]. Organizational learning is beneficial for enterprise development and the maintenance of long-term competitive advantages and is ultimately achieved by each member of an organization [
3,
4].
Following advancements in information technology and its popularization, the integration of computers and the Internet has diversified learning channels. With the assistance of information technology, e-learning has emerged as a novel learning method and undergone several stages of development [
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11]. In comparison with traditional classroom learning, e-learning provides learners with the following advantages: (1) A more favorable learning environment and time and location flexibility [
7,
12,
13,
14]. (2) With information technology as a medium, learners can learn through digitized operations and interactions, which will enhance their learning motivation, sense of accomplishment, and willingness to learn [
14,
15,
16]. (3) A study showed that enterprises could reduce their employees’ learning costs by implementing e-learning [
17]. With regard to the advantages of e-learning, many enterprises have utilized various resources to build e-learning environments for their employees to learn more effectively. However, can such efforts achieve the enterprises’ expected employee outcomes? Many empirical studies have solidified the fact that employees’ learning outcomes vary greatly [
12,
13,
14,
16]. Some employees regard their outcomes to be good, while others regard theirs as poor. The factors leading to these differences have become a long-standing issue of concern among researchers and workers/employees.
To date, many studies pertaining to e-learning have mostly emphasized the impacts of using technology-based tools on users’ learning outcomes. For instance, researchers have explored the effects of e-learning platform designs on users’ learning behavior from the perspective of information technology [
6,
9,
10,
18]. Other researchers have adopted the case study approach to discuss the outcomes of e-learning in individual companies [
19,
20,
21]. Few studies have investigated changes in the learning behavior and learning outcomes of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following the implementation of e-learning.
This has always been a topic of concern among researchers, and the theory of goal orientation, which stems from educational psychology, is an effective theoretical framework for explaining the differences in learners’ behaviors and outcomes [
22,
23]. The theory of goal orientation [
22,
24] and empirical studies [
25,
26,
27] have shown that learners’ motivations will affect their perceptions, affects, and behaviors with regard to learning, thereby resulting in different learning results [
22,
24]. Empirical results have shown that, due to their different personal motivations, learners generate dissimilar responses when they face different situational challenges.
In recent years, research has been conducted on enterprise and government organizations to investigate the effects of employees’ goal orientations on their work behavior or performance [
28,
29,
30,
31,
32,
33]. Studies have been conducted on learners’ goal orientations and post-learning/training performances in traditional learning environments [
34,
35,
36], but to date, there is a lack of studies which discuss and validate whether employees’ goal orientations generate different learning outcomes among them in e-learning environments. In this regard, the first objective of the present study was to validate the association between employees’ goal orientation and learning outcomes.
Furthermore, in learning- and education-related studies, learning satisfaction has always been regarded as an important indicator for evaluating learning outcomes [
37,
38,
39,
40,
41]. Even so, can learning satisfaction reflect learning outcomes? Are learning satisfaction and learning outcomes linked together to a certain extent? According to the viewpoints highlighted in the self-determination theory [
42,
43], learning satisfaction is an important factor for one to interpret or respond to their learning process and learning outcomes. Relevant studies have shown that learning satisfaction not only encourages students to demonstrate their intrinsic motivations during the learning process, but also enhances their positive learning attitudes and behavior [
44,
45,
46]. In the field of learning and education, researchers have further highlighted that learning satisfaction is not only an important indicator that measures the learners’ process of learning, but is also linked to learning outcomes [
37,
38,
39,
43,
47]. However, no studies have clarified or examined the associations between employees’ goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and learning outcomes in e-learning environments. To this end, the second objective of this study was to determine whether employees’ goal orientation indirectly influences learning outcomes through the mediator role of learning satisfaction. The results of this study are expected to shed light on the personal antecedents of employees’ learning outcomes, as well as facilitating the enhancement of e-learning outcomes in enterprises.
3. Research Model and Hypotheses
Based on the literature finding that goal orientation influences learning outcomes, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
Hypotheses 1(H1). Mastery goal orientation has a significant and positive effect on learning outcomes.
Hypotheses 2(H2). Performance-approach goal orientation has a significant and positive effect on learning outcomes.
Hypotheses 3(H3). Performance-avoidance goal orientation has a significant and negative effect on learning outcomes.
The analysis results of the aforementioned studies have shown that the learners’ goal orientation is related to learning satisfaction, and different goal orientations have different levels of impact on learning satisfaction. To summarize, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
Hypotheses 4(H4). Mastery goal orientation has a significant and positive effect on learning satisfaction.
Hypotheses 5(H5). Performance-approach goal orientation has a significant and positive effect on learning satisfaction.
Hypotheses 6(H6). Performance-avoidance goal orientation has a significant and negative effect on learning satisfaction.
Summarizing the aforementioned research views, there is a close relationship between learning satisfaction and learning outcomes. Therefore, this study proposes the following hypotheses according to the arguments above.
Hypotheses 7(H7). The employees’ learning satisfaction has a significant and positive effect on their learning outcomes.
Many education-related studies have highlighted the significant association between learners’ learning satisfaction and learning outcomes [
43,
44,
47,
87,
88]. Furthermore, learners’ goal orientations affect their learning satisfaction and learning outcomes [
22,
24,
78,
79,
98]. To date, no studies have discussed and validated whether employees’ goal orientations indirectly influence their learning outcomes through learning satisfaction as a mediator. Based on Deci and Ryan’s [
42,
43] theoretical framework and by summarizing hypotheses H1–H7, this study further deduced that employees’ goal orientation predict their learning outcomes through the mediator of learning satisfaction.
Hypotheses 8a(H8a). The employees’ mastery goal orientation has an indirect effect on their learning outcomes through the mediator of learning satisfaction.
Hypotheses 8b(H8b). The employees’ performance-approach goal orientation has an indirect effect on their learning outcomes through the mediator of learning satisfaction.
Hypotheses 8c(H8c). The employees’ performance-avoidance goal orientation has an indirect effect on their learning outcomes through the mediator of learning satisfaction.
The research model and research assumptions based on these eight hypotheses are presented in
Figure 1.
6. Discussion and Conclusions
6.1. Conclusions
Based on the goal orientation theory in educational psychology and past empirical studies, we first broke down the goal orientation of employees into the categories of mastery goal orientation, performance-approach goal orientation, and performance-avoidance goal orientation, after which we sought to deduce the impact of the employees’ goal orientation on their learning satisfaction and the relationship between goal orientation, learning satisfaction, and learning outcomes. The questionnaire was administered to employees of Taiwanese SMEs, and the results of our empirical analysis are described below.
(1) Impact of goal orientation on learning outcomes: The results indicated that the employees’ mastery and performance-approach goal orientation had positive impacts on their learning outcomes, even though the motivations behind these goal orientations were sometimes different. The results of this present student were consistent with those reported by Louw, Dunlop, Yeo and Griffin [
30] and Whitaker and Levy [
78], that is, in an e-learning environment, employees who enjoyed learning and valued self-expression achieved better learning outcomes in terms of feedback and results. Although performance-avoidance goal orientation was found to have a negative impact on the research results, this impact was not statistically significant, representing a divergence from the results reported by Malmberg [
120] and Whitaker and Levy [
78]. However, learners who focused on avoiding learning still achieved poorer post-learning outcomes, possibly due to the indirect influence of other factors. The results confirmed that, in an e-learning environment, the goal orientation of employees has some degree of impact on their learning outcomes.
(2) Impact of goal orientation on learning satisfaction: The results indicated that the employees with stronger mastery and performance-approach goal orientation experienced higher learning satisfaction with e-learning, while employees with stronger performance-avoidance goal orientation experienced lower learning satisfaction. Previous studies on students have also produced similar findings [
24,
121]. Although this present study examined employees instead of students, its results have highlighted how different types of goal orientations could trigger different learning satisfaction-related behaviors in different learning environments. Employees who sought to develop their competence and cared about competing with others reported higher learning satisfaction; while employees who were less oriented toward improving their competence were likely to experience less satisfaction. The results confirmed that, in an e-learning environment, the goal orientation of employees impacts on their learning satisfaction.
(3) Impact of learning satisfaction on learning outcomes: Many studies on learning have posited that learning satisfaction and learning outcomes are correlated, but rarely considered the influence mechanism that links them together. The results indicated that the employees’ learning satisfaction had a statistically significant positive impact on their e-learning outcomes. This finding was in line with those reported by Kuo, Walker, Belland, and Schroder [
85] and Paechter, Maier, and Macher [
38], who proposed that high learning satisfaction leads to better learning outcomes, while low learning satisfaction leads to poorer results. The finding also showed that an individual’s learning satisfaction ultimately has a positive impact on his or her learning outcomes.
(4) The mediator effect of learning satisfaction: Education-related studies have often posited that associations exist between the goal orientations, learning satisfactions, and learning outcomes of learners [
42,
43]. The results of this study not only support the goal orientation theory, but also proved that learning satisfaction plays a mediator role in goal orientation and learning outcomes, thereby elucidating the suitability of the goal orientation theory in the training and management of human resources in enterprises [
4,
28].
Furthermore, as shown in
Table 7, it can be seen that mastery goal orientation has the most influence on learning satisfaction and learning outcomes, followed by performance-approach goal orientation. These results suggest that the research framework and hypotheses of this study are in line with the assertions of previous studies based on goal orientation theory.
6.2. Managerial Implications
In the age of knowledge-based economies, advancements in the Internet and information technology have greatly changed competitive environments in businesses, and the ways technologies are applied. In order to attain sustainability and strengthen competitive organizational advantages, enterprises need to constantly engage in learning. Moreover, enterprises should attempt the implementation of e-learning to assist their employees, as this approach has no temporal, spatial, and locational restrictions. E-learning is a more efficient and effective means of educating and training employees, enabling them to obtain the latest information and advanced skills, to reduce learning costs and enhancing the organization’s overall performance. However, for enterprises, apart from introducing e-learning technologies to make up for the enterprise’s lack of in-service training, what methods can be implemented to enhance the employees’ continuous engagement in e-learning and thereby generating post-learning benefits? This issue has always been a concern of industry and academia. Based on our empirical results, this study proposes the following recommendations.
(1) Understand the employees’ goal orientations: Our findings suggest that an employee’s personal goal orientation affects their learning satisfaction and learning outcomes. Therefore, when enterprises implement in-service training and learning, they must first understand the employees’ goal orientations to induce positive learning motivations and goals, thereby generating the driving force for learning and optimizing learning outcomes.
(2) Assist in modifying and changing the employees’ goal orientations: With regard to learners with performance-avoidance orientation, enterprises should allow employees to understand their avoidance-induced maladaptation and counsel and assist the employees to develop proactive motivations and attitudes to engage in learning, thus generating a successful learning experience. To put it differently, in e-learning environments, learners with a higher level of happiness have a higher willingness to devote themselves to learning, thus increasing their learning satisfaction through the process and generating better learning effectiveness.
(3) Establish collaborative learning to enhance learning outcomes: Enterprises can encourage e-learners and other members to engage in collaborative learning in groups that consist of at least two members. Collaborative learning allows learners to clarify and revise their opinions while generating more feedbacks through peer interactions and discussions. It facilitates the elevation of one’s learning satisfaction, thereby encouraging them to attain better learning outcomes and increase their problem-solving skills.
(4) Build excellent organizational learning environments: Enterprises should build a sustainable learning environment which not only consists of good software and hardware infrastructures and resources, but must also rely on the sufficient support, identification, and engagement of managers to allow learners to learn without stress while acquiring more knowledge and skills in such desirable environments. Interestingly, at present, while many enterprises are promoting e-learning, managers should set an example by engaging in learning activities themselves and guiding employees to learn and share on their own. This not only sets the managers up as leaders, but also creates desirable learning environments and induces the employees’ self-directed learning and motivations.
(5) Incorporate holistic mechanisms for evaluating in-service training programs: In addition to emphasizing employee training, enterprises should formulate a clear and effective reward system according to the enterprises’ needs. They should also conceive relevant policies by developing goals to regulate and supervise the employees’ engagement in e-learning. Everything from formulating the contents of solutions, allocating resources, and evaluating the outcomes of implementing e-learning must be done according to law. The combination of accurate measurements of learning results and incentive measures can further enhance the employees’ willingness to learn, as well as the continued development of e-learning approaches with equal qualitative and quantitative emphases. Methods for integrating the human resources development plans of enterprises have always been a practical concern. At present, many enterprises have combined promotion, evaluation, and reward systems to strengthen their employees’ willingness to learn, as well as generating substantial benefits on the job.
6.3. Limitations and Directions for Future Studies
Despite its rigorous research process, this study still suffers from certain limitations. (1) Many factors may affect employees’ perceptions during the process of learning with the e-learning platform, as well as their learning results. The simplified research framework of this study only discussed the impacts of the employees’ personal goal orientation on their learning satisfaction and learning outcomes. (2) The participants in this study merely consisted of employees in local small and medium-sized manufacturers in Taiwan and did not include participants from other countries or cultural regions. Therefore, the generalizability of the research results may be limited. (3) The questionnaire data were all cross-sectional. (4) Even though this study focused on the learning outcomes of e-learning, due to the difficulty in obtaining the results of the learners’ learning outcomes for the platform, there is a lack of objectivity as the learners completed the questionnaires by measuring their learning outcomes on their own. (5) With regard to e-learning formats and e-learning contents, this study only examined the use of ERP software by SMEs and did not consider other options. (6) The study did not factor in the employees’ expectations in relation to the teaching methods applied for e-learning. (7) The impact of different types of e-learning courses on learning satisfaction was not explored. (8) The impact of the quality of e-learning courses on learning satisfaction was not examined.
Recommendations: Subsequent studies can involve employees from different countries or regions, industries, and company sizes, as well as different e-learning formats and contents (non-ERP formats). Furthermore, relevant data can be collected at various time points, such as the early stage (within a month) of using a learning platform, the intermediate stage (three to six months), and the long run (six to twelve months), to observe and analyze the changes in learners’ learning behaviors. This approach is known as the longitudinal research approach. With regard to the final measurement of learning outcomes, in addition to adopting learners’ evaluations, supervisors’ evaluations of employees can be added as well to overcome the lack of objectivity in measuring learning outcomes. In addition, this study discussed goal orientation through three constructs only. In the future, this number should be increased to four or six, to facilitate in-depth validation and investigation. Finally, we recommend that relevant scholars go beyond the scope of this study and conduct detailed research on the influence of different personality traits, teacher-student interactions, organizational environments, and important figures on employees’ processes and performances in using e-learning systems. Other questions may also be considered. For example, can the pedagogies used in e-learning be inadequate? Can leaning satisfaction be influenced by the type of program they are following? Is all e-learning of the same quality? Can the quality of an e-learning program influence an adult learner’s satisfaction?