Purpose

Based on trait activation theory, the purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between the antecedents and outcomes of informal learning with the moderating effect of supervisor feedback environment (SFE) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

Data (n = 388) were gathered from middle managers of Pakistan’s SME sector by following the purposive sampling technique. The proposed model was examined by means of structural equation modeling analysis with AMOS 24.

Findings

The study results delineate that middle managers with high-level self-efficacy and motivation to learn more actively participate in informal learning activities. The study also found that the SFE is a strong contextual moderator between the nexus of personal factors and informal learning. In addition, informal learning also has significant and positive effect on work engagement.

Practical implications

Human resource practitioners and organizational leaders of small businesses can use informal learning to improve employees’ skills and knowledge with less cost. For instance, management should use different strategies to enhance the effectiveness of informal learning by providing SFE.

Originality/value

There are numerous recent calls for research to ascertain the interaction of individual, contextual factors and outcomes of informal learning. The study addresses these voids by empirically examining antecedents and outcomes of informal learning simultaneously through the person–situation interaction perspective. It demonstrates that informal learning at the workplace becomes more effective in SFE.

中文翻译：

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非正式学习的个人情境视角：主管反馈环境的作用

目的

基于特质激活理论，本研究的目的是探讨非正式学习的前因和结果与中小型企业（SMEs）主管反馈环境（SFE）的调节作用之间的关系。

设计/方法/方法

数据（n  =  388）是通过遵循有目的抽样技术从巴基斯坦中小企业部门的中层管理人员那里收集的。所提出的模型通过 AMOS 24 的结构方程建模分析进行了检查。

发现

研究结果表明，具有高水平自我效能感和学习动机的中层管理人员更积极地参与非正式学习活动。该研究还发现，SFE 是个人因素与非正式学习之间的强大语境调节器。此外，非正式学习对工作投入也有显着的积极影响。

实际影响

小型企业的人力资源从业者和组织领导者可以利用非正式学习以更低的成本提高员工的技能和知识。例如，管理层应使用不同的策略，通过提供 SFE 来提高非正式学习的有效性。

原创性/价值

最近有许多呼吁进行研究，以确定个人、背景因素和非正式学习结果之间的相互作用。该研究通过人与情境互动的视角，同时对非正式学习的前因和结果进行了实证检验，从而解决了这些空白。它表明工作场所的非正式学习在 SFE 中变得更加有效。