Informal learning (IL) in hospitality and tourism (H&T) is a significant contributor to improving individual and organisational performance. However, prior research in this field is fragmented and there is a need to assemble and evaluate these studies. This paper presents the first known systematic review and critique of the literature in this field. A filtered search resulted in 70 empirical studies published in ABDC ranked journals. Analysis of the studies revealed the following: (1) concentration of research in developed-country contexts, (2) limited exploration of theories that encapsulate both personal and work environment factors that might influence participation in informal learning, (3) lack of research designs that incorporate rigour such as multi-source data, mixed-methods, causality testing, or multilevel analysis, and (4) limited exploration of the antecedents and outcomes of employees’ engagement in IL activities. Drawing on these findings, the paper provides several suggestions for future research.

酒店和旅游 (H&T) 中的非正式学习 (IL) 是提高个人和组织绩效的重要因素。然而，该领域的先前研究是零散的，需要汇总和评估这些研究。本文介绍了该领域文献的第一个已知系统回顾和批评。过滤后的搜索结果在 ABDC 排名的期刊上发表了 70 项实证研究。对研究的分析表明：(1) 研究集中在发达国家的背景下，(2) 对包含可能影响参与非正式学习的个人和工作环境因素的理论的探索有限，(3) 缺乏研究设计结合严谨性，例如多源数据、混合方法、因果关系测试或多级分析，(4) 对员工参与 IL 活动的前因和结果的探索有限。基于这些发现，本文为未来的研究提供了一些建议。