A study of on-line education on training effectiveness

The development of information technologies has contributed on-line training as one of important education methods. On-line training in firms, which is similar to e-learning or virtual education, provides trainees with more education opportunities in diverse ways. It has developed a range of innovative services with a one-stop solution of education within the electronic sector. Also under the on-line training environment, trainees can undertake customized training packages at any time and any place. Moreover, information technology allows both the trainers and other trainees to be decoupled in any of the elements of time, place, and space. Two research questions are investigated: what are the determinants affecting the on-line training effectiveness and how those variables affect the two aspects of training effectiveness: learning performance and transfer performance. Based on the previous literature conducted on the traditional training environment, the determinants of training effectiveness are derived. Eight hypotheses are developed based on literature reviews and tested by questionnaires survey data. The collected data have been analyzed by LISREL. It is found that the relationship between individual, organizational and on-line site design variables and training effectiveness (learning and transfer) are significant. The contribution and limitations of this research are also discussed with future studies.