Training, employee involvement and continuous improvement – the moderating effect of a common improvement method

Training and the use of a common improvement method have been promoted as important mechanisms to facilitate continuous improvement. As a result, organisations invested heavily in purchasing standard, off-the-shelf improvement methods and massive training of employees in these types of methods and the associated tools and techniques. In practice, however, many improvement programmes are not as successful as initially expected. The question is whether training of all employees in the common improvement method leads to more employee involvement and participation and hence higher levels of continuous improvement? Based on a sample of 208 respondents from different organisations, this study shows that training for continuous improvement and the use of a common improvement method are indeed positively related to employee involvement, but it also shows that there is a negative interaction effect between training and the use of a common improvement method such that the higher (the adherence to) the use of a common improvement method the more reduced the positive effect of training on employee involvement is. This study also shows that employee involvement partly mediates the impact of training on continuous improvement. However, the higher the adherence to a common improvement method, the lower the indirect effect of training via employee involvement on continuous improvement is. Training should therefore not only be given about the common improvement method, but especially broad in the field of continuous improvement.