TY - JOUR
T1 - Leadership training and just-in-time nudges
T2 - A field experiment on the transfer of learning into action
AU - Haunstrup, Jørgen Skovhus
AU - Jensen, Ulrich Thy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Government agencies use leadership training programs to improve human capital and public service provision. However, existing research ignores how limited cognitive capacity and task overload in the aftermath of leadership training programs can reduce the transfer of learning into action. Integrating insights from behavioral science on choice architecture with research on leadership development, we propose a leadership development model with “just-in-time” implementation nudges. In a field experiment involving 226 Danish public managers and their 4,442 employees, we found that employees perceived their managers as exhibiting more transformational leadership behaviors following our leadership development intervention. The intervention combined classroom training with just-in-time implementation nudges that targeted goal-oriented development dialogues. We also found that these dialogues mediated the treatment effect on transformational leadership behavior. Our results highlight the need to consider choice architectural approaches in designing leadership development efforts in the public sector.
AB - Government agencies use leadership training programs to improve human capital and public service provision. However, existing research ignores how limited cognitive capacity and task overload in the aftermath of leadership training programs can reduce the transfer of learning into action. Integrating insights from behavioral science on choice architecture with research on leadership development, we propose a leadership development model with “just-in-time” implementation nudges. In a field experiment involving 226 Danish public managers and their 4,442 employees, we found that employees perceived their managers as exhibiting more transformational leadership behaviors following our leadership development intervention. The intervention combined classroom training with just-in-time implementation nudges that targeted goal-oriented development dialogues. We also found that these dialogues mediated the treatment effect on transformational leadership behavior. Our results highlight the need to consider choice architectural approaches in designing leadership development efforts in the public sector.
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U2 - 10.1080/10967494.2024.2314055
DO - 10.1080/10967494.2024.2314055
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85188062541
SN - 1096-7494
JO - International Public Management Journal
JF - International Public Management Journal
ER -