The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, job performance, and occupational self-efficacy of production engineers in large corporations. To accomplis...
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, job performance, and occupational self-efficacy of production engineers in large corporations. To accomplish the objectives of the study, the specific research aims are as follows. First, to establish a causal model between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations. Second, to establish the direct influence relationship between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations. Third, to test the mediating effects of self-development motivation and informal learning on the relationships among coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations. Fourth, to examine the moderating and moderated mediating effects of occupational self-efficacy on the structural relationships among coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations.
The population size is approximately 81,981, which is the estimated number of production engineers in large corporations in 2023, and the required sample size was 400. The survey instrument was a questionnaire, which included questions on the demographic characteristics of the participants along with the research variables of coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal
learning, occupational self-efficacy, and job performance. The instruments for each observable variable were selected or adapted from previous studies, with theexception of the job performance instrument. The job performance instrument was constructed based on the results of previous studies and surveys on the job performance of production engineers in large corporations, and the preliminary
survey items were tested for content validity and face validity with experts and engineers, and reliability and validity were secured through a preliminary survey.
Data collection was conducted online between April 29 and May 17, 2024, resulting in 453 data sets. Of these, 404 were used for data analysis after excluding incorrect participants, outliers, and non-respondents. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 29.0 for Windows to analyze the reliability of measurement items, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis by observation variables, and multicollinearity diagnostic analysis. Mplus 8.11 was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model analysis. The statistical significance level (p-value) was set at 0.05.
The main findings of the study are as follows. First, the fit of the structural model established to elucidate the structural relationship between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations was generally good, confirming the validity of the relationship between the variables. Second, it was found that coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, and informal learning had direct positive effects on job performance of production engineers in large corporations, and there were direct positive effects between coworker feedback environment and self-development motivation, coworker feedback environment and informal learning, and self-development motivation and informal learning. Third, the mediating effects of self-development motivation and informal learning and the dual mediating effects of self-development motivation and informal learning on the relationship between coworker feedback environment and job performance were confirmed. Finally, occupational self-efficacy had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance, but the moderating effect of self-development motivation and informal learning was not significant.
Based on the findings, the conclusions of this study are as follows. First, the structural model fit of coworker feedback environment, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance established in this study is generally good, and the relationships among the variables are valid. Second, it was confirmed that the creation of a friendly coworker feedback environment is helpful
to improve the job performance of production engineers in large corporations, and it is important to secure an organizational climate that emphasizes communication among colleagues and a sense of psychological safety to improve the coworker feedback environment. Third, the results of this study verified the mediating effects of self-development motivation and informal learning on the relationship between coworker feedback environment and job performance. Therefore, to effectively promote the job performance of production engineers in large corporations, it is necessary to encourage individual self-development motivation and informal learning, and provide institutional and cultural support. Fourth, since the moderating effect of professional self-efficacy on the relationship between coworker feedback environment and self-development motivation of production engineers in large corporations has been demonstrated, providing training or success experiences for employees to enhance their professional self-efficacy can improve the effectiveness of the coworker feedback environment.
Based on the results of this study, the following suggestions for future research are made. First, further research should be conducted to validate the relationship between coworker feedback environments, self-development motivation, informal learning, and job performance of production engineers in large corporations by specifying demographic variables. Second, it is necessary to consider the national cultural factors of the organizations of production engineers in large corporations. Third, further research should be conducted to verify whether the same findings
hold true for other engineering occupations besides production engineers in large corporations.
The following practical suggestions are also made. First, it is necessary to promote peer-to-peer feedback by considering the following components of the coworker feedback environment: feedback reliability, feedback context, positive feedback, negative feedback, and feedback activation. Second, it is necessary to actively promote informal learning to enhance the effectiveness of the coworker feedback environment and improve job performance. Third, it is necessary to develop training or counseling programs to improve the professional self-efficacy of production engineers in large corporations. Finally, it is suggested that the job performance measurement instrument developed in this study should be used to obtain basic data for diagnosing the effectiveness of talent selection, education, and training programs.
Key words : Engineer, coworker Feedback Environment, Self-development Motivation, Informal Learning, Job Performance, Occupational Self-efficacy, Structural Equation Modeling
Student Number : 2009-30285