Action learning factors perceived by action learning participants in companies in South Korea

This study identified the success factors of action learning programs in Korean companies. The following research procedures were used: (1) identifying conceptual domains; (2) finding provisional success factors; (3) developing the instrument; (4) implementing the instrument to gather data; and (5) analyzing data. Through interviews with 13 participants and reviews by four action learning experts, 16 provisional success factors were identified within three categories; the final 53 items were then developed. The reliability of the instrument, overall, was .97, as determined by the results provided by the respondents in this study. A total of 1,304 participants were invited from 10 Korean companies, and 351 visited the on-line survey site. After removing useless cases, 288 cases remained for statistical data analysis, including factor analysis, correlations, and a multiple regression.; As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, two success factors of action learning programs were identified with 66% of the total common variance explained, with eigenvalues of 22.90 and 2.79 and Cronbach's alphas of .97 and .90: ALP Team Processes and Organizational Support Systems. These two success factors showed significant correlations with each other and with the perceived outcomes of action learning programs. Both success factors affected the perceived outcomes of action learning programs significantly with 63% of variance explained. ALP Team Processes was the strongest predictor influencing the success of action learning programs, followed by Organizational Support Systems.