Training and development of human resources at work: Is the state of our science strong?

The purpose of this article is to discuss progress and gaps in the scientific training and development literature. In particular, we first delineate three criteria against which scientific progress in Human Resource Management fields can be evaluated. We then review examples from the training and development literature that illustrate progress toward meeting each scientific criterion. Finally, we identify several gaps in the literature that require further theory development and empirical research. Although our general assessment of scientific progress in the training and development literature is positive, we also argue that more multilevel research is needed to better understand how learning is influenced by factors residing at multiple levels of analysis, as well as how learning generalizes to influence practically meaningful outcomes at higher organizational levels.