Learning style and confidence: an empirical investigation of Japanese employees

This study aims to examine how learning styles relate to employees' confidence through a view of Kolb's experiential learning theory. For this aim, an empirical investigation was conducted using the sample of 201 Japanese employees who work for a Japanese multinational corporation. Results illustrated that the learning style group of acting orientation described a significantly higher level of job confidence than that of reflecting orientation, whereas the two groups of feeling and thinking orientation did not differ in job confidence levels. To confirm this result, by controlling socio-demographic variables such as gender, age, tenure, job functions, and positions, results of hierarchical regression also showed that action orientation employees exhibited higher confidence in their jobs than those with reflection orientation. This study would put a light on theoretical connection between learning styles and job confidence in business contexts. As a practical implication in organizational management, HR managers may need to propose that employees have to learn more through action orientation rather than reflection in order to enhance job confidence that will lead to better job performance.