Developing frontline managers’ creativity through formal and informal learning: a self-regulated learning perspective

Employee creativity is critical for service organizations in today’s competitive business environment. Structured training programs are a popular intervention for developing creativity knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs); yet a significant amount of learning occurs informally. Drawing on self-regulation theory, we examine the interplay between a formal creativity KSA training intervention and subsequent self-regulated informal learning in the workplace for frontline managers. We utilize both quantitative and qualitative data derived from surveys and semi-structured interviews from a sample of 50 frontline managers in four hotels located in Northern Ireland. We found that the formal creativity training intervention functioned as a stimulus for informal learning around creativity, leading to a cycle of self-regulated learning processes. Our study generates new insights into the interplay of formal and informal learning in the context of creative problem-solving in the workplace.