Organizational learning is beneficial for the maintenance and development of an organization’s long-term competitive advantages. However, organizational learning can be achieved only through the learning carried out by individual members. Therefore, employees’ learning plays a critical role in companies that pursue sustainable management. E-learning allows employees to learn without any time or space constraints, which strengthens and improves organizational learning capacity. The participants of this study were employees in small and medium-sized enterprises. This study explored and identified the ways in which these employees’ perceived intra-organizational environment (including the organization’s commitment to learning and a competitive psychological climate) affects their learning outcomes through their goal orientations and computer anxiety (CA). A questionnaire was administered to the employees who have used an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) e-learning platform. The results indicated that an organization’s commitment to learning and its competitive psychological climate affect e-learning outcomes, with employees’ goal orientations and CA acting as mediator variables. Furthermore, in contrast to past studies, this study found that the organization’s competitive psychological climate could strengthen employees’ learning motivation (i.e., learning goal orientation) and their desire to perform well (i.e., proving goal orientation), thus improving their e-learning outcomes. Finally, the empirical results were used to develop recommendations for high-ranking executives, department managers, and human resource departments.

The constant improvement of an enterprise’s competitive advantage is essential for its sustainable operation. Simultaneously, the persistent and effective learning methods of organizational members lead to the accumulation of learning results and knowledge, which are important intangible assets, as well as the key to establishing a company’s competitive advantage. Many enterprises have utilized various resources (such as building systems and purchasing software) to facilitate employee learning. However, the employees’ learning outcomes may not necessarily meet these enterprises’ expectations. As advocated in many studies, e-learning is not merely a new trend—it also plays an essential role in the learning and training process that organizational members undergo. However, throughout the learning process, what are the factors that cause different e-learning outcomes? The goal orientation theory in educational psychology has provided a reasonable framework for explaining and describing the differences in employees’ post-learning behaviors. This study focused on employees from Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their participation in enterprise resource planning (ERP)-based e-learning. The employees’ goal orientations and how they indirectly (with learning satisfaction as a mediator) impact the employees’ learning outcomes were examined and deduced. A questionnaire was administered to 405 employees from different SMEs who have had the experience of using an ERP-based e-learning platform. According to the structural equation model analysis results, the employees’ master goal orientation and performance-approach orientation (avoidance orientation) will exert an indirect positive (negative) influence on learning outcomes through learning satisfaction as a mediator. Lastly, this study interpreted the empirical results together with their academic and managerial implications, and proposed some recommendations for subsequent research.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of information technology and with the ubiquitousness of the internet, corporations are increasingly focused on harnessing educational technology to boost their competitive prowess. A pivotal question emerges: Can they implement this technology effectively and sustainably to enhance the learning capabilities of their workforce and facilitate their accumulation of knowledge and skills? This concern remains a central focus in the corporate sphere. From educational psychology, goal orientation theory offers an explanatory framework for understanding learner (employee) behavior variations following learning interventions. This research is grounded in the e-learning environment fostered by educational technology within corporations. It explores and hypothesizes the impact of employee achievement motivations—including learning, proving, and avoiding goal orientations—on self-regulated learning (encompassing cognitive, motivational, and behavioral adjustments). Additionally, this study examines how employees’ self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction with the learning process influence learning effectiveness (learning outcomes) assessments. Our empirical survey targeted 380 employees from 26 companies participating in corporate educational technology learning (e-learning), with our research hypotheses tested through PLS structural equation modeling. The analysis indicates that employees’ learning and proving goal orientations indirectly positively affect their learning outcomes by mediating self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction. Conversely, employees’ avoidance goal orientation indirectly negatively impacts their learning outcomes by mediating their self-regulated learning and learning satisfaction. Finally, the researchers offer recommendations for management and future research directions.