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Learning Technology in Corporate Learning: Opportunities & Limitations
Successful corporate learning is more than just learning technology
Designing and implementing a technology-enabled learning environment is an ambitious project. Providers of various learning platforms tout that using their products makes learning self-directed, sustainable, and efficient. For L&D professionals, this raises a fundamental question: Does the investment in learning technology justify the expected benefits—and under what conditions?
To ensure that learning processes are designed to be sustainable and motivating, more is needed than simply implementing a learning platform. The key element is well-thought-out blended learning concepts that take individual learning and motivation patterns into account and provide the right incentives at the right time.
Motivation
Learning Technology
Learning as a Process
The Basics
Carefully define learning objectives
Learning objectives differ depending on whether they aim to change behavioral patterns or focus solely on the acquisition of information. Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, 1976) provides guidance on which learning outcomes to aim for:
| Taxonomic Level | Learning Objective |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | Recite what has been learned by heart; perform routine tasks |
| Comprehension | Explain, restate, and paraphrase what you have learned |
| Application | Applying and adapting what you have learned to a new context |
| Analysis | Break down what you've learned into its components; explain the structures |
| Assess | Evaluate what has been learned based on selected criteria |
| Synthesis | Creative Application, Re-composition, Generating New Content |
"Learning nuggets" and e-learning target the knowledge and comprehension levels—making them suitable for preparing learners for more complex content. Higher levels of the taxonomy focus on competencies and require a longer timeframe as well as the development of learning and reflection skills.
Learning Theories and Learning Processes
Sustainable, motivating learning processes
Various learning theories offer different explanatory approaches:
Piaget
People build their individual worldview step by step in order to understand new stimuli.
Vygotsky
Social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development—a deeper level of understanding emerges through dialogue with others.
Piston
describes a recurring cycle consisting of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.
Illeris
describes learning as an interactive process between the individual and the environment within the “learning triangle”
Siebert (2006) identifies ten characteristics of sustainable, motivating learning processes:
Connectivity, novelty, relevance, emotion, situatedness, physicality, networking, aestheticization, perturbation, co-evolution.
Examples of how learning technology can support these characteristics:
• Connectivity: An LMS can draw on educational history, career, and qualification profiles and compare them with data from colleagues and typical job profiles.
• Relevance and Contextualization: Learning content is evaluated based on its potential usefulness in job-related tasks—action-oriented learning is more motivating than abstract information.
• Emotion: Visible progress, badges, and moments of success create positive emotional connections to the learning process. Details: Gamification in Skills Management
• Physical engagement: Practical exercises, simulators, and in-person components go beyond purely screen-based work to also engage the physical experience. Details: LMS for Blended Learning
• Networking: Related courses and content are linked and recommended based on their subject matter, rather than existing in isolation from one another. Details: e.g., Learning Experience Platform
• Aesthetic appeal: A well-designed, consistently branded learning environment increases users' willingness to engage with the content. Details: Learning portals
• Perturbation: Deliberately challenging test scenarios challenge existing knowledge and thereby create a genuine incentive to learn, rather than simply testing what is already known. Details: Test generator for online tests
• Co-evolution: Learning progress can be enhanced through group-based exchange and reflection activities—whether synchronous (webinars, seminars) or asynchronous (forums, comments).
Learning in Phases
Acquisition and Transfer
Targeted learning processes consist of two phases that influence each other: the acquisition phase (expanding knowledge and skills) and the transfer phase (applying what has been learned to specific work tasks).
Training programs and professional development often focus primarily on the learning phase. Learners are left to their own devices during the application phase. This can have a negative impact on future motivation and practical experience. Successful application requires a work environment that supports innovation and knowledge transfer—particularly through managers acting as facilitators and colleagues serving as reflection partners.
Motivation Throughout the Process
Motivation to learn is not static
Siebert (2006) defines motivation to learn as a combination of values, triggers, structural characteristics, and activities—not static, but influenced over time.
The Rubicon Model describes four chronological phases of intentional, motivation-enhancing actions: goal evaluation (initial motivation), planning, implementation, and evaluation of learning outcomes. Even with high initial motivation, it may turn out that the learning material seems too complex or not very useful—the focus then often shifts from perfect mastery to a “just to pass” mindset.
Modern digital learning environments are an essential component of corporate learning—both during the acquisition and application phases—for example, through synchronous formats (Lunch & Learn, communities of practice) or collaboration and communication tools.
Find out here how these motivational principles can be applied in practice to self-directed, independent learning:
Implications for Learning Technology
Learning platforms are delivery mechanisms—their purpose is to quickly provide learners with appropriate learning content, regardless of format or authoring tool. This requires dynamic search functions and filter criteria, or preconfigured assignment logic.
If a system is to recommend learning content, it needs detailed information about learners’ preferences, professional profiles, and career opportunities—even AI-based recommendations (LXP) ultimately rely on this data. This requires comprehensive data collection and maintenance, which does not always readily comply with data protection guidelines or the ethical principles of trustworthy IT and must be carefully weighed.
In industrial training centers and regulated industries, there are additional requirements: mandatory compliance training must be documented in an audit-proof manner, certification expiration dates must be monitored automatically, and skill gaps within the team must be addressed in a structured manner.
Successful Blended Learning Approaches:
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Definition of Targets and Assessment Methods for Expected Learning Progress
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Design: Linking learning objectives with appropriate content, formats, and media
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Personalized, flexible support for learners throughout the entire motivation cycle
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Sustainability Through the Integration of Reflection and Discussion Formats
Conclusion
Tips & Tricks
Successful companies adapt to rapidly changing markets. In times of a skilled labor shortage, competitive organizations cannot afford to take a different approach.
Key questions for your own organization:
• How do decisions influence the ten characteristics identified by Siebert?
• What are the main learning objectives?
• How helpful is the current organizational and learning culture?
• How can learning technology support individual learning processes during the acquisition and application phases?
• How are learners supported along their learning path, including the application phase?
Only by distinguishing between learning platforms, learning portals, LMSs, and e-learning can learning technology be used in a targeted manner to elevate corporate learning to a higher level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs on Learning Technology in Corporate Learning
What is the difference between an LMS, a learning platform, and an LXP?
An LMS coordinates training workflows, permissions, and compliance records. A learning platform provides learners with access to content. An LXP adds AI-based personalized recommendations. SoftDeCC combines an LMS and a learning platform into a single system.
Why Isn't Learning Technology Alone Enough for Sustainable Corporate Learning?
It is a vehicle—it supports learning processes, but does not create them. Sustainable learning requires well-thought-out instructional concepts, a supportive learning culture, and leaders who actively facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
What learning formats does a modern LMS support in a blended learning context?
SoftDeCC LMS supports e-learning (WBTs, SCORM), video tutorials, in-person seminars, webinars, learning paths with dependencies, and mandatory compliance training with automated record-keeping.
How does motivation to learn influence success in acquiring skills in companies?
Motivation to learn changes during the acquisition and transfer phases. Companies that focus exclusively on supporting the acquisition phase risk seeing their investments in training go to waste without any measurable transfer of skills.
What are the requirements for a successful corporate learning environment?
Three levels: technical learning infrastructure (LMS, learning portals), pedagogically designed learning arrangements (blended learning), and a learning culture that actively enables and encourages the transfer of knowledge.
Bibliography
Arnold, R.; Erpenbeck, J. (2021). Knowledge Is Not Competence. Hohengehren: Schneider Verlag. Bak, P. M. (2019). Learning, Motivation, and Emotion. Berlin: Springer. Bloom, B. S. (1976). Taxonomy of Learning Objectives in the Cognitive Domain. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz. Damasio, A. R. (2004). Descartes' Error. Berlin: List. Hebein, E. (2016). Ensuring the Transfer of Learning in Workplace Continuing Education. Saarbrücken: Akademiker Verlag. Illeris, K. (2006). The “Learning Triangle.” In E. Nuissl, From Learning to Teaching. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann. Lemke, S. (1995). Transfer Management. Göttingen: Hogrefe. Mayer, R. E. (2021). Multimedia Learning. Cambridge University Press. McClelland, D. (1961). The Achieving Society. Princeton: Van Nostrand. Mittelmann, A. (2019). Knowledge management is going digital. Norderstedt: BoD. Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. Schüßler, I.; Thurnes, C. (2005). Learning Cultures in Continuing Education. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann. Siebert, H. (2006). Motivation to Learn and Willingness to Learn. Bertelsmann.
