The moderating role of legitimacy in the effect of training and development practices in corporate academies on job performance and person-organization fit

The main purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of the organizational-level outcomes of training from the perspective of institutional theory. In this context, the effects of training and development practices implemented in corporate academies on person-organization fit and job performance and how legitimacy moderates these effects were examined. In the first part of the study, national and international literature about the theoretical framework and concepts of the study are discussed. In the second part, the research background, research model, research hypotheses, and originality of the research are revealed. In the third part, the data collected through questionnaires from 402 employees who participated in training and development activities in corporate academies in Turkey were analyzed. In the questionnaire form, there were four different scales to measure the perception of training and development practices, the perception of person-organization fit, the perception of individual job performance, and the legitimacy. The findings showed that the training and development practices implemented in corporate academies have a statistically significant positive effect on individual job performance and person-organization fit. It is possible to explain change of variance 31.5% of individual job performance and 21.3% of person-organization fit with training and development practices. The dimension that most explain individual job performance is motivation to learn. A positive and significant moderating effect of the legitimacy of corporate academies was found in the impact of training and development activities on individual job performance and value congruence, which is the dimension of person-organization fit. Although various models have been developed regarding HRD studies and their organizational-level outcomes, it is thought that the legitimacy variable included in this study enriches the model and increases its explanatory power. Revealing some organizational outcomes of training and development practices and examining it in the example of "a corporate academy" is seen as an essential contribution to a better understanding of the phenomenon of the institutional academy. The point of understanding the strategic role of corporate academies, it can be said that it is important that these structures are accepted as legitimate by the employees.