Benchmarking Training and Development Practices: A Multi-Country Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This study compares training and development practices within and across nine countries and one region, and addresses whether there are universal training and development practices. After a brief review of the literature on training and development for the countries and region examined, the study identifies country-specific and region-specific training and development practices. The results are descriptive in nature and discussed as benchmarks of current and desired levels of training and development practices within and across countries. While the results do not indicate any universal practices across all countries studied, they do indicate significant similarities in practices within country clusters. The common practices found within these clusters are believed to be influenced by cultural values and industry trends. The study emphasizes the importance of context and provides practitioners with guidelines in designing training and development practices across countries and researchers with insight into future research questions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.