Abstract Book of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Research in Management, Business and Finance
Year: 2025
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Transformative Learning Theory: Fostering Belonging and Growth in Changing Workplace Cultures
Dominque Baker
ABSTRACT:
Organizations across the United States are analyzing how to support culture, belonging, and employee engagement amidst executive orders, changing employee expectations, and a often divisive political climate. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), formerly considered primarily social support networks, are now also being leveraged as areas of strategic impact in onboarding, mobility, wellness, and leadership development. This paper will share lived experience within a large enterprise and explore how ERGs fit into Human Resource Development (HRD) responses to create inclusive cultures and foster internal mobility. Based on Human Capital Theory, Social Exchange Theory, Self- Determination Theory, and Job Embeddedness Theory, the purpose of the discussion is to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of measuring ERG impact and provide suggestions on how to develop ERGs for sustainability and impact. The intention for using a combination of years of lived experience, academic insights, and theoretical frameworks to design the forthcoming roundtable is to create an experience for participants to discuss how ERGs can grow and scale from a grassroots movement into a strategic pillar of employee engagement and organizational culture.
Keywords: Transformative Learning Theory, Human Resource Development, Belonging, Organizational Culture, Adult Learning, Professional Development