A Taxonomy of Microlearning Applications for Organizational Learning

Technological development continues to advance, with the occurrence of new technologies requiring the acquisition of new expertise and skills to ensure effective adoption. In this context, digitally enhanced, needs-based, and contemporary learning concepts such as microlearning are becoming increasingly important. This trend extends to organizational settings, where newer generations of employees prefer modern training formats over traditional ones. While previous research has acknowledged the advantages of microlearning, it rarely addresses its implementation in enterprises and often lacks consistent terminology. Hence, this research captures the current landscape of organizational microlearning applications and provides structure through taxonomy development, informed by an analysis of conceptual and empirical sources. The taxonomy is organized based on 3 meta-dimensions – “content”, “setting”, and “digital representation” – comprising 12 dimensions and 66 characteristics. It enables a better understanding, comparison and further analysis of organizational microlearning applications in both academic and professional contexts.