Training Practices and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in The Informal Sector in Nigeria

The informal sector serves as a structural cornerstone of both developed and emerging labour markets, functioning as a primary engine for global employment generation, socioeconomic survival, and macroeconomic expansion. However, despite the systemic importance of informal work, scholarly inquiry remains disproportionately focused on formal institutions. There exists a significant empirical gap regarding how human capital development influences employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes within the informal economy-specifically in Nigeria, a context defined by a vast and heterogeneous informal workforce. To address this gap, the present study investigates the effect of training practices on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) in selected bread production business in Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State. Adopting a cross-sectional survey design and a census sampling approach, the study gathered data from 30 respondents, comprising managers and employees across four selected bread-making enterprises. The data were subjected to rigorous descriptive and inferential statistical analysis to determine the predictive power of training practices. The findings reveal that, in aggregate, training practices constitute a significant predictor of helping behavior among employees (R2 = 0.249 (F-val. = 8.048, p < 0.005). However, a more granular examination of specific modalities suggests that the effect of training is not uniform. Workshop training emerged as the sole variable with a statistically significant positive effect on helping behavior (β = 1.126, t = 3.970, p < 0.005), while job rotation and mentorship failed to demonstrate significant influence within this specific organizational context. In conclusion, this research underscores that Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are fundamentally context-dependent; their efficacy in driving performance and behavioral outcomes varies across different organizational topographies. By providing empirical evidence from the under-researched informal sector, this study contributes a vital perspective to the mainstream HRM literature, challenging the universal applicability of traditional employment relationship theories and highlighting the unique dynamics of Nigeria’s informal labor market.