Interaction of Continuing Professional Development, Organisational Culture and Performance in Health Service Organisations: A Concept Paper

Whereas Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has been acknowledged as a tool for improving performance through updating and widening of professionals' knowledge and skills, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. Recent studies on this subject have either shown contradicting evidence or remained utterly inconclusive posing an empirical dilemma. This paper posits that CPD is highly context-dependent and therefore best supports performance where a positive organisational culture plays a moderating role. The paper aims to provide a framework that can be used to analyse the interplay between CPD, organisational culture and performance. It is argued that for CPD to support performance there is need for a culture that is adaptive and receptive to learning, change, innovation and performance improvement.