From the searches in the databases, initially, 3,781 studies were found. It was found that in all these journals they have publications on the theme Organizational Change and Training, showing a great interest in the theme. After reading the titles and abstracts, 24 studies were thoroughly read because they met the inclusion and exclusion criteria guided by the Study Protocol for systematic review. Such studies were distributed by year and the results are shown in Figure 2.

There is an increase in publications on organizational changes noticed by training actions in organizations since 2010, totaling 21 studies (88%), which represents a greater concern in evaluating the effective results of training actions in organizations and that organizational learning started to be widely considered as an important determinant for change, the performance of organizations, competitiveness and return on investments (Andrade, 2019; Antonietti, 2016; Meneses, 2007; Moffatt-Bruce et al., 2017; Picchi, 2010; Scorsolini-Comin et al., 2012; White et al., 2017). The years 2010, 2014, and 2016 had the largest number of publications (15% each).

Regarding the area of knowledge of the studies of the researched sample, there is a diversity of areas that presented studies on organizational changes and training, among them: Medicine (n = 10; 42%); Psychology (n = 6, 25%); Administration (n = 5; 21%); Economy (n = 1, 4%); Education (n = 1, 4%); and Pharmacy (n = 1, 4%). The areas of Medicine and Psychology present a large concentration of published studies, together they represent 66.67% of the publications (n = 16). The concentration of studies in the health field can be related to databases that mostly present works in such areas.

When setting the sample regarding the country of origin of the studies, it is possible to verify that the largest number of published studies with organizational changes noticeable through training in organizations are studies brought about in the United States and Brazil, with six studies each country, together representing 44.4% of the sample, followed by England, Romania, and Australia, two studies each (8%), and in sequence Germany, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Italy and the Republic of Congo with one study each (3.7%).

Regarding the language, most studies were published in English, corresponding to 18 studies (75%) and the other 6, in Portuguese (25%). The inclusion of the Portuguese language was a strategy to find studies carried out in Brazil.

Articles with quantitative (15), qualitative (7) and mixed (2) designs were part of the review, a result that was expected due to the diverse areas of knowledge (Psychology, Administration, Health) and the use of different methodological paths for scientific research. By analyzing and synthesizing the results of these studies, it was possible to develop a deeper understanding of the current state of research on Organizational Change arising from T&D actions.

The training of people capable of modifying the organizational context, turns into competitive advantages for organizations, by developing through trained employees, differentiating elements, objectively classifiable as rare, valuable, and difficult to be replaced (Andrade, 2019). In the face of a highly competitive market, such capacity represents an interesting attraction for carrying out corporate education programs (Scorsolini-Comin et al., 2012).

Antonietti (2016) presented effective results of the productivity ratio in the work of outsourced companies in Italy and the training, companies that invested in training showed higher productivity concerning others that did not make the same investment. The author compared the results of small and medium-sized companies with large companies. Unfortunately, as in Brazil, it is known that small companies are less inclined to offer training to the workforce and it was found that small and medium-sized companies have lower productivity. Yet, the study pointed out that productivity is affected through the training of upper and middle managers. In his study, the main research hypothesis was confirmed: outsourcing is related to increased productivity only if companies provide training to their employees.

The increase in productivity due to training was also noticed in the study by Blaga and Gabor (2016), as well as the increase in the quality of the organization, followed by increased customer satisfaction, increased sales, cut costs, increased satisfaction of employees. Such results are highly related to the increase in productivity. The study by Chang (2010) indicated that after the training, the improvement of the CHA increased sales agents’ reserves and sales, generating significantly more sales.

The results related to Organizational Change after the educational action in the studies of Mourão and Borges-Andrade (2005) was the increase in the number of workshops and trainees in professional education, yet, there was a greater increase in the number of people with mental disabilities employed related to the experimental group in the study period when compared to the control group.

The study by Čudanov et al. (2012) analyzed the organizational changes perceived by employees and the learning improved by technology was facilitated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the results show that the application of modern learning technologies, predominantly from field of ICT, is a new and promising field. ICTs are perceived as tools and have a notable impact on organizational change in the areas of organizational structure, culture and knowledge management processes in the organization. In addition, it was possible to note the differences in the perception reported by the groups in relation to the frequency of use of these tools.

The research results by Rose and Pollitt (2014) show that the training helped to ensure support for e-learning among a workforce that previously had less knowledge of technology than the average and was dispersed in technology. The training helped to transform organizational culture and individual performance. It is important to emphasize that technological innovation reflects effective action of processes and activities at work and requires specific knowledge and skills.

Several studies have pointed out the perception of Organizational Change after training in the behavioral field. Veloso-Besio et al. (2019) analyzed the effectiveness of training for supervisors to face the effects of resistance to organizational change of their direct employees, an experimental group and a control group were compared. The training action resulted in greater motivation for work and improvement in the organizational climate and there was a statistically significant increase from the pre to the post-test in the variants of the two groups. The organization considered the training effect to be moderately high.

The results of the study by Lange and Rowold (2019) indicated a significant reduction in the level of stress and an increase in the attention skills of employees in which direct leaders participated in an educational action focused on leadership behavior in the sense of abusive supervision. The results also pointed to the quality of leadership in terms of high transformational leadership behavior and low abusive supervision.

The study by Potworowskia and Greenb (2016) conducted with facilitators of Primary Care Practices (PFs) who underwent training in Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA), indicated that PFs spontaneously transferred the use of CTA skills to other areas of work, applied what they had learned during the training to situations where their regular facilitation work was proving difficult and the PFs spontaneously began to teach the basics of PF to less qualified personnel, called Facilitator Improvements (FIs).

Picchi (2010) investigated Organizational Change as a result of formal educational efforts undertaken by the organization. The descriptive results related to the trainees’ perception of organizational changes through training were course participants perceive the effects of actions at the individual level and a moderate perception of organizational change attributed to educational action; even so, a large part of the people (60%) attributed organizational changes to the training actions.

The study by Skogan et al. (2014) sampled police officers from the city of Chicago who underwent training action with the aim of organizational changes, demonstrated that even the employees responsible for the training were not optimistic about relying on a training day to change the organization. However, training resulted in practical changes perceived in post-training among them: in the short term, training increased support for officers for all dimensions of procedural justice included in the experiment and in post-training, officers were more likely to endorse the importance of giving citizens a voice, granting them dignity and respect, demonstrating neutrality and (with the least enthusiasm) trusting them to do what is right.

As previously mentioned, the health area (Medicine n = 10 and Pharmacy n = 1) has the largest number of studies. The study by Moffatt-Bruce et al. (2017) evaluated the costs and Return on Investment (ROI) of a training program for managing a technical team at an academic medical center. The results showed satisfactory indicators, among them the reduction of avoided adverse events (n = 735), a reduction of 25.7% in the expected observed events, there was an estimated conservative saving and the ROI for training was in the range of 9.1 to $ 24.4 million. The course was considered financially feasible, after analyzing the results.

White et al. (2017) evaluated the results of a pilot training program for the implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist (CSC) of the World Health Organization. Seven employees of the operational medical team of the Doliseie hospital in the Republic of Congo attended. The training took place over 4 days in February 2004. An impact assessment of mixed methods was carried out based on the Kirkpatrick model (1976) in May 2015. All participants reported positive changes in teamwork, communication, and safe anesthesia. The main results showed significant improvements in certain processes, among them: six basic safety processes were being followed by approximately 86% of the participants, a 47% reduction in mortality and 50% of postoperative infections.

Like White et al. (2017), training in epidemiology and control of Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) applied to public health professionals in Tanzania in 2011 was evaluated by Davila et al. (2015) using Kirkpatrick’s (1976) training effectiveness model. In such training, significant improvements were noted in self-reported knowledge and skills. Changes in behavior and results in the workplace were evident, although the authors’ assessment was limited to a small sample of trained professionals. In addition, the supervisors reported improvements in the performance of the interns as a result of the training, and are satisfied with the results (qualitative data), and the trainees reported changing their work practices as a result of the training.

The research by Blaga and Gabor (2016) on the quality of distance training offered to professionals in the Romanian pharmaceutical industry, established in their questionnaire some items to measure the organizational changes resulting from the training that was entitled “Quality Management”. The results showed a perception of a moderate change in the organization because of behavioral changes after the training, and the interviewees estimated that the benefits related to the organization of the activity achieved after the training was the increase in employees with job satisfaction.

Wilkinson et al. (2016) measured the effect of training on organizational changes in the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) measures among 201 staff members of the Australian health hospital. The results showed a significant increase in EPB’s self-efficacy over time among employees who completed the survey.

Also in Australia, MacPhail et al. (2015) evaluated an interdisciplinary Clinical Leadership-training Program (CLP) in the workplace that aims to increase the willingness to take on leadership roles. The results showed that the CLP significantly increased the willingness to assume leadership roles among the participants. Five of the 11 program participants took on a new leadership role after 18 months of training and 93% of participants reported a greater willingness to assume a leadership role for their team.

Gilburt et al. (2013) evaluated training aimed at implementing recovery-oriented practices in a health care system. The training program had a positive impact, showing a change in the content of patient care. Team leaders in post-training interviews also pointed out evidence of change, as well as identified changes in team approaches to care and practice. However, in some cases, supervisors reported that the training had a low impact.

The study by Nielsen et al. (2010) verified whether the impact of the intervention could be increased by providing training to leaders during the change process. The sample consisted of 188 nurses and health assistants. The results indicated some significant positive effects, however, modest, incremental that can be attributed to the training of the manager, as well as the employees started to participate in the work decisions resulting in the improvement between staff members and the patients.

Sekyia and Luz (2010) identified the main organizational changes that occurred in two hospital institutions, located in Minas Gerais, which implemented the Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança (IHAC, Child-Friendly Hospital Initiative). Personnel training implied changes and improvements in management, mainly by establishing standardization of procedures through training. There was a perception that cultural and technological changes occurred more intensely and that the least perceived were political and strategic changes.

Education studies have also contributed to the perception of organizational changes derived from training actions. Andrade (2019) evaluated educational actions offered at a distance from a course for incoming training teachers − PEB I, in the state of São Paulo. The content analysis demonstrated several organizational changes arising from the target course, among them the course contributed to improvements in Learning Recovery, with the use of the Teaching Plan, presented in the Entrants course, the use of active teaching methodologies, which are presented in the program and its use is encouraged, as well as the teachers perceived changes in their pedagogical practices after the course, highlighting better lesson planning and more diversified activities for the students.

Austin and Harkins (2008) evaluated the effectiveness of training in an educational organization founded with a learning organization in an urban area. The results presented are the results of the second phase of the 4-year work (2001 to 2005) to assess changes across the organization. The results showed a reduction in turnover and an improvement in organizational learning, to a lesser extent the organizational climate. However, the analysis of the results shows relationships between changes in the dimensions of the organizational climate, among them: supportive leadership, evaluation, and recognition, congruence of objectives, and change to organizational learning.

Finally, Damasceno (2007) empirically investigated a training carried out in a state-owned company, in the field of electric energy in Brazil, in order to identify the effects of training on the levels of Organizational Change and Final Value. The results found confirmed the findings of previous researches that reveal positive results in the levels of Reaction, Learning, and Behavior in the Position, and in the more complex levels (Organizational Change and Final Value) the test of the proposed model endorsed the difficulties traced by researchers in the definition of the causal relations of social phenomena.

When analyzing the empirical studies found in the literature review, it was found the perception, both by the participants of the educational actions and the others involved in such actions, significant organizational changes, from the trainings offered by the organizations. A large part of the studies pointed out changes in behaviors that affected routines and processes of the organizations (Andrade, 2019; Blaga & Gabor, 2016; Čudanov et al., 2012; Daniels et al., 2014; McPhail et al., 2015; Potworowskia & Greenb, 2016; Scorsolini-Comin et al., 2012; Skogan et al., 2014; Veloso-Besio et al., 2019; White et al., 2017; Wilkinson et al., 2016). Among the results one can highlight: self-reported positive improvements in teamwork; spontaneous transfer of skills acquired in training into other areas of work; increased job satisfaction; willingness to take on leadership roles, improvements in learning recovery, increase in the number of workshops and apprentices in vocational education, work motivation and change in organizational climate; etc.

Few studies on the results of training at the level of Organizational Change using educational actions applied at a distance were found. In only four selected studies (16.6%) in the literature review, with organizational changes perceived by training, the participants performed the training at a distance (Andrade, 2019; Blaga & Gabor, 2016; Čudanov et al., 2012; Rose & Pollitt, 2014), such a result indicates a lack of scientific studies of this nature in such an educational modality.

Although the focus of this study was to evaluate the results of T&D actions at the level of Organizational Change (evaluation of changes in the functioning and daily life of organizations), presented by Hamblin (1978), it was possible to see that some studies also brought results at the level of Final Value by presenting the impact of T&D actions on the social and financial results of organizations, presenting a contribution of this study. Among the results, referring to the Final Value level, presented in the studies selected for the literature review are: ROI in training; reduced mortality and postoperative infections; increased productivity and sales, etc. (Antonietti, 2016; Chang, 2010; Moffatt-Bruce et al., 2017; White et al., 2017). Thus, one research suggestion would be to conduct a systematic review on the outcomes at the end-value level (Hamblin, 1978).