The moderating effect of coworkers’ training participation on the influence of peer support in the transfer process

Training value, employee internal states and training transfer: examining the web of relationships

Purpose

This study aims to examine the web of relationships among training value, employee internal states (psychological empowerment, employee engagement and motivation to transfer) and training transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

Data is obtained from different categories of employees a few months after attending different training programs organized by their organization. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data. Bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) confidence intervals are used to determine the significance of the hypothesized paths.

Findings

This study finds that training value relates to motivation to transfer, psychological empowerment and employee engagement. Motivation to transfer also relates to training transfer and employee engagement. Again, psychological empowerment relates to motivation to transfer, employee engagement and training transfer. Concerning the mediated relationship, psychological empowerment and motivation to transfer fully mediate the relationship between training value and training transfer.

Practical implications

Internal states must be the focus of human resource department (HRD) scholars in their quest to discover training transfer improvement mechanisms. HRD practitioners and organizations generally should also prioritize the enhancement of the internal states of employees to aid training transfer.

Originality/value

In this study, training transfer facilitating factors particularly employee internal states are explored by examining the web of relationships comprising training value, motivation to transfer, psychological empowerment, employee engagement and training transfer in a pentagonal model using a homogeneous sample with a common understanding of training transfer due to the similarities in their training as well as job conditions.

The influence of learner characteristics, instructional design and work environment on the transfer of training

Purpose

This study aims to highlight the role of individual and instructional design factors on training transfer and explore and review focal training factors that influence the transfer of training.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework has been developed for this study to better present the prevalent factors that have been empirically validated.

Findings

The facets of transfer encompassed in this study have gathered enough evidence to demonstrate a positive association with the transfer. This review points out that all predictor variables (learner characteristics, instructional design and environmental factors) positively and significantly influence the transfer of training. A mix of variables is proposed, with further investigation recommended to develop a robust training transfer hypotheses.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the training transfer literature in three ways. First, the authors have shown the positive influence of pre-training factors on training transfer. This study is grounded in a robust theoretical framework, thus fulfilling the previous gaps. This conceptual study elaborates on the importance of factors to establish the training transfer hypothesis. Future studies should test the suggested framework and look for other things that could help learners be more effective and motivated so that training can be more effective and transferable.

Practical implications

This study has significant findings for organizations operating in the current business scenario to enhance learning transfer, where the transfer is very low and a significant cause of concern for every organization. By making management aware of the success factors of training transfer, they can ensure a better training transfer. In this study, the transfer design considerations are discussed in detail, and their practical consequences are provided for training transfer in general and training professionals in particular.

Originality/value

The training transfer literature showcases two significant gaps; first, it lacks appropriate characteristics, and second, there is variability in the results. This study bridges the gaps and attempts to advance our understanding of training transfer grounded in the theoretical framework by focusing on learner characteristics, instructional design and work environment in training transfer, which predictor variables can improve training transfer. This study also contributes to the current training transfer literature by proposing a combination of factors that provide a theoretical foundation for developing a solid training transfer theory.