Transfer of learning from executive education programs in developing economies: the key role of motivation

Author(s):  
Somashekhar Krishnamani ◽  
Yasmeen Haider

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to empirically investigate transfer of learning and its relationship with the training super-system. Specifically, this paper looks at motivation to transfer as an indicator of a transfer condition. The paper will also provide information on individual factors, work place factors and design factors of training programs that facilitate transfer of learning. This study will also attempt to recommend a procedure for design and delivery of executive education programs that will facilitate transfer of learning by identifying variables that were hitherto not identified. Design/methodology/approach – This study is a descriptive and exploratory. Sample for this study has been drawn from learners who participated in executive education programs delivered by Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai. Respondents completed a questionnaire developed on the HRD Evaluation Research and Measurement model, Theory of Planned Behavior and the Learning Transfer System Inventory model. Variables were reduced by EFA. The researcher also met a few HR and L & D practitioners for one-on-one discussion. The ideas generated were bounced with subject matter experts and with faculty who were designing/teaching executive education programs. Findings – The research findings are consistent with earlier studies like the Holton research (1996), (2001). Discussion also brought out the role of motivation in enhancement of skills, behaviors and knowledge. Many researchers have agreed that individual motivation factors play an important role for knowledge transfer. If the learners are not motivated about the positives arising from the training program, they would lose interest which would affect their self-efficacy and thereby the transfer of learning. The primary role of motivation to transfer comes out distinctly. Additionally, the relationship between motivation to transfer and learner readiness and performance self-efficacy is established. Research limitations/implications – The research was done with the intent of doing a pilot study on the thesis topic that the researcher has chosen for his doctorate program and hence has methodological limitations of a one-time survey questionnaire. The study has a small sample size of 30 and could have a high risk of generalization findings. Additionally, data collection is based on self-responses collected during focused group interview which is based on the “perception” of the respondents and therefore limited to self-report data. The respondents are all from executive education of a Chennai-based Institute which means that the same survey done on another set of respondents could probably throw up very different results. Participants had undergone multi-phase leadership development program in small cohort. The results could vary if participants from open-enrollment programs participated. Use of interviews and/or observation of participants could have provided more rich data. Practical implications – In practical terms, the foundation result will help L & D managers and executive education designers to understand the factors that play an important role in transfer of learning specific to Indian context. The research paper also conceptually explains the central role of “motivation to transfer”. The recommendations provided therein will help practitioners with a structured approach toward design and delivery of executive education programs. The recommended approach to design and delivery will help practitioners to come up with training programs that will provide more buck for every dollar spent. Social implications – Return on investment on learning has always been a contentious issue. Clear understanding of critical success factors in executive education can help focused design, post-training support to ensure better knowledge transfer. Originality/value – The study expands the knowledge base, regarding transfer of learning specific to India, by focusing on executive education programs which are rapidly growing and receiving great attention in the workplace. This paper is an original research initiative of the research scholar done as part of a pilot study on his PhD thesis on transfer of learning.

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1270-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamran Iqbal ◽  
Ghulam Dastgeer

Purpose Training plays a vital role in the success of an organization as it provides the employees an opportunity to improve their competencies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of motivation to transfer between self-efficacy, training retention and transfer of training. Design/methodology/approach Research hypotheses were tested using quantitative research technique. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaire from 300 employees working in the banking sector of twin cities (Rawalpindi and Islamabad), of Pakistan. In total, 215 questionnaires were finally used for analysis. Findings The findings of this study reveal that motivation to transfer mediates the relationship between self-efficacy, training retention and transfer of training. Practical implications Although previous studies have tested the impact of self-efficacy and training retention on the transfer of training, but the mechanism through which self-efficacy and retention influence transfer of training remained underexplored. Knowing the role of self-efficacy and training retention as the antecedents of motivation to transfer can help the training managers to design an effective and efficient training plan. Originality/value This study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge especially in the Pakistani context by testing the role of trainee’s characteristics in transfer of training. Also, this study has empirically tested the mediating role of motivation to transfer between trainee’s characteristics (self-efficacy and retention) and transfer of training which has not been tested before.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 809-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Seiberling ◽  
Simone Kauffeld

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to seek a better understanding of the role of volition in the learning transfer system beyond the well-established concept of motivation to transfer. Design/methodology/approach Participants of a two-day leadership training were asked to complete two online questionnaires (t1 directly after training, t2 eight weeks after training). In total, 891 managers answered the first questionnaire, 465 the second. Findings Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that motivation and volition to transfer are perceived as two different constructs. Hierarchical linear regression shows that additional variance in training transfer can be explained when volition to transfer is taken into account. Structural equation models and bootstrap analysis suggest that both motivation and volition to transfer mediate effects of supervisor support and trainer performance on training transfer. Research limitations/implications The results imply that besides motivation to transfer, volition to transfer may be a relevant construct in the transfer of training. It remains to be tested how far these findings can be generalized to other training settings beside leadership trainings. Practical implications Organizations aiming at improving training transfer should focus on enhancing the participants’ motivation and volition to transfer. Both trainers and supervisors seem to promote transfer of training by influencing a trainee’s motivation to transfer and volition to transfer. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically examine the role of volition in training transfer.


2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Bowden ◽  
Subhash Abhayawansa ◽  
John Bahtsevanoglou

Purpose – There is evidence that students who attend Technical and Further Education (TAFE) prior to entering higher education underperform in their first year of study. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-efficacy in understanding the performance of students who completed TAFE in the previous year in a first year subject of microeconomics in a dual sector university in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises data collected by surveys of 151 students. Findings – A student’s self-efficacy is positively associated with their marks in a first year subject of microeconomics. However, the relationship between final marks and self-efficacy is negative for those students who attended TAFE in the previous year suggesting that they suffer from the problem of overconfidence. When holding self-efficacy constant, using econometric techniques, TAFE attendance is found to be positively related to final marks. Research limitations/implications – The findings are exploratory (based on a small sample) and lead to a need to conduct cross institutional studies. Practical implications – The research points to the need for early interventions so that TAFE students perform well in their first year of higher education. It also points to potential issues in the development of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) programs. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the inter-related impact of attendance at TAFE in the previous year and self-efficacy on the subsequent academic performance of TAFE students.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nimitha Aboobaker ◽  
Muneer K.H.

Purpose In the context of the abrupt shift to technology-enabled distance education, this paper examines the role of intrinsic learning motivation, computer self-efficacy and learning engagement in facilitating higher learning effectiveness in a web-based learning environment. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using a self-administered online questionnaire from a sample of randomly selected 508 university students from different disciplines, including science, technology, and management. Findings Learning motivation and computer self-efficacy positively influenced students' learning engagement, with computer self-efficacy having a more substantial impact. Proposed mediation hypotheses too were supported. Originality/value The insights gained from this study will help in devising strategies for improving students' learning effectiveness. Game-based learning pedagogy and computer simulations can help students understand the higher meaning and purpose of the learning process.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ◽  
Khalid Latif ◽  
Muhammad Mohsin ◽  
Zahid Hussain ◽  
Sajjad Ahmad Baig ◽  
...  

PurposeThe basic intention of this research is to investigate the role of information transparency of financial institutions and psychological attitude of the individuals toward their attention to saving and borrowing. This study also tries to know how an individual's psychological factor affects a person's attitude to motivate them to save or borrow and contribute to well-being by giving them confidence that they can face financial challenges. So, the main concern of this study is to explore different factors that ultimately contribute to the financial well-being (FWB) of individual.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted by using a well-structured questionnaire to collect data and test the developed hypotheses by using SmartPLS. Data were collected from 120 customers of seven different commercial banks in Pakistan.FindingsThe findings of this study show that perceived information transparency positively affects FWB. It is also because transparent shared information creates positive change in individuals' perceived self-efficacy and leads to FWB. Furthermore, an individual's psychological attitude toward borrowing and saving did not contribute to the FWB of people who belong to Pakistan.Research limitations/implicationsThe research area is limited to one city of Pakistan and analysis is done with small numbers of sample, it can be increased and more areas can be explored.Practical implicationsThis research provides significant implications for people and economists by providing awareness about the antecedents of FWB. The policymakers or managers who work in financial institutions should provide more transparent information and create less risky opportunities to improve the individual's well-being. If person, manager and financial institution can properly utilize the information of this study, then they are able to improve their FWB. By providing more transparent services and favorable experience with your dealings, it could help to obtain and retain more loyal internal (employees) and external customers. The loyal customers and sincere employees can increase the productivity level of organization. The more productive organizations in countries means better society and progress in the economy.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the body of knowledge that how perceived information transparency and psychological attitude of borrowing create improvement and upward changes in the FWB of a person.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha Garg ◽  
Asim Talukdar ◽  
Anirban Ganguly ◽  
Chitresh Kumar

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of knowledge hiding (KH) on academic performance, using three antecedents – relatedness with peers, territoriality of knowledge and performance motivation. It also looked into the moderating role of academic self-efficacy upon student’s KH behavior and academic performance. The research was grounded on the theory of reasoned action. Design/methodology/approachx Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the five hypotheses. The data was collected through a primary survey based on a structured questionnaire with a sample size of 324 students from the Indian higher education institutions. Findings The study found that performance motivation and territoriality are positively associated with KH, which is further positively related to students’ academic performance. Sense of relatedness had no influence upon KH behavior, implying that proximity of social relationships does not predict KH behavior among students. Additionally, it was also observed that while evasive (a situation where the knowledge hider deliberately provides incorrect, partial or misleading information) and rationalized KH (a situation where the knowledge hider tries to provide a rational justification for not sharing the knowledge) had a significant influence on the academic performance of the students, the effect of “playing dumb” was not significant. The study did not reveal any moderating effect of academic self-efficacy on all three forms of KH and academic performance. Practical implications The findings of the study are expected to be valuable for instructors, administrative authorities and policymakers at the higher education level, to create a more conducive teaching and learning environment. Out of the three hiding strategies, students indulge more often in rationalized KH. Based on the outcomes of this research, management may focus toward the creation of an institutional environment conducive toward knowledge sharing interdependency among students. Originality/value One of the novel contributions of this study is that it analyzes Indian higher education, providing a developing country perspective, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge in knowledge management and hiding. The study also intends to understand the interplay of constructs such as KH, territoriality, sense of relatedness and academic performance, which have not been discussed previously within the higher education context, thus making the research work original. The study was done among the students and hence, brings in the academic perspective in the KH literature, which has seen limited research impetus.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chansoo Park

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess how the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge is affected by the knowledge disseminative capacity of a foreign parent firm, with an emphasis on the moderating role of psychic distance, by developing and testing a theoretical model of international joint venture (IJV) learning. Design/methodology/approach The author tested the hypotheses with survey data collected from 199 IJVs in South Korea, estimating a structural equation model using AMOS 23.0. Findings The authors found that the capacity of the foreign parent to disseminate knowledge to the IJV has a greater impact on explicit knowledge transfer than tacit knowledge transfer. He also found that the relationship between disseminative capacity and explicit knowledge transfer is significantly moderated by psychic distance, but the relationship between disseminative capacity and tacit knowledge transfer is not. Originality/value The results are critical for IJVs and parent firms seeking to improve knowledge transfer, as they establish the importance of parent firms’ disseminative capacities and the moderating role of psychic distance in the process of both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research addresses the research gap regarding disseminative capacity by providing empirical evidence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 2261-2283
Author(s):  
Vera Gelashvili ◽  
Eva María Aguilar Pastor ◽  
María-Jesús Segovia-Vargas ◽  
Maria-del-Mar Camacho-Miñano

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether sheltered employment centers (CEEs) which have a higher rate of professionalization of their managers have better economic returns than those that have a lower one. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire has been drawn up for their managers. After collecting the answers, an index of professionalization classifies the CEEs with managers of high, medium and low levels of professionalism. This index is then correlated with the main financial ratios of companies. Findings The results show that companies with the highest level of managers’ professionalization, on average, have higher economic returns than companies with medium and low rates, although the difference is not very high. This study is an important contribution to academic literature, as it is the first to examine the professionalization of CEE managers. Research limitations/implications Finally, this paper is not short of limitations. The number of responses is small but there are similar studies with similar response rates. Additionally, the scarcity of responses may suggest that there is a lack of interest about the utility of professionalization by some CEEs managers because, perhaps, they do not have the necessary competences to understand its importance in management. Practical implications This study has some main implications for stakeholders: first, CEEs must pay more attention to the professionalization of their management team, because professionalization can lead to meeting its goals and guaranteeing the firm’s growth. Second, training programs in skills and attitudes should be designed to strengthen these competencies. Moreover, managers of social firms should know that the establishment of strategic plans will be useful to identify new opportunities in the market. Social implications Given the important role of these social firms for the employment of people with disabilities, training programs should be promoted by government in order to ensure the professionalization of these companies. Originality/value This research is an important contribution to the literature on this subject because there are no studies about the level of professionalization of CEEs, companies that represent an important value for the economy of a country.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 214-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetta Bellò ◽  
Veronica Mattana ◽  
Michela Loi

Purpose Although the role of creativity in the entrepreneurial process has long been analysed, only recently scholars have begun addressing its influence on entrepreneurial intentions, showing that complex dynamics characterise this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to understand the surrounding mechanisms (moderation and mediation) that connect creativity to entrepreneurial intentions, with a focus on social context and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 507 students from 17 to 21 years old. The effect of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions and the moderating role of social context were tested with a three-step hierarchical regression, while the mediating effect of self-efficacy was tested by a multiple regression analysis based on the bootstrapping method. Findings The results reveal that: peers who encourage entrepreneurship moderate the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions by strengthening this relationship, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. Research limitations/implications In light of these results, institutions should draw attention to how creative potential in students differs in order to provide new educational programmes to strengthen self-efficacy in entrepreneurial students and support encouraging social context of peers in which entrepreneurial intentions can be fostered. Originality/value The study, by responding to the suggestions of conducting research on the interface between creativity and entrepreneurship (Shane and Nicolaou, 2015), brings new empirical details regarding the mechanisms that link creativity to entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, it casts light on the interaction between dispositional and social variables, showing the crucial role of peers in enhancing the interaction between creativity and intentions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheshi Bao ◽  
Bo Shang

PurposeAlthough many studies show that self-efficacy and continuance intention of Web 2.0 platforms are positively and significant correlated, others reveal some different findings. To clarify this line of research, this study further investigates the effect of self-efficacy on continuance intention and meanwhile examines some moderating variables in this process.Design/methodology/approachA meta-analysis method was employed to examine the literature containing quantitative measurements of both self-efficacy and continuance intention of Web 2.0 platforms. A total of 31 effects sizes (N = 9,084) were reviewed.FindingsThe results indicate medium-sized positive correlation between self-efficacy and continuance intention of Web 2.0 platforms. Further moderation analysis shows that such medium-sized link differed across measures of Web 2.0 platform types, target respondent differences and gender of participants. Specifically, this correlation is largest for transaction-socialization platforms and smallest for experience-socialization platforms. For university-student respondents, the role of self-efficacy in affecting continuance intention is less important than general members of Web 2.0 platforms. Finally, as the percentage of female participants increases, a weaker effect size will be observed.Originality/valueThis study clarifies empirical research regarding users' self-efficacy and their continuance intention. Meanwhile, sources of inter-study variability have been identified by addressing moderator variables in the relationship between self-efficacy and continuance intention of Web 2.0 platforms, which provides directions for future explorations in this area.


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