Personality traits, social support, and training transfer. The mediating mechanism of motivation to improve work through learning
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2016-0210 |
| Published date | 05 February 2018 |
| Date | 05 February 2018 |
| Pages | 39-59 |
| Author | Kueh Hua Ng,Rusli Ahmad |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Personality traits, social support,
and training transfer
The mediating mechanism of motivation to
improve work through learning
Kueh Hua Ng and Rusli Ahmad
Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development,
Sarawak University of Malaysia, Kuching, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –Substantially few or no known empirical studies have explicitly focused on the higher-order
construct of motivation in human resource development (HRD), namely, motivation to improve work through
learning (MTIWL) as a mediator linking personality traits and social support to training transfer. Hence, the
purpose of this paper is to redress the inadequacy by exploring the role of MTIWL as a mediator on such
relationships.
Design/methodology/approach –Consistent with positivism, quantitative data based on self-rating were
collected from 131 trainees attending management training programs organized by a public sector training
provider in Malaysia.
Findings –The findings indicate that personality traits (i.e. conscientiousness, extraversion, and
agreeableness) and social support (i.e. perceived organizational support and peer support) influenced training
transfer via the mediating role of MTIWL. Supervisor support, nonetheless, was not a significant predictor of
training transfer through MTIWL.
Originality/value –This study focuses on a more holistic motivational construct than simple motivation in
HRD. The focus on MTIWL extends the existing understanding of the underlying motivational influences
that link dispositional and situational factors to training transfer in occupational settings.
Keywords Quantitative, Malaysia, Personality traits, Social support, Transfer of training,
Big Five personality traits, Motivation to improve work through learning
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Organizations yearn to achieve performance improvement and to do so, it is imperative that
trainees are capable of incorporating new learning acquired from training programs into
their daily job tasks (Baldwin and Ford, 1988; Blume et al., 2010; Wenzel and Cordery, 2014).
This capability is known as “training transfer”and is often defined as the extent to which a
trainee applies new knowledge, skills, abilities, and other competencies (KSAOs) on the job
upon completion of training (Baldwin and Ford, 1988; Baldwin et al., 2009).
Yet, not many trainees have what it takes to effectively apply new learning on the job
(Chiaburu et al., 2010; Colquitt et al., 2000; Grossman and Salas, 2011; Hutchins et al., 2013;
Pham et al., 2013),leading to more studies in an effort to increasethe comprehension of factors
that could promote or inhibit training transfer (Baldwin et al., 2009; Blume et al., 2010;
Wei Tian et al., 2016). An early and prominent review by Baldwin and Ford (1988) identified
trainee characteristics, trainingdesign, and work environment as threekey factors that could
cultivate desired training transfer. They opined that of the three factors, training design
received the most research attention, while work environment is the least studied.
To date, trainee characteristics have been studied considerably (Colquitt et al., 2000;
Holton, 2005). Nonetheless, prior studies often give less attention to personality traits than
ability and trainability (Herold et al., 2002; Tannenbaum and Yukl, 1992). Personality traits
are defined as “relatively stable characteristics of individuals (other than ability) that
influence their cognition and behavior”(Colquitt et al., 2000, p. 679). Even when personality
Personnel Review
Vol. 47 No. 1, 2018
pp. 39-59
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-08-2016-0210
Received 17 August 2016
Revised 4 March 2017
27 April 2017
Accepted 30 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
39
Mediating
mechanism
of MTIWL
traits are studied, there is a void in connecting them to motivation (Naquin and Holton, 2002)
and training outcomes (Mount and Barrick, 1998).
The predictive power of perceived organizational support (POS) on training transfer is
surprisingly less examined (Chiaburu et al., 2010). Also, the literature is characterized by
inconsistent findings of the relationship between supervisor support and training transfer
(Baldwin et al., 2009;Blume et al., 2010; Burke and Hutchins,2007; Cheng and Hampson, 2008;
Chiaburu and Tekleab, 2005). In regards to peer support, Bates et al. (2000) flatly stated that
researchers often overlooked the possibility that peer support may be equally or more
essential than the support coming from other sources. More recent studies have suggested
that peer support is increasingly important (Burke and Hutchins, 2008; Chiaburu, 2010;
Chiaburu et al.,2010; Hutchins, 2009; Wei Tian et al.,2 016), an indication that m ore studies are
warranted to comprehend its relationships with other transfer-related constructs.
Studies have shown that trainee’s motivation to learn and/or motivation to transfer play
prominent functions in linking personality traits and social support to training transfer
(Chiaburu and Tekleab, 2005; Colquitt et al., 2000; Ghosh et al., 2015; Kontoghiorghes, 2002,
2004; Ng, 2015; Switzer et al., 2005). Motivation to learn refers to a trainee’s desire to attend,
participate, and learn in training programs (Colquitt et al., 2000; Machin and Treloar, 2004;
Noe, 1986), while motivation to transfer is defined as the desire of a trainee to apply new
learning on the job (Chiaburu et al., 2010; Holton et al., 2000). However, separating
motivation into two distinct constructs, namely, motivation to learn and motivation to
transfer somewhat discounts the actuality that most, if not all, trainees attending training
with the definitive aspiration to improve their performance at the workplace (Alvelos et al.,
2015; Holton, 2005; Naquin and Holton, 2002).
Naquin and Holton (2002) proposed a relatively new construct, namely, motivation to
improve work through learning (MTIWL). Holton and Baldwin (2003, p. 20) defined MTIWL
as “the motivation to improve work outcomes by engaging in training or learning activities
and using what is learned to perform job functions differently.”Following Holton (2005) and
Naquin and Holton (2002), this study asserts that MTIWL is a more logical, relevant, and
comprehensivemotivational construct than thatof simple motivation to learn and motivation
to transfer constructs. When applied in naturalistic settings, thedistinction between MTIWL,
motivation to learn,and motivation to transfer becomesmore apparent. The difference is that
trainees who possessed motivation to learn might attend training without the desire to use
newly acquiredKSAOs on the job, while those withmotivation to transfer may emphasize on
work performance improvement to the point that they lack the focus necessary for effective
learning. Contrary, MTIWL is much aligned with trainee’s motivation in organizational
training and development because it fully addresses the desire to advance KSAOs in the
workplace through high learning effort (Holton, 2005; Naquin and Holton, 2002).
Even though MTIWL as the higher-order construct of motivation in human resource
development (HRD) has been incorporated and discussed in the influential Holton’s (2005)
Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) model, very little is known about its actual
connection with othertransfer-relatedconstructs(Alvelos et al., 2015; Holton, 2005). Specifically,
there is a dearth of empirical studies examining MTIWL as a plausible mediating role linking
personality traits to training transfer. Even more disappointing is that there are no kn own
empirical studies that directly examined the mediating role of MTIWL on the relationship
between social support and training transfer due to the typical focus on the conventional
conceptualization of motivation in training and development as two distinct constructs.
This study, therefore, explores the influences of personality traits (i.e. conscientiousness,
extraversion, and agreeableness) and social support (i.e. POS, supervisor support, and peer
support) on training transfer through the mediating role of the higher-order construct of
motivation in HRD, namely, MTIWL. This study will contribute to an improved
understandingof motivational influencescritical for training transferin occupational settings.
40
PR
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