TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of firm training on the job performance of mainly semi-skilled manufacturing employees in the context of changes required to ensure the competitiveness of contemporary Chinese manufacturing.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a survey with time-lagged method and from multiple sources. The sample included 348 supervisor-subordinate dyads from two Chinese manufacturing firms. PROCESS macro tool (Hayes) was used to test the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of HRM strength in the training-performance relationship.Findings Work engagement mediates the relationship between training and in-role task performance, while the relationships between work engagement and both task performance and organizational citizenship behavior are moderated by HRM strength.Research limitations/implications Based on a time-lagged survey, causal relationships cannot be drawn from this study. Results point to future research on the training-performance relationship that more closely considers antecedents and the organizations’ internal and external contexts.Practical implications Managers should pay close attention to the context and process of training and learning from the employees’ perspective. In addition, a strong HRM system will improve the benefits of training on employee performance.Originality/value This study provides theoretical explanations on the mechanisms linking training and employee performance based on the ability-motivation-opportunity framework. VL - 48 IS - 1 SN - 0048-3486 DO - 10.1108/PR-05-2017-0141 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2017-0141 AU - Guan Xiaoyu AU - Frenkel Stephen PY - 2018 Y1 - 2018/01/01 TI - How perceptions of training impact employee performance: Evidence from two Chinese manufacturing firms T2 - Personnel Review PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 163 EP - 183 Y2 - 2024/05/07 ER -