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1 – 10 of over 72000Victor Atiase, Yong Wang and Samia Mahmood
Training remains an important factor in developing the managerial effectiveness and capability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet there are concerns regarding the…
Abstract
Purpose
Training remains an important factor in developing the managerial effectiveness and capability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet there are concerns regarding the quality of training provided to SME managers in Ghana, hence the weak managerial capabilities observed in SME management. This study, therefore, examines the impact of managerial training on the effectiveness of SME managers in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the human capital theory (Becker, 1962; Rosen, 1977), this study employs the variance-based estimating technique, partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in estimating the effects of training on the managerial effectiveness of SME managers. Adopting a stratified random sampling technique, the study uses primary data collected from 506 SMEs in Ghana to test 4 hypothesised paths.
Findings
First, the model result indicates that training accessibility and training content are statistically significant in explaining managerial effectiveness at a 1% level. However, both training efficiency and training frequency are statistically insignificant in explaining managerial effectiveness in Ghana. Second, while the industry category is found to influence the relationship between training and managerial effectiveness, gender, manager's age and education are insignificant in explaining any effects.
Research limitations/implications
Though the sample size is large, the findings from this study could not be generalised to the whole of Ghana since it is regionally based. The study could benefit immensely from a triangulated method where a qualitative dimension could provide deeper insight into some of the findings in this study.
Originality/value
Studies of this nature focussing on the managerial effectiveness of SME managers in the Ghanaian context is rare. This is one of the few studies in the Ghanaian research context which focuses on the capability development approach in the delivery of managerial training to SMEs.
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Shahin Akther and Muhammad Sabbir Rahman
The purpose of this study is to examine the pre-training and post-training variables influencing employee training effectiveness in the banking industry in this era of the digital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the pre-training and post-training variables influencing employee training effectiveness in the banking industry in this era of the digital age.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a cross-sectional research design and a structured questionnaire to survey the participants (i.e., bank employees) (n = 702) for data collection. The data gathered from the surveyed respondents were analyzed using the Partial Least Square to Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The research findings suggest a significant influence of pre-training (i.e., training environment, trainer quality) and post-training (i.e., trainee motivation, trainee self-efficacy, and authentic leadership practices) factors towards the bank's staff training effectiveness in this era of digital age.
Originality/value
The research is one of the pioneer attempts on training effectiveness that significantly open opportunity for financial institutions such as banks to meet the challenge of the fourth industrial revolution from a developing country perspective. The current study also contributes to the extension of the theoretical and managerial doctrine in terms of the relationship among the pre-and post-training factors to enhance training effectiveness under the scope of the financial sector's employees to manage human resources and their development in the digital age.
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Amitabh Deo Kodwani and Manisha Kodwani
The present study is an attempt to extend previous findings and examine the role of the trainer's reputation, training nomination and training reputation on pre-training…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study is an attempt to extend previous findings and examine the role of the trainer's reputation, training nomination and training reputation on pre-training motivation and training effectiveness in a business context.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors hypothesized that trainer reputation, training nomination and training reputation would affect pre-training motivation; and that pre-training motivation would act as a mediator between these three variables and training effectiveness. The sample is constituted by 251 managerial-level employees at a large firm in India who completed pre-training and post-training surveys. These data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling and other inferential techniques.
Findings
The results suggested that self-nomination positively influences pre-training motivation. Similarly, positive training and trainer reputations also affect pre-training motivation. Pre-training motivation mediates the relationship between trainer reputation, training nomination, training reputation and training effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The method bias and measurement error cannot be ruled out. The data were collected from employees in a single firm via self-reports, and, ceteris paribus, it would be advantageous to broaden the sampling frame to cover multiple organizations with data collected using more than one methodology. However, the temporal lag of 45 days used herein between collecting predictor data and criterion data can reasonably be expected to have mitigated this problem to some extent.
Practical implications
The findings regarding the reputation suggest that what trainees know or what they believe they know about the trainer or the training program they are going to attend will have a significant impact on their pre-training motivation, and subsequently on the training effectiveness. It is also essential to understand how trainees get information about training. Most often, this information travels through various informal channels and passes through many people, and thus trainees may get inadequate or incorrect information about the training program and the trainer.
Originality/value
Previous research indicates that only a small proportion of training actually gets transferred to the job (Mackay, 2007). This study augments the literature by putting forward empirical evidence that could be leveraged by firms' senior management teams pursuant of optimizing investments in the training of employees.
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Abdullah Al-Swidi and Mohammed Al Yahya
The purpose of this study is to further the current research on the topic of the intention to transfer training and training effectiveness by examining the gender-related training…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to further the current research on the topic of the intention to transfer training and training effectiveness by examining the gender-related training intention and work behaviour differences.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess the gender-related behavioural differences, a quantitative approach using surveys from employees in Saudi universities. Using the structural equation modelling multi-group analysis approach, this study analysed the data collected from 389 individuals, comprising 186 males and 153 females. Group invariance analysis was conducted before the hypotheses were tested.
Findings
The results showed that learning style and supervisor support are critical determinants of training transfer intention and the latter is critical determinant of training effectiveness across samples of males and females. Moreover, the variance explained by the model in the male sample was found to be more than that of the female sample. Interestingly, males are found to be different than females in their perception that the training effectiveness is determined by the learning style.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that both the learning style of employees should be considered when designing a training programme and a proper support to employees should be provided by their supervisors to get the best of training investment. This may guide decision-makers to enhance training effectiveness.
Originality/value
The majority of the studies concerning training effectiveness has overlooked its antecedents and much in-depth scholarly research endeavours are still required. This study attempted to provide valuable insights of the antecedents and consequences of training transfer intention and how this structure differs between males and females in a developing country context.
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Amitabh Deo Kodwani and Sanjeev Prashar
The purpose of this paper is to decipher the possibility of ensuring the effectiveness of sales training by focusing on selected organization-related variables and thereafter aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to decipher the possibility of ensuring the effectiveness of sales training by focusing on selected organization-related variables and thereafter aims at making recommendations for enhancing the overall sales training effectiveness. Variables that are under organizations’ control, like training transfer climate, training evaluation and degree of choice (mandatory or by choice) were selected for this study. The study also attempted to understand how these variables influence at pre-training stage and post-training stage.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional research involved both exploratory and conclusive phases. To test the postulated hypotheses, data were collected in two phases from sales executives of a large oil and gas petrochemical company having the presence across India. A total of 370 sales executives, who were the part of a sales training program, were approached twice, one before the training and once after the eight weeks of training. Data from the respondents who completed both pre- and post-training survey (255) were used for analyses.
Findings
The results indicate that all the three predictor variables – training awareness, perceived transfer climate and the presence of an appropriate training evaluation mechanism, influence trainees’ motivation to learn. The results depict that motivation to learn mediates the association between the predictor variables and the resultant variable. Also, degree of choice was found to moderate the association between motivation to learn and sales training effectiveness. The research reinforces the significance of pre-training factors in designing sales training programs to ensure its better effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The present study captures organizational-level variables as they are under the control of the organization and can be managed. The study included both motivation to learn and training effectiveness in the hypothesized model to understand the motivational issues in a holistic perspective. The outcomes of this research strengthen the role of trainees’ motivation to learn as a connecting variable between organizational-level variables and sales training effectiveness. Thus, the outcome of this study contributes to the literature on training motivation as well as training effectiveness.
Practical implications
The findings of this study are significant for sales organizations or the organizations offering sales training aiming to enhance overall training effectiveness. Training managers must focus on these factors and ensure that all the pre-training organizational-level variables are very well-taken care of. This implies that the trainees need to be well informed about the training calendar, training policies, training content, expectations from them and how the program will be evaluated after training, along with appropriate positive transfer climate. Organizations should also include proper training evaluation mechanism to measure training at different levels.
Originality/value
This study is an attempt to decipher the possibility of ensuring the effectiveness of sales training by focusing on select organization-related variables, and thereafter aims at making recommendations for enhancing the overall sales training effectiveness. The study’s uniqueness lies in simultaneous examination of influence of various variables, and that too at two different points of time (before and after the training). These two perspectives are apparently missing in the existing sales training literature.
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To determine whether training programs produce real benefits for small and medium‐size enterprises (SMEs), we must investigate the relationships between those programs and their…
Abstract
To determine whether training programs produce real benefits for small and medium‐size enterprises (SMEs), we must investigate the relationships between those programs and their effects on the business performance of SMEs. Although a number of previous studies have attempted to accomplish this task, serious inadequacies, such as inconsistent definitions of training and “rough” methods of training classification and measurement, have raised doubts about the validity of their findings. To remedy these inadequacies and more accurately assess the relationships between training and training effectiveness, this study employs a comprehensive measurement of training including training organization, expenditure, duration, process, and delivery methods. Its findings show that firms with sophisticated training systems and strong management support for training are most successful at maximizing the effectiveness of their training programs.
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Azmawani Abd Rahman, Siew Imm Ng, Murali Sambasivan and Florence Wong
Training alone is not sufficient to enhance organizational effectiveness to a greater level because not all knowledge obtained from the training is properly transferred and…
Abstract
Purpose
Training alone is not sufficient to enhance organizational effectiveness to a greater level because not all knowledge obtained from the training is properly transferred and applied to the organization. This study aims to investigate whether efforts invested by Malaysian manufacturers in employee training and knowledge transfer affect organizational effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quantitative research design. The questionnaire developed for this study captured the training related to individual/managerial skills, the knowledge management process in place to capture and apply the knowledge obtained through training, and the organizational effectiveness. A closed‐ended online survey was sent to 1,000 members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) throughout Malaysia and 88 manufacturers responded. The unit of analysis was an organization.
Findings
The study found the following: training employees to acquire individual/managerial skills and process skills helps in improving organizational effectiveness; knowledge application and knowledge protection interact with individual/managerial skills training to improve organizational effectiveness; and knowledge acquisition, knowledge application and knowledge protection interact with process skills training to enhance organizational effectiveness.
Practical implications
Organizations are urged to devise training modules depending on the needs of individual employees, create an environment that will encourage the trained employees to apply their skills (knowledge), and develop policies to retain these employees.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an important and not so well researched issue. It analyzes the interactions between the dimensions of knowledge management practices and type of training in improving the organizational effectiveness of manufacturing firms in Malaysia.
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Garrett J. Endres and Brian H. Kleiner
Successfully measuring effectiveness in management training anddevelopment can be a difficult task. Design of a valid measurementprogramme should include evaluation in key areas;…
Abstract
Successfully measuring effectiveness in management training and development can be a difficult task. Design of a valid measurement programme should include evaluation in key areas; including emotional reaction and knowledge gain measured after training interventions. Behavioural change and organisational impact measurements should be used on a longer time horizon to evaluate the progress and currency of the management development programme. Finally, research shows that maintaining a balance of the above measurements is the final key to success in measuring the effectiveness of management training and development.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of system and instructor factors on e‐learning effectiveness under the interactions of computer self‐efficacy. In this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of system and instructor factors on e‐learning effectiveness under the interactions of computer self‐efficacy. In this study, the factors of the e‐learning system are functionality, interaction, and response. The factors of the e‐learning instructor are attitude, technical skills, and instructional method. The moderating effects of learners' computer self‐efficacy are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The study surveyed general employees in the financial services industry in Taiwan. A questionnaire was developed to measure participants' perceptions. Four hundred questionnaires were sent out, and 362 were returned. Of these, 314 were valid, leading to a return rate of 78.5 percent.
Findings
The results of data analysis indicate that both system and instructor factors have significant positive influences on e‐learning effectiveness. Learners' computer self‐efficacy has a moderating effect on the relationship between system functionality and training effectiveness. The higher the computer self‐efficacy, the stronger is the relationship between functionality and effectiveness, and vice versa. However, computer self‐efficacy does not have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between other independent variables and training effectiveness.
Originality/value
Since both system and instructor factors have positive influences on e‐learning effectiveness, HRD managers need to pay more attention to issues in both areas. High computer self‐efficacy can result in better training effectiveness; therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to enhancing employee computer skills and their confidence in using e‐learning.
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Idris Olayiwola Ganiyu, Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku and Kim Van der Byl
This study examines the effectiveness of virtual training programs in times of crisis at a public institution in South Africa for an enhancement of talent development via virtual…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the effectiveness of virtual training programs in times of crisis at a public institution in South Africa for an enhancement of talent development via virtual training in the post-pandemic period.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a survey research design following a quantitative approach for data collection and analysis procedure. The respondents (employees receiving virtual training and the facilitators providing the training in times of crisis) were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was designed and administered to 119 respondents in the participating public institution in South Africa. The data were analyzed using a variance-based structural equation modeling via SmartPLS, version 3.3.3.
Findings
The results showcased the impact of information technology and virtual training platform on the effectiveness of virtual training programs during the pandemic in South Africa.
Originality
There is a dearth of literature on the evolution and effectiveness of virtual training in times of crisis in South Africa. The outcomes of this study contribute to the extant literature on talent development, virtual training, and HR effectiveness in the digital age.
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