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.