Exploring the influence of pre-training factors on training effectiveness-moderating role of trainees’ reaction: a study in the public sector in India

Organizations invest in training initiative with an objective to improve the performance of its employees and ultimately organizational performance. However, training literature highlights the gap between the learning and the transfer of learning at the workplace. Thus, there is a need to have a deeper understanding of those variables which contributes to training transfer/effectiveness. This study is an attempt to understand those organizational factors that can help in improving training effectiveness. Data was collected at three different points of time (before training, immediately at the end of training and after some time of training) to determine the antecedents of motivation to learn and the training effectiveness. Findings of the study reveal that motivation to learn mediates the relationship between the predictor variables – training needs analysis, training information and type of training, and the resultant variable training effectiveness. Also, trainees’ reaction towards training was found to moderate the relationship between trainees’ motivation to learn and training effectiveness. The study reinforces the significance of organizational factors in ensuring motivation to learn and training effectiveness. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in the paper.