Training Transfer and Transfer Motivation in the Malaysian Banking Sector

A study of 503 participants in a financial training program at 11 Malaysian banks investigated the role and importance of training design factors—transfer design and perceived validity of content—along with individual performance self‐efficacy, transfer motivation, and affective reaction in the training transfer process. As hypothesized, the study found that transfer design and perceived content validity work together to improve trainees' performance self‐efficacy. The study also tested the dual role of perceived content validity and found that it not only improves trainees' performance self‐efficacy level, but also positively influences their affective reaction. Furthermore, the researchers noted that performance self‐efficacy has a mediating influence on perceived content validity, transfer design, and transfer motivation, and that affective reaction plays a mediating role between perceived content validity and transfer motivation. The results also indicated that transfer motivation works as a mediator on performance self‐efficacy, affective reaction, and training transfer. The findings suggest that both researchers and human resources practitioners should address the factors that enhance trainees' performance self‐efficacy level and their affective reaction.