Purpose -Recent developments in research related to training transfer have recognized transfer as a complex process rather than a product of training. Transfer intention has been viewed as the first and most crucial stage in the transfer process. Despite its importance in determining the extent to which training transfer can occur, transfer intention has not been examined sufficiently in the literature. This paper aims to address this deficiency. Design/methodology/approach -For the purpose of enhancing the knowledge and understanding of transfer intention as an important facet of the transfer process, the study was conducted to examine the influences of self-efficacy as an individual-level factor and supervisor support as an organizational-level constituent on transfer intention. Owing to the paucity of research on transfer intention, the theoretical framework on the bases of which the hypotheses regarding the relationships between those two antecedents and transfer intention were constructed was partially supplemented by the Theory of Planned Behavior. The mediation role of motivation to learn in each of those relationships was also investigated, based on a series of regression analyses performed on the data collected from 287 public employees in Saudi Arabia. Findings -The results showed that supervisor support was the most salient factor that affects transfer intention. Motivation to learn was found to influence transfer intention directly and to partially mediate the relationships of transfer intention with supervisor support and self-efficacy. Originality/value -Further analysis showed that supervisor support fully mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and transfer intention.

The State of Kuwait has become well known since the Persian Gulf War. The country has tourism potential because of the international awareness arising from that conflict. This research compares the image of Kuwaiti tourism sights as perceived by Kuwaiti university students and English-speaking foreigners living in Kuwait. The findings show that the sample groups have different perceptions of tourism attractions and that neither group is very impressed with the attractions.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to attempt to identify the most salient attributes that influence customer satisfaction with retail banks in Kuwait and to determine the level of the overall satisfaction of the customers of these banks. Design/methodology/approach -A multiple-attribute approach proposed by Shin and Elliott in 2001 was employed. This approach was applied in the analysis of data collected from a convenient sample of 863 actual customers of retail banks in Kuwait. Findings -The most crucial attributes for predicting customer satisfaction with retail banks in Kuwait were fast service, courtesy and helpfulness of employees and availability of self-banking services. The vast majority of the customers of retail banks in Kuwait (nearly 81 percent) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the services of their banks. Research limitations/implications -A number of very important attributes, such as those related to loans and credit cards, were not examined due to social reasons. The unavailability of lists of existing customers and their contacts made it not possible to draw a random sample from the target population of this study. Practical implications -To maintain a competitive edge in the market, the managers of retail banks in Kuwait need to be updated about technological advances and to invest in those that satisfactorily enhance technology-based encounters with their customers. These managers also need to focus on minimizing encounter failures in service delivery. For a retail bank in Kuwait, sufficient recovery efforts are needed so that dissatisfied customers do not end up defecting. Originality/value -Use of a single-item approach to measure customer satisfaction is common. This approach has been shown to suffer from inherent drawbacks, rendering its practical utility questionable. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study represents the first attempt to apply Shin and Elliott's multiple-attribute methodology to retail banking services in a different culture.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; unicode-bidi: embed; direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This study determines the product selection processes from Kuwaiti nationals based on their shopping habits in the Co-Operative Supermarkets (A government owned grocery stores).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>This paper expands the concept of Consumer Satisfaction and includes an evaluation of the post purchase affective response. It presents the development of a consumer typology based on affective response, basically broken into two groups. The first group is formed by consumers who face grocery shopping as their duty the second group considers grocery shopping as their pleasure. The paper also presents the implications of such typology in the Co-Op operation itself. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-KW; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The literature on consumer behavior and store choice suggests that consumers make decisions to patronize a particular store on the basis of a set of attributes that they view as important. This study attempts to explore the determinant attributes that influence the patronage decisions of supermarket consumers in Kuwait. Based on a descriptive analysis of data collected via an accidental sampling procedure, fourteen store attributes were identified. These attributes were factor analyzed, generating four image dimensions intuitively labeled merchandise, personnel, accessibility and promotion. A stepwise regression showed that merchandise image was the most salient in determining the frequency of supermarket shopping. None of the demographic characteristics of consumers did seem to have an impact on the perceived importance of the promotion image. Most of the differences among the categories of the consumers' demographic characteristics were found in the accessibility image, providing possible explanation for why the rank of the importance of accessibility elements varies considerably from one study to another. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p>

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate bank customers' attitudes toward various bank services. Design/methodology/approach -The design includes a survey, which looked into determinants of customer satisfaction in the retail-banking sector in the Middle East, with particular attention to the State of Kuwait. A total of 605 usable questionnaires were randomly distributed to retail customers at various banks within the country. Findings -Using descriptive statistics methods and ANOVA test, the findings of this paper suggest that in general customers in Kuwait (Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti customers) are satisfied with services provided by the retail-banking sector. Research limitations/implications -The research does not include samples of customers represented among all the bank branches in Kuwait due to cost and time limitations.Practical implications -The paper has implications for management in the banking sector in the State of Kuwait. Originality/value -The paper presents original research for determining customer satisfaction of bank services in Kuwait. The results can be of much value to bank managers using these data to retain customer satisfaction and maintain their competitive advantage.