The Moderating Effect of Transfer Climate on the Joint Relationship between Trainees' Personality and Transfer Training

Abstract

Objective - The aim of this study is to examine the joint relationship between the Big Five personality and transfer climate on transfer of training. Drawing on trait activation theory, this study examines how the relationship between Big Five personality and transfer of training is moderated by supervisor support and opportunity to perform. Methodology/Technique - The sample of this study consists of 183 police officers who have attended driver training in one of the police training centres in Malaysia. Three sets of questionnaires comprising of the Big Five inventory, driving knowledge test, driving competency, and transfer climate were distributed to the respondents pre-training, post-training, and after two months of training. The data was analysed using statistic package for social science (SPSS) Version 19.0 and SmartPLS 3.0. Findings - A high level of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience were found to encourage increased transfer of training. Opportunity to perform moderated the relationship between agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience and transfer of training which is congruent with the trait activation theory. Novelty - The findings of this research emphasise the importance of the joint relationship between personality and situational factors on transfer of training. These findings allow the researcher to understand how opportunity to perform enables trainees to express their personality and enhance their performance. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: Big Five Personality; Transfer of Training; Supervisor Support; Opportunity to Perform; Trait Activation Theory. JEL Classification: M12, M19.

Enhancing the organization’s workforce: Guidance for effective training sustainment.

“…Goal orientation is a mental framework that affects how individuals interpret and react during learning opportunities (Chiaburu & Marinova, 2005;Chiaburu & Tekleab, 2005;Ford et al, 2018;Ford et al, 1998) Personality Individual characteristics (e.g., conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, curiosity, humility, and resilience) influence the extent that trainees exhibit the trained KSAs on the job (Eid & Quinn, 2017;Ford et al, 2018;Ng & Ahmad, 2018;Yee, 2019)…”

“…In fact, empirical evidence has demonstrated that individuals with higher self-efficacy and motivation will exhibit better job performance (Na-Nan & Sanamthong, 2020). In addition, individual personality traits, such as conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, have been associated with training transfer (Ng & Ahmad, 2018; Yee, 2019). Conscientiousness is linked to transfer in that it relates to being persistent and goal-directed, and extraversion is associated with training transfer because extraverts are characterized as being ambitious, active, and motivated.…”