An empirical examination of the antecedents of training transfer in hotels: the moderating role of supervisor support

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, the global hotel industry is faced with the challenge of a growing skills gap. Contrary to expectations, the shortage of skilled employees persists despite improved access to training. This implies that the cause of the shortage is not the lack of training, but a general lack of understanding of how training is transferred to practice. Therefore, this study aims to use an empirical approach to test a transfer of training (TOT) model that can be applied to the hotel sector.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The setting of the study is the Sultanate of Oman, and 302 questionnaires were collected from 24 hotel properties, of four- and five-star categories.

Findings

The findings reveal, to a high and significant degree, that the antecedents of TOT are the opportunity to perform (OTP) and motivation to transfer (MTT), while supervisor support is a significant moderator. In addition, motivation to learn (MTL) is the most important predictor of MTT, while accountability is the leading predictor of OTP. Results also indicated that perceived organizational support (OS) has the strongest impact on MTL.

Research Limitations Implications

The proposed model needs to be tested under different contexts, especially different countries and with different hotel categories, to determine if the relationships between the factors remain similarly valid. Other factors that can predict the TOT need to be investigated.

Practical Implications

Practical recommendations for hotel operators have been presented, equipping industry practitioners with the tools they need to develop the competencies of their employees, thereby improving the performance of individual properties.

Originality Value

The current study emphasized the validity of the proposed training transfer framework which was adapted from the learning transfer system inventory model, highlighting the particular importance of factors such as perceived OS and accountability.

Citation

El-Said, O.A., Al Hajri, B. and Smith, M. (2020), "An empirical examination of the antecedents of training transfer in hotels: the moderating role of supervisor support", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 32 No. 11, pp. 3391-3417. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0262