Purpose– In this study of 815 military personnel, the purpose of this paper is to examine how perceived leader behaviors are related to trainee perceptions of leader training priorities and to trainee priority for training, and whether trainee motivation to transfer of training moderated the relationship between trainee perceptions and trainee priority for training.Design/methodology/approach– Participants who were experienced job incumbents responded to a survey related to foreign language usage, training, and policy.Findings– When leaders showed support for training through their actions, trainees were more likely to perceive their leaders as placing a higher priority on training. Leader behaviors predicted trainee priority to train, because trainees believed their leaders set a higher priority for training. The leader behaviors that were important for trainees’ priority to train were discretionary behaviors, not those leader behaviors mandated by the organization. Trainee perceptions of leader priority were more positively predictive of trainees’ priority to train for trainees with less motivation to transfer of training.Originality/value– Supervisor support is an important predictor of training outcomes. The authors expand this literature by focussing on the signals that leaders send to their subordinates regarding training priority. Leaders who exhibited discretionary behaviors in support of training appeared to create an environment in which trainees placed greater importance on training. Organizations need to be aware that mandating training activities might not be as important as encouraging leaders to place value on discretionary activities.

We focus on how charismatic trainer behaviors, such as visionary content, intellectual stimulation and individual attention, influence affective, cognitive and skill-based learning outcomes during computer-based training. Using an experimental design, 92 undergraduates were presented with an on-line Excel training program that contained narration that was either charismatic or non-charismatic. Path analysis results indicate that participants who viewed videos narrated by a charismatic trainer (as opposed to a non-charismatic trainer) had positive reactions to the trainer, which was related to positive affectivity. Trainee positive affectivity was subsequently related to recall one week after training, and this recall was related to skill transfer one week after training. The results confirmed that charismatic trainers influence skills acquisition through boosting positive affect.

In the workplace, Black women encounter different job demands than their White counterparts and often experience less control. Demand-control theory offers a framework to examine the challenges Black women face as well as how factors such as coping strategies and social support can moderate levels of well-being. In this study we examined the impact of Black women's social support and coping strategies on job-family role strain, career satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Responses were collected from 188 highly educated Black American women employed in variety of occupations. Results of path modeling found that social support is important to well-being, and that self-help coping can overcome deficient social support's impact on well-being. Exploratory analyses revealed that support from ones' family, church, coworkers, and supervisor each individually related to aspects of well-being, particularly when self-help coping is low.

Lord and Dinh (2014) raise a number of important points that need to be considered in development of leadership research and practice. There are three main issues that we wish to address to support and develop their statements.

We propose and test a model connecting women's attachment styles, intimate relationship quality, workplace supervisor relationships, and well-being. The factors that lead to women's successful interaction patterns at home with a partner are suggested to be similar to successful interactions at work and are suggested to be related to well-being. A model was tested with data from 209 working women across various U.S. organizations. Women with an avoidance attachment style tended to have intimate relationships that were low in satisfaction and cohesion as well as low-quality relationships with their supervisors. Women in cohesive intimate relationships were likely to be satisfied with their job, experience low conflict at work, and report few physical symptoms. Women who had quality relationships with their superiors also had low conflict at work and were satisfied with their jobs. Results show important associations among social relationships at home and work related to quality of life.

We examined the extent to which a trainee's gender interacts with the gender of the trainer, as well as the gender composition of the classroom, to influence the trainee's knowledge acquisition. Hypotheses based on asymmetrical relational demography arguments were tested with a multilevel model on data collected from 1,515 predominantly Hispanic adult trainees in 115 classrooms taught by a total of 22 different trainers. Results supported an asymmetrical relational demography effect for the relationship between trainee-trainer gender dissimilarity and knowledge acquisition, such that trainer-trainee dissimilarity was related to knowledge acquisition for female trainees, but not for male trainees. No effects on trainee knowledge acquisition were observed for the trainee gender and classroom gender composition interaction. Exploratory analyses suggested that the racial diversity of the classroom was related to the knowledge acquisition of female trainees, but not male trainees.

An organizational field study was conducted to test the relationship between subordinate openness to experience, supervisor charismatic leadership, and creative behaviour. Data were collected from 167 employee-supervisor pairs of a manufacturing company that produces advertising specialty products. Charismatic leadership related positively to subordinates' creative behaviour only for subordinates low in openness to experience and not for their high openness to experience counterparts. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright (C) 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study examines the role of customer retention as a mediator in the service climate–firm performance chain. Using a predictive design that involves data collected from 1,500 automotive service stores from 12,518 employees and approximately 30,000 customers, a model linking service climate (a concern for employees and customers), customer satisfaction, customer retention, and firm performance was tested. Notably, the results support the overall model and the hypothesized mediating effect of customer retention regarding the relationship between customer satisfaction and firm performance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Despite the ubiquity of executive coaching interventions in business organizations, there is little uniformity in the practices (e.g., assessment tools, scientific or philosophical approaches, activities, goals, and outcome evaluation methods) of executive coaches. Addressing the ongoing debate about the role of psychology in executive coaching, we compare the practices of psychologist and nonpsychologist coaches, as well as the practices of coaches from various psychological disciplines (e.g., counseling, clinical, and industrial/organizational). Results of surveys completed by 428 coaches (256 nonpsychologists, 172 psychologists) revealed as many differences between psychologists of differing disciplines as were found between psychologist and nonpsychologist coaches. Moreover, differences between psychologists and nonpsychologists were generally small (average d= .26). Our survey also revealed some differences in the key competencies identified by psychologist and nonpsychologist coaches.

This laboratory experiment investigated the effects of trainer expressiveness, lecture organization, and trainee goal orientation on training outcomes. Participants (N = 135) listened to lectures that differed in organization and trainer expressiveness. Participants completed recall and problem-solving tests immediately and 2 days later. The results indicated that participants had the highest recall after an expressive and organized lecture. The findings for problem-solving performance were more complex. Participants with a high mastery orientation had their poorest problem-solving performance after listening to an organized and inexpressive lecture, whereas participants with a low mastery orientation did not respond to the effects of organization or expressiveness.

Seductive details are highly interesting information tangential to course objectives. The inclusion of seductive details generally harms performance on recall tests, but few studies have used multimedia training or investigated effects on performance on recognition tests or transfer tasks. We conducted two studies using computer-based training, instructing college students to use either Excel or Word mail merge. Contrary to most prior results, we found no negative effect for seductive details on recognition tests, and we found a facilitative effect on transfer performance. We discuss implications for theories of learning and transfer, and practical implications for instructional design and delivery.

A substantial increase in the use of technology based training has been seen in recent years. Organizations of all sizes and across industries are using e-learning to facilitate employee development. Past research has focused on factors that enable the design of effective e-learning programs. However, little has been done to assess various factors that contribute to the transfer of e-learning. While integrating the cognitive load theory and the multi-tasking literature, the current field survey investigated design characteristics, trainee characteristics, and contextual factors in relation to the self-reported transfer of e-learning to the job. The study participants included 608 employees of various organizations, 418 of which had participated in organizational e-learning. The findings indicated that several trainee characteristics, including computer self-efficacy, core self-evaluation, but not age, were correlated with transfer of e-learning. Additionally, the usability of the e-learning program mediated the relationship between computer self-efficacy and transfer. The work environment was also found to predict the transfer of e-learning. Specifically, perceived supervisor support and work overload contributed to the prediction of transfer of e-learning. The physical location in which participants completed the e-learning program was related to the number of distracting activities that the trainees engaged in. Although the majority of participants engaged in multi-tasking while participating in e-learning, no significant impact of multi-tasking on transfer was found. Limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.

The authors examined the effects of trainer reputation and trainees' need for cognition on training outcomes. Participants (N = 75) read a sheet describing a trainer as either effective or ineffective or they were given no information. Participants then viewed a videotaped lecture, evaluated the lecture, and completed a self-efficacy scale and knowledge test. The authors did not find an interaction of trainer reputation and need for cognition on clarity ratings. Participants with low need for cognition were influenced by the trainer reputation, whereas participants with high need for cognition were not. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between the interaction of trainer reputation and need for cognition on declarative knowledge.