PurposeThis study aims to examine the mediating role of resource capacity on the effect of administrative capacity on local level development.Design/methodology/approachData is obtained from three Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Central Region of Ghana using a survey. A structural equation modelling that includes a formatively measured construct (administrative capacity) is used in the analyses.FindingsLeadership, human resource management, financial resource management, technical and adaptive capacities are supported as formative constructs of administrative capacity. More so, it is established that administrative capacity has an effect on resource capacity. Also, administrative capacity and resource capacity each has an effect on local level development. The mediation analysis shows that resource capacity mediates the effect administrative capacity has on local level development.Practical implicationsAdministrative capacity is a necessity for local governments as enhancing it together with the resource capacity of MMDAs are vital if local level development is to be achieved. In this regard, administrative and resource capacities of local governments must be pursued by both the central government and decentralised governments for the latter to achieve its primary mandate.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to empirically ascertain leadership, human resource management, financial resource management, technical and adaptive capacities as the dimensions of administrative capacity using a structural equation model. Given that there is a lack of consensus on the dimensions of administrative capacity, this study contributes significantly to the discourse. The study also highlights the need to pursue and enhance administrative and resource capacities for local level development.

The study investigated the determinants of employee retention in Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Kumasi. Various factors that contribute to employee retention such as organizational factors, human resource factors, organizational benefits, commitment, employees' retention and job satisfaction were examined. Quantitative research design, specifically a correlational design was used. Primary data were collected from 98 employees comprising senior and junior staff, through questionnaire administration. The data were analyzed by using Spearman correlation and step-wise regression tools in Statistical Product and Service Solutions (version 17). The findings of the study revealed significant relationships among policies, job satisfaction and employee retention. Some of the specific determinants of retention were job satisfaction, training and development, communication, justice and fairness. This implies that any policy initiative that is aimed at employee retention should focus on these determinants. It is therefore recommended that employees and branch managers should cooperate and review the existing benefits by paying more attention to policies that will influence job satisfaction, training and development, communication and justice and fairness.

Purpose Training evaluation is an important part of training programs and evaluating the reactions of trainees is of immense value, but there are few studies on this level of evaluation, as it is a neglected area of research. More so, when trainee reactions to training are poor, human resource managers together with learning and development professionals are able to improve on training programs. Nonetheless, no study has focussed on the aversions of trainees to training, and so this study aims to investigate the aversions of trainees regarding employee training. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the exploratory research design and obtains data from trainees in an online survey using an open-ended question. Thematic text analyses of the statements of 118 respondents are performed using a two-level coding process. Findings A total of 15 first-level codes are identified from the texts and categorized into five second-level codes. Further analyses culminate in the identification of two broad themes; trainers’ presentation aversions and organization of training aversions. Practical implications Attention must be given to the aversions of trainees in the training evaluation literature. This is because of the considerable amount of information that can be generated and based on that, identify the weaknesses inherent in employee training programs and ultimately improve this critical human resource function within organizations. In attending to the trainee aversions, the least and most reported should be resolved holistically for training objectives to be achieved. Originality/value Trainee reaction studies are scarce in the training literature. In addition, most of the existing trainee reaction studies focus on satisfaction while using closed-ended questionnaires. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that focuses on the aversions of trainees and which uses an open-ended question.

Purpose This study aims to examine the web of relationships among training value, employee internal states (psychological empowerment, employee engagement and motivation to transfer) and training transfer. Design/methodology/approach Data is obtained from different categories of employees a few months after attending different training programs organized by their organization. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data. Bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) confidence intervals are used to determine the significance of the hypothesized paths. Findings This study finds that training value relates to motivation to transfer, psychological empowerment and employee engagement. Motivation to transfer also relates to training transfer and employee engagement. Again, psychological empowerment relates to motivation to transfer, employee engagement and training transfer. Concerning the mediated relationship, psychological empowerment and motivation to transfer fully mediate the relationship between training value and training transfer. Practical implications Internal states must be the focus of human resource department (HRD) scholars in their quest to discover training transfer improvement mechanisms. HRD practitioners and organizations generally should also prioritize the enhancement of the internal states of employees to aid training transfer. Originality/value In this study, training transfer facilitating factors particularly employee internal states are explored by examining the web of relationships comprising training value, motivation to transfer, psychological empowerment, employee engagement and training transfer in a pentagonal model using a homogeneous sample with a common understanding of training transfer due to the similarities in their training as well as job conditions.

Purpose Research has established that 38%, 56% and 66% of training is not transferred to work immediately, six months and 12 months after training, respectively. This has led scholars to advocate the continuous examination of factors that enhance training transfer to have a comprehensive understanding of the factors that enhance it. As a result, this study aims to examine transfer opportunity as a pretraining factor and its influence on assimilated training content (in-training factor); the influence of assimilated training content on motivation to transfer (post-training factor) and training transfer; the influence of motivation to transfer on training transfer; and the mediating role of motivation to transfer in the relationship between assimilated training content and training transfer. Design/methodology/approach A structural equation model is developed to test the five hypotheses formulated in this study using survey data obtained from 195 respondents who attended various training programs across different organizations. Following the assessment of the measurement model, the determination of the significance of the hypothesized paths is assessed based on the bias-corrected and accelerated confidence intervals obtained from the bootstrapping of 10,000 subsamples. Findings The findings of this study are that: transfer opportunity positively influences assimilated training content; assimilated training content positively influences motivation to transfer and training transfer; motivation to transfer positively influences training transfer; and motivation to transfer plays a complementary mediation role between assimilated training content and training transfer. Practical implications The nature of the work environment regarding the opportunity to transfer training influences trainees’ assimilation of the training content when they undergo training. Hence, organizations need to ensure that employees are always afforded the opportunity to transfer training content assimilated from previously attended training programs to assimilate the content of subsequent training programs. Furthermore, for training to culminate in training transfer, organizations and, more specifically, learning and development practitioners ought to pay attention to trainees’ assimilation of the content of training programs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically consider transfer opportunity as a direct antecedent of assimilated training content. More so, it is one of few studies to empirically examine the influence of assimilated training content on training transfer.