From Training to Organizational Behavior: A Mediation Model through Absorptive and Innovative Capacities

The training of human resources improves business performance: myth or reality? While the literature has extensively addressed this issue, the transfer that occurs from training to performance still remains unresolved. The present study suggests an empirical solution to this gap, through a multiple mediation model of dynamic capabilities. Accordingly, the study makes a major contribution to the effectiveness of an organizational-level training: the “true” relationship between training and performance is mediated by absorptive and innovative capacities. It is difficult from training to directly affect the results: it must be done through a chain of intermediate variables. Training can be argued to be indirectly related to performance, through absorptive capacity in the first place, and innovative capacity in the second, sequentially in this order (three-path mediated effect). Of all immediate relationships received by performance, its explained variance is achieved partly via absorptive capacity and partly via innovation. The direct relationship through training is not significant and only explains a small percentage of the variance in performance. These results have been corroborated by combining two methods of analysis: PLS-SEM and fsQCA, using data from an online survey. This dual methodology in the study of the same phenomenon allows overcoming the limitations of each method, which would not have been possible with a single methodological approach, and confirming the findings obtained by any of them.