Organizational Attitudes as Precursors to Training Performance

Abstract

In most prior research on training and development, employees' attitudes toward their organization have been viewed as consequences of training interventions rather than as antecedents. This study asserts that affective organizational commitment and organizational identification are performance predictors of training designed to directly address the collective interests of the organization. Additionally, we expected that organizational identification has a stronger positive effect on training performance than does organizational commitment. To test these hypotheses, the independent variables were measured in 149 trainees prior to the beginning of the training program. Observers' ratings of behavioral performance were evaluated as the training outcome using an assessment center method. The analysis showed that organizational identification significantly predicts training performance, whereas organizational commitment does not.