Enhancing training motivation in the public sector in South Korea: the value of a contingency approach

Public sector organisations which invest in training programmes care about their employees’ successful application of learnt knowledge and skills in the workplace. The present study finds that leader support positively influences public sector employees’ training motivation, specifically the motivation to transfer learnt knowledge and skills to their jobs. However, this positive relationship is moderated by employees’ prior knowledge of training content. When employees have high levels of prior knowledge of training content, leader support is not a significant influence on their motivation to transfer learnt knowledge and skills to their jobs. These findings are derived from a survey of 335 South Korean government officials who recently participated in a training programme that focused on performance management systems. The findings suggest that leaders need to take a contingent approach when expressing support for training programmes.