SMITH, Rebecca <br/><br/>
Exploring the role of goal theory in understanding training motivation 

 - Danvers, MA :  Blackwell Publishing,  March 2008 
<br/><br/> A model to test conceptions from goal theory within an existing framework of training motivation was developed and tested with employees participating in training in a non-profit organization. it was hypothesized that goal orientantion ('distal factors') along with self-efficacy, expectancy and valence ('proximal factors') would predict goal intentions as well as training utility and intention to transfer or use the training provided. Results revealed that goal orientation predicted a significant proportion of variance in the proximal antecedents (valence (33 per cent), expectancy (39 per cent) and self-efficacy (31 per cent) whereas the proximal antecedents explained 43 per cent of the variance in goal intentions. In turn, goal intentions were related to training outcomes (affect (b=0.7), utility (b=0.6) and transfer intention (b=0.5)). Goal intentions mediated the relationship between proximal antecedents and training outcomes, providing evidence that goal intentions play a pivotal role in the causal path from proximal factors to training outcomes. Valence alone was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship berween goal orientation and goal intentions