An Investigation of the Adoption Process in Training Technology Transfer

Abstract : This study focused on the adoption process in the transfer of Army training technology from the researcher to the user. The training product chosen for this investigation was the Training Extension Course (TEC) program. A two- part survey questionnaire was completed by 111 Army participants attending TRADOC/FORSCOM Training and Evaluation Workshops. The questionnaire requested attitudinal and usage information relating to the adoption of the Training Extension Course (TEC) program by unit training managers. Sources of TEC-related information were matched with the awareness, acceptance, and utilization stages of the adoption process to help understand the dissemination activity within training technology transfer. The attitudinal responses were factor analyzed and, with selected biographic information, were entered in a regression analysis to assess the utility of these measures as predictor variables of TEC utilization. Two major findings emerged. First, the acceptance (PERSUADE stage) of the TEC program is influenced predominantly by internal sources of information (e.g., work environment), while the initial awareness (INFORM stage) and later utilization of TEC are influenced by internal and external sources (support groups, briefings, etc.). Second, prior familiarity with TEC is a better predictor of TEC usage than are attitudinal measures taken from the innovation literature (for this particular sample).