Applying New Knowledge in the Back-Home Setting: A Study of Indian Managers' Adoptive Efforts

Abstract

A major goal of the management education movement in developing nations is the introduction of advanced managerial technology and organizational practice throughout a nation's industry. The study reported here was designed to determine how several different factors influence the efforts of managers to apply, in their back-home job settings, knowledge gained in executive development programs. Data were obtained from a stratified random sample of 240 managers, representing a population of over 2,000 managers who participated in one of 17 management development programs. Straight-run data analysis indicates (1) what kinds of training programs are most likely to produce adoptive effort, (2) what kinds of managers are most likely to apply new knowledge, and (3) what kinds of organizational environments are most likely to facilitate such managerial effort. The study demonstrates the critical importance of organizational climate for the effective transfer of new technology and suggests that largescale organizational development effort must be concurrent with management training if maximum benefit is to be obtained.