CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.2 Research Hypothesis and Conceptual Framework Diagram
2.2.2 Career Management and Work Attitudes
Granrose and Portwood (1987) studied the influence of organizations on individual career beliefs and attitudes. It turns out that the perceptual range of
matching between individual and organizational career planning is relevant with the individual’s attitude on his/her career. The match between individual and organizational career planning affects employees’ job satisfaction or willingness to maintain (Haridas et al., 2022). Pazy (1988) studied the impact of organizational career management on the effectiveness of employees’ individual career management.
According to factor analysis, job openness information for employees, actions to sponsor employee development and career development guidelines are the three categories of organizational career management. The results showed that organizational career management impose no significant influence on performance and career adaptability, but has a significant impact on professional attitudes and career identity (Zhao et al., 2022). Sturges et al. (2002) failed to distinguish a straight association between organizational career management and organizational commitment. Long (2002) reveals that organizational career management has a positive bearing on organizational commitment, job performance, work involvement, career satisfaction, etc. Both Pazy and Long, according to their respective research, have found that organizational career management imposes a significant impact on career attitudes and job satisfaction. Therefore, whether career management has a significant effect on work attitudes needs further research. Jiang (2004) has explored the positive correlation between the career management and work attitudes of Taiwan security personnel and reached an extremely significant level of correlation, but whether there is also a significant association between the career management and work attitudes of mainland public sector employees requires further discussion. Li and Li (2016) analyzed the effect of individual career management on work attitudes and behaviors and then pointed out that there is a positive impact of career management on work attitudes and behaviors, which will improve the work performance of employees further. Zeng (2021) suggested that the career plateau will negatively affect work attitudes and the performance of employees significantly.
2.2.2.1 Individual Career Management and Organizational Commitment………..
The more the individuals’ career management behaviors are, the higher his or her level of organizational commitment will be ( Ling & Ou, 2010; Soares &
Mosquera, 2021). Individual career management, as a navigation and motivation
system that leads career development, helps to deepen his or her knowledge of himself/herself and the external environment, clarify career goals and professional self-concepts, and make high-quality career choices and decisions. Previous research has found that not only can individuals who focus on individual career management have a clearer understanding of themselves and have a clearer career development plan, but also a deeper understanding of the organization and proactively establish positive connections with organization-related personnel. It helps to promote the individual’s career growth in career choices (Lo Presti et al., 2019; Weng & Xi, 2011), enhances their attachment and identification with the organization, and then improves their organizational commitment (Kong et al., 2011; Weng & Zhu, 2020).
When employees’ age, education, position, and other factors are different, their individual career management will also be different; in addition, individual career management helps to advance job satisfaction and organizational commitment, reduce turnover rate, and promote job performance (Haridas et al., 2022; Ling & Ou, 2010;
Ma & Cheng, 2010; Noe, 1996; Yao & Chen, 2015; Zhao et al., 2022). Li et al. (2016) have found that individuals in high-tech businesses pay more attention to individual career management, and positively affect their organizational commitment. The research carried out by Zhang et al. (2021) suggested that individual career management positively forecast organizational commitment, career competency, and cultivation satisfaction had a significant impact on both sole and cluster mediatory effect between individual career management and organizational commitment.
2.2.2.2 Individual Career Management and Job Satisfaction
Herriot et al. (1994) reported that the perceived level of organizational managers has a positive influence on job satisfaction during studying career management satisfaction. Lee (2002) has found that both career strategies and career goals affect job satisfaction. The difference is that the former has a direct effect, while the latter has an indirect effect. Long et al. (2007) have conducted a survey of technical personnel and managers in 12 state-owned, private, and joint-stock enterprises, and discovered that individual career management positively affects job satisfaction. Yuan (2007) developed the Organizational Response Index Maturity Scale and reported that organizational career management imposes a significant positive impact on job satisfaction. At the same time, dimensions of job satisfaction
also receive a substantial impact on dimensions of organizational career management.
Ling and Ou (2010) have conducted research on corporate employees and managers and found that all four dimensions of individual career management, including self- awareness, understanding of organizational development opportunities, career exploration, upward communication positively and significantly influences job satisfaction. Li et al. (2014) have conducted a study on college students’ individual career management and found that there is a positive influence relationship among various dimensions, which significantly and positively affects their job satisfaction.
Xu (2014), who took teachers as the research object, has found that job satisfaction and performance have a positive influence on teachers’ individual career management. Wang and Chen (2020) found that there are positive associations between job satisfaction and both organizational and individual career management.
A significant positive impact is also shown between organizational career management and individual career management. Additionally, individual career management owns a mediating effect between organizational career management and job satisfaction.
2.2.2.3 Organizational Career Management and Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment emphasizes the individual’s attitude toward the organization and hard-working behavior. The studies about its antecedent variables discovered that the organization’s influence on the individual affects the individual’s organizational commitment. Some scholars believe that related factors, such as job satisfaction, pressure and challenges, employee-supervisor relationship, job engagement, and job matching will have an impact on organizational commitment (Reichers, 1985; Soares & Mosquera, 2021; Zhang et al., 2019). In addition, organizational career counseling and organizational commitment are positively correlated (Appelbaum et al., 1994; Benkarim & Imbeau, 2021). The antecedent variables of organizational commitment include skill diversity, job autonomy, challenge, work area, etc. (Colakoglu, 2011; Guzeller & Celiker, 2020; Mathieu &
Zajac, 1990). Meyer et al. (2002); Meyer et al. (2004) believed that interaction fairness, distribution fairness, and process fairness can influence organizational commitment. The core measures of organizational career management contain
training, fair competition, enhancing individuals’ career awareness by providing career development information, and endorsing the employees’ career development (Haridas et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2022).
Gao (2005) believes that training can help employees correctly face several important issues in the process of career development: realistic shocks, career stagnation, and aging skills, and improve employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Xu (2007) claims that strengthening counseling on employees’ self-assessment, setting up career goals, and providing information will promote employees’ organizational commitment. These measures can strengthen individuals’ identification with the organization, stimulate their hard work, and increase organizational commitment. The empirical research by Wang (2014) discussed the influence mechanism between organizational career management and organizational commitment. It found that there is a significant positive correlation between all dimensions of organizational career management and the high altitude of organizational commitment. The research result of Song (2016) indicated that there exists a positive impact on dimensions in organizational career management such as fair promotion, providing career information channels, focus on training, etc. The perceived organization support is positively affected by dimensions such as, providing career information, focus on training, professional self-awareness, etc. In addition, the perceived organizational support plays a fully mediating role in the two dimensions- providing career information and focus on training in organizational commitment.
2.2.2.4 Organizational Career Management and Job Satisfaction Scholars’ different pieces of research suggest that organizational career management can advance job satisfaction (Chen et al., 2004; Guo et al., 2021; Haridas et al., 2022; Long & Mao, 2007; Soares & Mosquera, 2021; Wang & Chen, 2020;
Zhou, 2022). Zhang (2009) stated that organizational career management impose important positive effects on employees’ job satisfaction, career commitment, organizational commitment, job performance, and job involvement, according to his empirical studies. Liu et al. (2007) studied the association between organizational career management and job satisfaction, taking occupational delay gratification as a mediating variable, and the verified the mediating role of occupational delay gratification. Li et al. (2013) discovered that organizational support plays a mediating
role between the two dimensions of organizational career management and job satisfaction. Yao and Chen (2015) conducted relevant research and found there is a significant positive impact on the three dimensions of organizational career management and organizational commitment: fair promotion, training, and promoting professional self-awareness. Meanwhile, job satisfaction is positively affected by fair promotion, providing career information, and promoting professional self-awareness.
Also, job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between organizational career management and organizational commitment and organizational commitment.
Through massive empirical research, Dai (2021) found several research conclusions:
First, the job satisfaction plays a partial mediating role between organizational career management and the tendency to leave; Second, there is an adverse connection between organizational career management and the tendency to leave; Third, there is a negative correlation between job satisfaction and tendency to leave; Finally, there is a positive association between organizational career management and job satisfaction.
Du (2003) believes that the career management implemented by the organization aims to solve some problems caused by the career (such as performance evaluation, promotion of cadres, etc.). Individual differences will weaken the effectiveness of corporate career management and ultimately lead to employment failure and confusion in personnel management. Therefore, the specific task of organizational career management is to diminish the loss and waste of talents caused by the deviation and asymmetry between the two, to maximize the potential of employees, and to explore the improvement of organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and develop a new path for both the organizational and personal success.
Based on the analysis above, hypotheses are proposed as follows:
H2: Career management has a significant positive impact on work attitudes.
H2-1: Individual career management has a significant positive impact on organizational commitment.
H2-2: Individual career management has a significant positive impact on job satisfaction.
H2-3: Organizational career management has a significant positive impact on organizational commitment.
H2-4: Organizational career management has a significant positive impact on job satisfaction.
2.2.3 The Mediating Role of Career Growth between Career