Description
The purpose of this research is to investigate how the interplay between organizational and individual
career development (ICD) recognition may have impact on affective commitment. The theoretical
framework was proposed according to the social cognitive career theory. Data were collected from 285
benchmark companies' managers in Taiwan using a questionnaire. The paper used structural equation
modeling and the results showed that when organizations and individuals share responsibility for the
careers of managers and have a good succession planning, the managers are likely to have more successful
careers in this global economy. The paper shows the mediating role that succession planning may
play in linking cognition of organizational career scripts and ICD to affective commitment. It is original
and makes a unique contribution because it combines the individualistic and organizational perspectives
concerning the career development with regard to senior managers.
Original article
Managers' career development recognition in Taiwanese companies
Ming-Chu Yu
a
, Meng-Hsiu Lee
b, *
a
Department of Public Administration and Management, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
b
Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 27 March 2012
Accepted 21 March 2013
Available online 17 March 2015
Keywords:
Affective commitment
Career path choice
Individual career development
Organizational career scripts
a b s t r a c t
The purpose of this research is to investigate how the interplay between organizational and individual
career development (ICD) recognition may have impact on affective commitment. The theoretical
framework was proposed according to the social cognitive career theory. Data were collected from 285
benchmark companies' managers in Taiwan using a questionnaire. The paper used structural equation
modeling and the results showed that when organizations and individuals share responsibility for the
careers of managers and have a good succession planning, the managers are likely to have more suc-
cessful careers in this global economy. The paper shows the mediating role that succession planning may
play in linking cognition of organizational career scripts and ICD to affective commitment. It is original
and makes a unique contribution because it combines the individualistic and organizational perspectives
concerning the career development with regard to senior managers.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Career changes are rapid since the late 1980s and the global-
ization is not only a context for organizational strategic action, but
also provides opportunities for career development to managers
(Cappellen & Janssens, 2010). As dictated by technological
advancement, occupational life cycles have become shorter, and
some occupations have become less stable and less predictable
(Hesketh, 2001; Vondracek, 2001). Careers are said to be boun-
daryless, requiring an individual to take responsibility for their own
management (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Thus, individual career
development (ICD) means managers have to utilize opportunities
that are available for them to pursue their career goals (Sturges,
Conway, Guest, & Liefooghe, 2005), such as by undergoing self-
management programs, setting career-related goals, and formu-
lating appropriate strategies to achieve them (Noe, 1996).
Meanwhile, according to social cognitive career theory, many
explicit contextual organizational in?uences are integrated and
in?uence an individual's career choice behavior (Lent, Brown, &
Hackett, 1994). Organizational career script (OCS) indicates that
the organization will consider the institutional environment to
design individual career policies and global career development
projects. This practice can manage and improve the effectiveness of
an individual's career, and can satisfy the individual's career path
choice (CPC; Cappellen & Janssens, 2010; Orpen, 1994). OCS can
provide individual counseling and career discussions between
managers and their supervisors, and help to choose career devel-
opment tools consisting of skills, education, experiences as well as
behavioral modi?cation and re?nement techniques (Cappellen &
Janssens, 2010; Noe, 1996). Therefore, OCS allows individuals to
work better and to add value to the company.
Furthermore, high-potential managers are those the company
believes are capable of being successful in higher-level managerial
positions (Ballinger & Marcel, 2010). Thus, CPC is an individual's
decision as to what speci?c work sequence he or she wants for
himself or herself, which will give him or her the chance for the
promotion based on individual desires (Baruch, 2004). It usually
includes a plan for career path change and support for succession
planning (Gutteridge, Leibowitz, & Shore, 1993b). Some studies
have shown that there exists a close and reciprocal relationship
between OCS, ICD, and affective commitment (London, 1993;
Sturges et al., 2005). Scholars and practitioners are particularly
interested in understanding how to enhance employees' affective
commitment (Grant, Dutton, & Rosso, 2008; Meglino & Korsgaard,
2004; Shepherd, Patzelt, & Wolfe, 2011). Making talent sourcing
and career development is a strategic priority to ensure the success
of a company (Gunz & Jalland, 1996; Guthridge, Komm, & Lawson,
2008; Jenkins, 2008). However, only limited studies are available
that focus on the need to balance OCS and ICD, as well as on the
need for CPC for managers in Taiwanese business ?rms.
* Corresponding author. Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun
Yat-Sen University, 70 Lienhai Rd., Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan, ROC.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M.-H. Lee).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17
Given this backdrop, this study will establish a comprehensive
understanding of the theoretical model among OCS, ICD, CPC, and
affective commitment. The results are presented along with a dis-
cussion of their implications for organizations.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses
2.1. Social cognitive career theory
A career development system links organizational needs with
individual career needs, and is directed at personal and organiza-
tional goals. The key issue is how managers develop their skills in
such a way that their personal effectiveness and satisfaction means
helping the organization achieve its own strategic objectives
(Gutteridge et al., 1993b). The implication of the social cognitive
career theory is that many explicit contextual in?uences are inte-
grated and in?uence career choice behavior, such as the strength of
support and obstacles in the career choice process (Gushue &
Whitson, 2006; Lent et al., 1994; Schultheiss, 2009). A person's
career choice is the dynamic process of interaction with the envi-
ronment. Either support or barriers fromthe environment will lead
to a change in choice (Bennett, 2008). Career development activ-
ities involve the process of helping individuals plan their careers in
concert with an organization's business strategies.
Therefore, learning experiences, self-ef?cacy, and outcome ex-
pectations could be applied to conceptual discussions of the man-
ager's CPC process (Lent et al., 1994; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2000;
Wright & Perrone, 2008). If managers have good learning experi-
ence and establish good career self-management strategies, self-
ef?cacy would increase. Then it is even more encouraged to
develop a succession plan, in the belief that they can achieve the
expected outcomes. Social cognitive career theory proposed that
career choice behavior (for instance, CPC) and career objective
choice will be affected by contextual variables (such as OCS) and
individual variables (such as ICD in this article; Lent et al., 1994;
Rogers & Creed, 2011). Thus, it is appropriate for us to draw on
the social cognitive career theory to develop a research framework,
which ?ts in with the research objectives.
2.2. OCSs and CPC
OCS should make managers more aware of their marketable
characteristics and possible career paths (Cappellen & Janssens,
2010; Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Managers are more likely to be
motivated to engage in career development activities when their
supervisor encourages discussions related to development and
career issues, is willing to identify resources to help them with
speci?c problems, and assists them in setting performance and
career goals (Noe, 1996).
Accordingly, there are a number of positive environmental
conditions, such as practical support for activities or emotional
support. These conditions will increase a person's choice (Conger &
Fulmer, 2003). By contrast, a nonsupportive environment will limit
options (Lent, 2005; Lent et al., 2000; Lent & Brown, 1996). Man-
agers anticipate some kind of career development advice fromtheir
supervisors (Sturges, Guest, & Davey, 2000). Organizations may
want to design their career development systems in accordance
with managers' career orientations and allow the managers to
adjust their career paths (Bower, 2007). Organizational career
planning will affect career behavior and attitudes (Aryee & Debrah,
1993). Thus, an organization-centered career development will
in?uence corporate succession planning. We therefore hypothesize.
Hypothesis 1: OCS has a signi?cant positive association with CPC
2.3. OCSs and affective commitment
Trevor and Nyberg (2008) argued that in the postdownsizing
environment of decaying commitment and satisfaction, career
development practices should do more to enhance the utility of
alternative employment than to improve current employment utility.
London (1993) also proposes that organizational assistance and
commitment to career development activities can be instrumental in
building long-term attachments of managers to their jobs, and
building organizational identi?cation. It is, therefore, reasonable to
assume that managers will interpret organizational development and
training actions as indications of the personi?ed organization's
commitment to their progress, and they will reciprocate accordingly
by showing an increased level of loyalty (Allen & Meyer, 1990;
Hausknecht, Hiller, & Vance, 2008; Lee & Bruvold, 2003; Shepherd
et al., 2011).
A number of studies have emphasized the importance of early
experiences in the organization, including provision of training and
development, for the establishment of affective commitment
(Shepherd et al., 2011; Tannenbaum, Mathieu, Salas, & Cannon-
Bowers, 1991). In other words, career development and training
activities provided by the organization have been identi?ed as the
kinds of “positive” experiences that engender affective commit-
ment during the early years at work. Organizational career growth
(career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion
speed, and remuneration growth) will affect the occupational
commitment (Weng, McElroy, Morrow, & Liu, 2010; Weng &
McElroy, 2012). Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 2: OCS has a signi?cant positive association with af-
fective commitment
2.4. ICD and CPC
Trevor and Nyberg (2008) indicated that at higher levels of ICD
that enhance the search for opportunities, such as establishing
career resource centers or allowing formal manager assessment,
development opportunities may indeed be identi?ed. Thus, man-
agers should enjoy the ease of movement in the job market that
alternative employment options bring, and they should be suf?-
ciently responsible to recognize their personal needs, biases, and
motives. Knowledge of one's own values and beliefs can serve as a
basis for future career decisions and for the development of
appropriate career strategies (Aryee, Chay, & Tan, 1994).
Having completed ICD, managers will provide great support to
the company's engagements in transferring position planning for a
potential employee in order to succeed to higher managerial po-
sitions (Power & Rothausen, 2003). Moreover, career planning is an
ongoing process whereby an individual has salient career-related
beliefs, personal growth initiative, and sets career goals
(Eddleston, Baldridge, & Veiga, 2004; Robitschek & Cook, 1999).
Finally, individuals identify the means to achieve goals and even-
tually the career success (Eddleston et al., 2004). The major focus of
CPC should be on matching personal goals and opportunities that
are realistically available, including planning for career path
changes (Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 3: ICD has a signi?cant positive association with CPC
2.5. ICD and affective commitment
Managers' perceptions of the career opportunities available to
them within organizations predict affective commitment (Morris,
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 12
Lydka, & O’Creevy, 1993). When an individual ?nds an opportunity
for achievement and a sense of intrinsic reward, he/she develops an
organizational identi?cation and commitment to the organization
(Tansky & Cohen, 2001). Randall (1987) also points out that low
levels of commitment are largely disadvantageous for both the
individual and the organization; individual career advancement
may be severely hampered, while the organization may suffer from
an unstable, disloyal work force. If an individual's career develop-
ment is successful, then his or his affective commitment will be
relatively high. Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 4: ICD has a signi?cant positive association with
affective commitment.
2.6. CPC, affective commitment, and mediating effect
Perceived chances for promotion (succession planning) or
chances for career path change have been found to be associated
with affective commitment (Zaccaro & Dobbins, 1989). Perception
of good career opportunities within an organization and the pro-
vision of development activities remain important predictors of
affective commitment (Morris et al., 1993). Kennedy (1995) further
pointed out that when supervisors implement the job of perfor-
mance appraisal or career development planning for their sub-
ordinates, supervisors want the subordinates to commit their job in
the organization.
Work commitment is enhanced by career development and
membership because they provide CPCs, which offer future career
advancement opportunities (Loscocco, 1990). Rosenbaum (1979)
proposed that if individuals pursue the kind of career self-
management behavior aimed at developing a career within the
organization, such as getting to know in?uential people, seeking
career advice, and drawing attention to their achievements, they
send out a signal that they are committed both to the organization
and to success in the promotion tournament. Gutteridge,
Leibowitz and Shore (1993a) also argued that employers now
offer opportunities for growth rather than lifelong security. Thus,
career development program efforts have also been linked to
greater self-awareness on the part of young adults and greater
commitment on their part to improve their work-related skills
(Noe, 1996). From these, we hypothesize and illustrate the pro-
posal model. (Fig. 1)
Hypothesis 5: CPC has a signi?cant positive association with af-
fective commitment
Hypothesis 6: CPC mediates the relationship between OCS and
organizational affective commitment
Hypothesis 7: CPC mediates the relationship between ICD and af-
fective commitment
3. Research methodology
3.1. Sample and procedure
The research sample consisted of managers from a number of
Taiwanese companies. There are two reasons for this choice.
First, traditional Chinese companies were mostly family enter-
prises in the past, but with the previous generation of business
owners getting older, most have passed on their authority to
their own children directly. Through nepotism, this centralized
power style is achieved by retaining ownership and controlling
the organization within a family group (Huang, 1999; Lee, 1996).
In recent years, modern management concepts have been
introduced into Taiwan from the United States or Europe, with
the result that enterprises have gradually begun to place value
on succession plans. In this particular context, investigating the
career management systems and succession plans of Taiwan's
enterprises is valuable.
Second, in recent years, Taiwanese businessmen have eagerly
invested in China (Wu, 1997). Especially in terms of mainland
China's domestic demand, the market opportunities are expanding
rapidly and are very attractive. One of the critical and key factors is
Taiwanese managers' future career development, promotion, and
culture adjustment in China, as well as their commitment to the
organization (Selmer, 2002). The aim of this research is, therefore,
to collect and investigate data from many of the professional gen-
eral managers who form the leadership of Taiwan's international-
ized benchmark entrepreneurs.
Greenberg and Baron (2008) argued that formal succession-
planning efforts are more likely to occur in large organizations
than small ones. Large ?rms generally have formal plans on record,
specifying exactly who will move into certain positions once they
are vacated. Thus, the sample for this study consisted of managers
in the top 1000 manufacturing, top 500 service, and top 100 ?nance
companies inTaiwan as listed by CommonWealth Magazine (2008).
Using the strati?ed sampling method, 800 questionnaires were
sent to the ?rms. Phone calls were made for follow-up. A total of
316 questionnaires were collected, with 285 valid questionnaires
(35.6%) remaining after the removal of 31 invalid questionnaires. Of
the valid questionnaires, 65.3% were from manufacturing
(including the high-tech industry and the conventional
manufacturing industry), 23.8% from the service industry, and
10.9% fromthe ?nancial industry. In sampling, the samples selected
for the study are de?ned by company size (working capital size of
more than US$3.15 million), which is chosen as the control variable
for this study.
Of the respondents, 74.7% were men and 25.3% were women,
showing that senior management is still dominated by men. In
terms of age, the largest number of respondents belonged to the
31e40-year-old age group (51.2%), whereas in terms of duration of
tenure, employees with 2e5 years' tenure had the largest number
(29.8%), followed by 6e10 years' tenure (27%), which shows that for
an average employee who enters an organization there will be great
promotion and career advancement opportunities until they reach
31e40 years of age. According to Super (1984), there are ?ve stages
of career development. In the establishment stage (26e45 years),
people will gain work experiences related to their career choices,
and they will try to determine the value of their career choices.
Therefore, talented individuals will consider if they really want to
pursue that career or not in this stage. If talented individuals learn a
lot about their jobs and are satis?ed with their career, there will be
promotion and career advancement opportunities (Robert & Roger,
2000; Super, 1984). Thus, this sample will also be useful for
exploring the research on career development and succession
issues.
OCS
ICD
Affective
commitment
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis 4
Hypothesis 2
Hypothesis 3
Hypothesis 5
CPC
Fig. 1. Proposed model. CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career develop-
ment; OCS ¼ organizational career script.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 13
3.2. Measurement development
OCS was measured using the following three dimensions
(Cappellen & Janssens, 2010; Williamson & Otte, 1986): career
consultation, role of supervisor, and training and development. The
scale was assessed using 15 items. These items were summed to
arrive at an OCS score. Responses are indicated on a ?ve-point
Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree). Examples
of items include “My company has provided seminar or informa-
tion about career consultation or career guidance,” for career
consultation; and “Supervisor willing to deal working issues with
me frankly,” for role of supervisor; and “When employees complete
training, they can be promoted to higher position,” for training and
development. Alpha reliabilities were 0.956 for OCS.
ICD was measured using eight items developed by Orpen (1994),
covering the following two dimensions: career self-management
strategies and career advancement opportunity. These two
indices were measured on a ?ve-point Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly
disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with sample items such as “I have
de?nite goals for my career over my lifetime,” for career self-
management strategies, and “I try to have as much visibility and
exposure to my bosses as I can,” for career advancement opportu-
nity. Alpha reliabilities were 0.7 for career self-management stra-
tegies and 0.68 for career advancement opportunity (Orpen, 1994).
CPC was measured using eight items developed by Gutteridge
et al. (1993b). We used items that covered the two dimensions of
career path: plan for career path change and support for succession
planning. These two indices were measured on a ?ve-point Likert
scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with sample items
such as “Company creates or introduces new job opportunity for
me and encourages me to try,” for plan for career path change, and
“Supporting company trains reserved manager by rotation for
promoting position in the future,” for support for succession
planning. Alpha reliabilities were 0.7 for CPC.
Affective commitment was measured and proposed by Allen and
Meyer (1990). This eight-item questionnaire was designed to
measure the degree to which the individuals feel committed to
their organization. Responses are indicated on a ?ve-point Likert
scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with such items as
“I have very high loyalty to the company.”
3.3. Construct analysis
Table 1 presents the result of the con?rmatory factor analysis.
Chi-square difference tests indicated that the hypothesized four-
factor model (i.e., OCS, ICD, CPC, and affective commitment) pro-
vides a better ?t for the data than did (1) the one-factor model, Dc
2
(N ¼285) ¼427.5, p < 0.01; (2) the two-factor model, Dc
2
¼338.93,
p < 0.01; and (3) the three-factor model, Dc
2
¼ 246.72, p < 0.01.
These results suggest that the present study's constructs were
distinct.
We also assessed each construct's reliability based on composite
reliability and variance-extracted measure (VE; Hair, Anderson,
Tatham, & Black, 1998). The results (Table 2) showed that all
construct reliabilities and VE measures were above the cutoff
values of 0.70 and 0.05 (Hair et al., 1998).
3.4. Results
Table 3 presents the subdimensions' alpha reliability, means,
standard deviations, and corrections observed fromthe survey. The
values of Cronbach alpha (a) ranges from 0.782 to 0.97, which are
all well above the 0.70 limit and show that the model had good
reliability (Nunnally &Bernstein, 1994). The correlations among the
dimensions of OCS range from 0.58 to 0.64, which show that the
three dimensions measure different facets of OCS. The correlations
among ICD (career advancement opportunity and career self-
management strategies), career path (plan for career path change
and support for succession planning), and affective commitment
measures range from 0.12 to 0.64.
We examined the overall ?t of the model using several ?t
indices (Table 4). Our model has an adequate ?t with the data, as
indicated by the Chi-square/df value of 4.242. The goodness-of-?t
index (GFI) assesses how well the hypothesized model re-
produces the sample data without the reference model. A good GFI
should be 0.9 or higher. Our model's GFI of 0.928 thus shows a good
?t (adjusted GFI ¼ 0.864). Segars and Grover (1993) and Chau and
Hu (2001) proposed that an adaptive standard above 0.8 displays
an acceptable degree of overall adaptation. In addition, the
comparative ?t index (0.928), normal ?t index (0.909), mean-
square residual (0.028), and root-mean-square error of approxi-
mation (0.107) all suggest that our model ?ts the data well.
Table 4 and Fig. 2 provide the maximum likelihood parameter
estimates for this research model. Based on data in Table 4, we
found that the OCS had a signi?cant positive in?uence on CPC
(g
11
¼0.379, p < 0.001), which supports Hypothesis 1. OCS can help
managers develop greater career maturity and ?nd more oppor-
tunities for professional development within their present ?rms
(Feldman, 2003).
The OCS has a signi?cant effect on affective commitment
(g
12
¼ 0.155, p < 0.05), indicating that if managers' perception of
organizational career-related practices is ?awless, it in?uences
their psychological attachment to the organization and positively
affects affective commitment, thus supporting Hypothesis 2.
Managers' perceptions of career-related practices in?uence their
psychological attachment to the organization and enhance affective
commitment.
Meanwhile, ICD appears to have a signi?cant effect on CPC
(g
21
¼ 0.442, p < 0.001), which supports Hypothesis 3. It indicates
that managers should be responsible for knowing their own
occupational needs, motivations, values, and beliefs. This
Table 1
Results of con?rmatory factor analysis of study variables (N ¼ 285).
Model c
2
df Dc
2
CFI IFI NFI SRMR
Null model 5842.30 1034
Hypothesized
four-factor model
129.24 29 0.924 0.925 0.905 0.031
One-factor model 427.50 35 298.26
a
0.702 0.704 0.686 0.063
Two-factor model 338.93 34 209.69
a
0.768 0.770 0.751 0.053
Three-factor model 246.72 32 117.48
a
0.837 0.838 0.819 0.043
For the one-factor model, all seven constructs are combined into one factor; for the
two-factor model, the OCS and ICD (individual career development) are combined
into one factor, and CPC and affective commitment are combined into another
factor; for the three-factor model, OCS and ICD are combined into one factor.
CFI ¼ comparative ?t index; CPC ¼ career path choice; IFI ¼ incremental ?t index;
NFI ¼ normal ?t index; OCS ¼ organizational career script; SRMR ¼ standardized
root-mean-square residual.
a
p < 0.01.
Table 2
Measurement properties.
Construct Composite reliability Variance extracted No. of items
OCS 0.96 0.89 15
ICD 0.95 0.92 8
CPC 0.96 0.93 8
Affective commitment 0.97 0.93 8
CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career development;
OCS ¼ organizational career script.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 14
knowledge can serve as a basis for future career decisions and for
the development of appropriate career strategies. In addition, ICD
has a signi?cant positive effect on affective commitment
(g
22
¼ 0.343, p < 0.001), supporting Hypothesis 4. Good career self-
management and perceptions of career opportunity will enhance
talented individuals' affective commitment. Lastly, this research
found that CPC has a signi?cant positive effect on affective
commitment (b
12
¼ 0.371, p < 0.001), supporting Hypothesis 5.
Perception of succession planning and career development activ-
ities remain important predictors of affective commitment.
Fig. 2 depicts the results of the path analysis and demonstrates
the relationship between the exogenous and endogenous variables.
As shown in the ?gure, OCS has a direct effect on affective
commitment. At the same time, OCS also has a direct effect on CPC,
and CPC has a direct effect on affective commitment. The Sobel test
shows that OCS has a signi?cant indirect effect on affective
commitment (t ¼ 2.97, p < 0.01), in which the indirect in?uence is
0.14 (g
11
b
12
¼ 0.379 Â 0.371). Thus, OCS appears to increase the
affective commitment through CPC, supporting Hypothesis 6. ICD
has a direct effect on CPC. Using the Sobel test, we found that the
ICD has a signi?cant indirect effect on affective commitment
(t ¼ 3.01, p < 0.01), in which the indirect in?uence is 0.164
(g
21
b
12
¼ 0.442 Â 0.371). Obviously, the ICD will affect affective
commitment through the mediating effects of CPC. Thus, Hypoth-
esis 7 was supported.
4. Discussion
This research investigated the relationship among OCS, ICD, CPC,
and affective commitment. Simultaneously, we explored the
mediating effect of CPC. Organizations may want to design their
career development systems in accordance with managers' career
orientations and allow managers to adjust their own career paths.
Furthermore, managers interpret OCS as indicative of the person-
i?ed organization's commitment to them, and therefore, recipro-
cate accordingly by showing an increased level of loyalty (Lee &
Bruvold, 2003). ICD has to satisfy both the opportunity to ful?ll
one's career potential and one's career development through pro-
motion or support for succession planning (Aryee et al., 1994;
Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Furthermore, managers' perceptions of
opportunity for achievement, which gives them a sense of intrinsic
reward, are an important antecedent to affective commitment
(Morris et al., 1993; Shepherd et al., 2011; Tansky & Cohen, 2001).
Accordingly, when managers' perceive well-developed OCS,
they are likely to consider and execute ICD plan at the same time.
This echoes the idea of the social cognitive career theory, that is,
many explicit environmental contextual factors in?uence the
manager's career choice behavior. If these two, OCS and ICD, ?t very
well, they will perfectly deliver the CPC, thus supporting the suc-
cession planning. Eventually, these will positively affect affective
commitment.
4.1. Limitations
This study is based on the related literature and a theoretical
framework was developed according to the social cognitive career
theory. In the research process, efforts were made to achieve an
objective and rigorous outcome, but there are still several limita-
tions to this study. First, obtaining complete records for enterprise
managers is not a simple task. Despite the con?rmation and
obtaining as many samples as possible, this study uses only a
representative sample of benchmark ?rms, including those from
the high-tech, conventional manufacturing, service, and ?nancial
industries. Moreover, we were unable to complete the investigation
of other industrial managers.
Second, the questionnaire respondents in this study were
managers, and their level of understanding of the items and sub-
jective awareness could affect the responses. Therefore, a bias
phenomenon may affect the results.
Table 3
Alpha reliability, mean, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables (N ¼ 285).
Latent variables Measured variables Alpha reliability M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OCS 1. Career consultation 0.856 2.56 0.87 1.00
2. The role of supervisor 0.892 3.12 0.85 0.64
a
1.00
3. Training and development 0.836 3.24 0.74 0.61
a
0.58
a
1.00
CPC 4. Plan for career path change 0.867 3.56 0.76 0.42
a
0.46
a
0.38
a
1.00
5. Support for succession planning 0.873 3.84 0.74 0.26
a
0.39
a
0.36
a
0.64
a
1.00
ICD 6. Self-development programs 0.782 4.02 0.58 0.12
a
0.28
a
0.26
a
0.32
a
0.37
a
1.00
7. Career advancement opportunity 0.802 3.98 0.55 0.16
a
0.42
a
0.37
a
0.39
a
0.43
a
0.55
a
1.00
Affective commitment 8. Affective commitment 0.97 4.00 0.70 0.28
a
0.41
a
0.43
a
0.44
a
0.55
a
0.38
a
0.47
a
1.00
CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career development; M ¼ mean; OCS ¼ organizational career script; SD ¼ standard deviation.
a
p (two tailed) < 0.01.
Table 4
Results of the structural equation modeling testing.
1. Measurement model Direct effects
OCS/Career consultation 0.766
a
OCS/The role of supervisor 0.816
a
OCS/Training and development 0.757
a
ICD/Career self-management strategies 0.66
a
ICD/Career advancement opportunity 0.834
a
CPC/Plan for career path change 0.767
a
CPC/Support for succession planning 0.834
a
Affective commitment/Affective commitment 0.908
a
2. Key parameter estimates
Hypothesized paths Direct effects CR
OCS/CPC (g
11
) 0.379 4.8
a
OCS/Affective commitment (g
12
) 0.155 2.064
b
ICDC/CPC (g
21
) 0.442 4.984
a
ICDC/Affective commitment (g
22
) 0.343 3.668
a
CPC/Affective commitment (b
12
) 0.371 3.774
a
3. Fit indices for the structural model
Chi-square ¼ 123.004
GFI ¼ 0.928
AGFI ¼ 0.864
RMR ¼ 0.028
RMSEA ¼ 0.107
CFI ¼ 0.928
NFI ¼ 0.909
AGFI ¼goodness-of-?t index; CFI ¼comparative ?t index; CPC ¼career path choice;
GFI ¼ goodness-of-?t index; ICD ¼ individual career development; NFI ¼ normal ?t
index; OCS ¼ organizational career script; RMR ¼ mean-square residual;
RMSEA ¼ root-mean-square error of approximation.
Using a signi?cance level of 0.05, critical ratios (CRs) that exceed 1.96 are considered
signi?cant.
a
CR > 3.29.
b
CR > 1.96.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 15
4.2. Conclusions and implications
According to this research, if a company offers more training and
development programs, and if the supervisor can provide assis-
tance, then the managers will acquire the experience needed to
undertake a special task and to plan for a career path change. With
the essential assistance offered by their supervisors, the managers
hope to develop their core competencies to match the organiza-
tional strategy, including job rotation plans and succession plan-
ning (Rothwell, 2011). Furthermore, if the company offers more
training and career consultations, and if there is more assistance
from supervisors, the managers will put more effort to help the
organization achieve its goals and will have a higher emotional
investment and attachment to the organization.
Managers have opportunities for career advancement, and
career self-management strategies will be an advantage inplanning
career path changes. If the manager is aware of personal occupa-
tional opportunities and career self-management strategies, he/she
will identify himself/herself more with the company and exert
more effort to help the organization achieve its goals.
With this backdrop, as companies change their structure, partly in
consideration of technological changes, managers will accept that
uncertainty and change are a fact of life in organizations. Organiza-
tional restructuring has largely in?uenced a new orientation toward
OCS, and has provided rich opportunities for career development.
Manyhumanresources professionals haveadvocatedtheuseof career
development and development systems for improving managers'
career motivation and commitment, awareness of the purported link
between career development, performance, developmental behavior,
and participation in development activities (Betz, 2001; Noe, 1996).
Thus, when organizations and individuals share responsibility
for the careers of managers, the managers are likely to have more
successful careers. Some organizations have been relying on career
development interventions to avoid the problems associated with
career plateaus and other career-related issues, such as ?nding the
right job or adjusting to new jobs. These interventions are sys-
tematic efforts to help manage people's careers while simulta-
neously helping the organizations in which they work (Greenberg
& Baron, 2008; Orpen, 1994).
4.3. Suggestions
This study suggests that a company must help establish the core
competencies of its managers so they can deliver what is expected
of them. A company should bear in mind that ICD and organiza-
tional development should be consistent with each other. A com-
pany must assist the managers in planning ICD and providing
training to help achieve the individual's career plans.
Moreover, decision makers (or top management teams) should
develop appropriate succession planning. A company should value
its talented individuals and design CPC opportunities for them.
When the organization executes the career development plan and
links it with the succession planning integrated into the organiza-
tional vision, the managers will be able to demonstrate in the future
the performance required of them. Therefore, succession planning
is the basis for a company to move toward sustainable
development.
Finally, further research may suggest other key factors for
effective succession planning. Future studies may adopt this case
study to analyze succession planning. Further research can also
investigate the relationship and interaction between OCS and ICD,
and determine the good ?t index between organizational plans of
career path and individual cognition of career development.
Con?icts of interest
All contributing authors declare no con?icts of interest.
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M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 17
doc_872298566.pdf
The purpose of this research is to investigate how the interplay between organizational and individual
career development (ICD) recognition may have impact on affective commitment. The theoretical
framework was proposed according to the social cognitive career theory. Data were collected from 285
benchmark companies' managers in Taiwan using a questionnaire. The paper used structural equation
modeling and the results showed that when organizations and individuals share responsibility for the
careers of managers and have a good succession planning, the managers are likely to have more successful
careers in this global economy. The paper shows the mediating role that succession planning may
play in linking cognition of organizational career scripts and ICD to affective commitment. It is original
and makes a unique contribution because it combines the individualistic and organizational perspectives
concerning the career development with regard to senior managers.
Original article
Managers' career development recognition in Taiwanese companies
Ming-Chu Yu
a
, Meng-Hsiu Lee
b, *
a
Department of Public Administration and Management, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
b
Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 27 March 2012
Accepted 21 March 2013
Available online 17 March 2015
Keywords:
Affective commitment
Career path choice
Individual career development
Organizational career scripts
a b s t r a c t
The purpose of this research is to investigate how the interplay between organizational and individual
career development (ICD) recognition may have impact on affective commitment. The theoretical
framework was proposed according to the social cognitive career theory. Data were collected from 285
benchmark companies' managers in Taiwan using a questionnaire. The paper used structural equation
modeling and the results showed that when organizations and individuals share responsibility for the
careers of managers and have a good succession planning, the managers are likely to have more suc-
cessful careers in this global economy. The paper shows the mediating role that succession planning may
play in linking cognition of organizational career scripts and ICD to affective commitment. It is original
and makes a unique contribution because it combines the individualistic and organizational perspectives
concerning the career development with regard to senior managers.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Career changes are rapid since the late 1980s and the global-
ization is not only a context for organizational strategic action, but
also provides opportunities for career development to managers
(Cappellen & Janssens, 2010). As dictated by technological
advancement, occupational life cycles have become shorter, and
some occupations have become less stable and less predictable
(Hesketh, 2001; Vondracek, 2001). Careers are said to be boun-
daryless, requiring an individual to take responsibility for their own
management (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Thus, individual career
development (ICD) means managers have to utilize opportunities
that are available for them to pursue their career goals (Sturges,
Conway, Guest, & Liefooghe, 2005), such as by undergoing self-
management programs, setting career-related goals, and formu-
lating appropriate strategies to achieve them (Noe, 1996).
Meanwhile, according to social cognitive career theory, many
explicit contextual organizational in?uences are integrated and
in?uence an individual's career choice behavior (Lent, Brown, &
Hackett, 1994). Organizational career script (OCS) indicates that
the organization will consider the institutional environment to
design individual career policies and global career development
projects. This practice can manage and improve the effectiveness of
an individual's career, and can satisfy the individual's career path
choice (CPC; Cappellen & Janssens, 2010; Orpen, 1994). OCS can
provide individual counseling and career discussions between
managers and their supervisors, and help to choose career devel-
opment tools consisting of skills, education, experiences as well as
behavioral modi?cation and re?nement techniques (Cappellen &
Janssens, 2010; Noe, 1996). Therefore, OCS allows individuals to
work better and to add value to the company.
Furthermore, high-potential managers are those the company
believes are capable of being successful in higher-level managerial
positions (Ballinger & Marcel, 2010). Thus, CPC is an individual's
decision as to what speci?c work sequence he or she wants for
himself or herself, which will give him or her the chance for the
promotion based on individual desires (Baruch, 2004). It usually
includes a plan for career path change and support for succession
planning (Gutteridge, Leibowitz, & Shore, 1993b). Some studies
have shown that there exists a close and reciprocal relationship
between OCS, ICD, and affective commitment (London, 1993;
Sturges et al., 2005). Scholars and practitioners are particularly
interested in understanding how to enhance employees' affective
commitment (Grant, Dutton, & Rosso, 2008; Meglino & Korsgaard,
2004; Shepherd, Patzelt, & Wolfe, 2011). Making talent sourcing
and career development is a strategic priority to ensure the success
of a company (Gunz & Jalland, 1996; Guthridge, Komm, & Lawson,
2008; Jenkins, 2008). However, only limited studies are available
that focus on the need to balance OCS and ICD, as well as on the
need for CPC for managers in Taiwanese business ?rms.
* Corresponding author. Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun
Yat-Sen University, 70 Lienhai Rd., Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan, ROC.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M.-H. Lee).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17
Given this backdrop, this study will establish a comprehensive
understanding of the theoretical model among OCS, ICD, CPC, and
affective commitment. The results are presented along with a dis-
cussion of their implications for organizations.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses
2.1. Social cognitive career theory
A career development system links organizational needs with
individual career needs, and is directed at personal and organiza-
tional goals. The key issue is how managers develop their skills in
such a way that their personal effectiveness and satisfaction means
helping the organization achieve its own strategic objectives
(Gutteridge et al., 1993b). The implication of the social cognitive
career theory is that many explicit contextual in?uences are inte-
grated and in?uence career choice behavior, such as the strength of
support and obstacles in the career choice process (Gushue &
Whitson, 2006; Lent et al., 1994; Schultheiss, 2009). A person's
career choice is the dynamic process of interaction with the envi-
ronment. Either support or barriers fromthe environment will lead
to a change in choice (Bennett, 2008). Career development activ-
ities involve the process of helping individuals plan their careers in
concert with an organization's business strategies.
Therefore, learning experiences, self-ef?cacy, and outcome ex-
pectations could be applied to conceptual discussions of the man-
ager's CPC process (Lent et al., 1994; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2000;
Wright & Perrone, 2008). If managers have good learning experi-
ence and establish good career self-management strategies, self-
ef?cacy would increase. Then it is even more encouraged to
develop a succession plan, in the belief that they can achieve the
expected outcomes. Social cognitive career theory proposed that
career choice behavior (for instance, CPC) and career objective
choice will be affected by contextual variables (such as OCS) and
individual variables (such as ICD in this article; Lent et al., 1994;
Rogers & Creed, 2011). Thus, it is appropriate for us to draw on
the social cognitive career theory to develop a research framework,
which ?ts in with the research objectives.
2.2. OCSs and CPC
OCS should make managers more aware of their marketable
characteristics and possible career paths (Cappellen & Janssens,
2010; Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Managers are more likely to be
motivated to engage in career development activities when their
supervisor encourages discussions related to development and
career issues, is willing to identify resources to help them with
speci?c problems, and assists them in setting performance and
career goals (Noe, 1996).
Accordingly, there are a number of positive environmental
conditions, such as practical support for activities or emotional
support. These conditions will increase a person's choice (Conger &
Fulmer, 2003). By contrast, a nonsupportive environment will limit
options (Lent, 2005; Lent et al., 2000; Lent & Brown, 1996). Man-
agers anticipate some kind of career development advice fromtheir
supervisors (Sturges, Guest, & Davey, 2000). Organizations may
want to design their career development systems in accordance
with managers' career orientations and allow the managers to
adjust their career paths (Bower, 2007). Organizational career
planning will affect career behavior and attitudes (Aryee & Debrah,
1993). Thus, an organization-centered career development will
in?uence corporate succession planning. We therefore hypothesize.
Hypothesis 1: OCS has a signi?cant positive association with CPC
2.3. OCSs and affective commitment
Trevor and Nyberg (2008) argued that in the postdownsizing
environment of decaying commitment and satisfaction, career
development practices should do more to enhance the utility of
alternative employment than to improve current employment utility.
London (1993) also proposes that organizational assistance and
commitment to career development activities can be instrumental in
building long-term attachments of managers to their jobs, and
building organizational identi?cation. It is, therefore, reasonable to
assume that managers will interpret organizational development and
training actions as indications of the personi?ed organization's
commitment to their progress, and they will reciprocate accordingly
by showing an increased level of loyalty (Allen & Meyer, 1990;
Hausknecht, Hiller, & Vance, 2008; Lee & Bruvold, 2003; Shepherd
et al., 2011).
A number of studies have emphasized the importance of early
experiences in the organization, including provision of training and
development, for the establishment of affective commitment
(Shepherd et al., 2011; Tannenbaum, Mathieu, Salas, & Cannon-
Bowers, 1991). In other words, career development and training
activities provided by the organization have been identi?ed as the
kinds of “positive” experiences that engender affective commit-
ment during the early years at work. Organizational career growth
(career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion
speed, and remuneration growth) will affect the occupational
commitment (Weng, McElroy, Morrow, & Liu, 2010; Weng &
McElroy, 2012). Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 2: OCS has a signi?cant positive association with af-
fective commitment
2.4. ICD and CPC
Trevor and Nyberg (2008) indicated that at higher levels of ICD
that enhance the search for opportunities, such as establishing
career resource centers or allowing formal manager assessment,
development opportunities may indeed be identi?ed. Thus, man-
agers should enjoy the ease of movement in the job market that
alternative employment options bring, and they should be suf?-
ciently responsible to recognize their personal needs, biases, and
motives. Knowledge of one's own values and beliefs can serve as a
basis for future career decisions and for the development of
appropriate career strategies (Aryee, Chay, & Tan, 1994).
Having completed ICD, managers will provide great support to
the company's engagements in transferring position planning for a
potential employee in order to succeed to higher managerial po-
sitions (Power & Rothausen, 2003). Moreover, career planning is an
ongoing process whereby an individual has salient career-related
beliefs, personal growth initiative, and sets career goals
(Eddleston, Baldridge, & Veiga, 2004; Robitschek & Cook, 1999).
Finally, individuals identify the means to achieve goals and even-
tually the career success (Eddleston et al., 2004). The major focus of
CPC should be on matching personal goals and opportunities that
are realistically available, including planning for career path
changes (Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 3: ICD has a signi?cant positive association with CPC
2.5. ICD and affective commitment
Managers' perceptions of the career opportunities available to
them within organizations predict affective commitment (Morris,
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 12
Lydka, & O’Creevy, 1993). When an individual ?nds an opportunity
for achievement and a sense of intrinsic reward, he/she develops an
organizational identi?cation and commitment to the organization
(Tansky & Cohen, 2001). Randall (1987) also points out that low
levels of commitment are largely disadvantageous for both the
individual and the organization; individual career advancement
may be severely hampered, while the organization may suffer from
an unstable, disloyal work force. If an individual's career develop-
ment is successful, then his or his affective commitment will be
relatively high. Thus, we hypothesize.
Hypothesis 4: ICD has a signi?cant positive association with
affective commitment.
2.6. CPC, affective commitment, and mediating effect
Perceived chances for promotion (succession planning) or
chances for career path change have been found to be associated
with affective commitment (Zaccaro & Dobbins, 1989). Perception
of good career opportunities within an organization and the pro-
vision of development activities remain important predictors of
affective commitment (Morris et al., 1993). Kennedy (1995) further
pointed out that when supervisors implement the job of perfor-
mance appraisal or career development planning for their sub-
ordinates, supervisors want the subordinates to commit their job in
the organization.
Work commitment is enhanced by career development and
membership because they provide CPCs, which offer future career
advancement opportunities (Loscocco, 1990). Rosenbaum (1979)
proposed that if individuals pursue the kind of career self-
management behavior aimed at developing a career within the
organization, such as getting to know in?uential people, seeking
career advice, and drawing attention to their achievements, they
send out a signal that they are committed both to the organization
and to success in the promotion tournament. Gutteridge,
Leibowitz and Shore (1993a) also argued that employers now
offer opportunities for growth rather than lifelong security. Thus,
career development program efforts have also been linked to
greater self-awareness on the part of young adults and greater
commitment on their part to improve their work-related skills
(Noe, 1996). From these, we hypothesize and illustrate the pro-
posal model. (Fig. 1)
Hypothesis 5: CPC has a signi?cant positive association with af-
fective commitment
Hypothesis 6: CPC mediates the relationship between OCS and
organizational affective commitment
Hypothesis 7: CPC mediates the relationship between ICD and af-
fective commitment
3. Research methodology
3.1. Sample and procedure
The research sample consisted of managers from a number of
Taiwanese companies. There are two reasons for this choice.
First, traditional Chinese companies were mostly family enter-
prises in the past, but with the previous generation of business
owners getting older, most have passed on their authority to
their own children directly. Through nepotism, this centralized
power style is achieved by retaining ownership and controlling
the organization within a family group (Huang, 1999; Lee, 1996).
In recent years, modern management concepts have been
introduced into Taiwan from the United States or Europe, with
the result that enterprises have gradually begun to place value
on succession plans. In this particular context, investigating the
career management systems and succession plans of Taiwan's
enterprises is valuable.
Second, in recent years, Taiwanese businessmen have eagerly
invested in China (Wu, 1997). Especially in terms of mainland
China's domestic demand, the market opportunities are expanding
rapidly and are very attractive. One of the critical and key factors is
Taiwanese managers' future career development, promotion, and
culture adjustment in China, as well as their commitment to the
organization (Selmer, 2002). The aim of this research is, therefore,
to collect and investigate data from many of the professional gen-
eral managers who form the leadership of Taiwan's international-
ized benchmark entrepreneurs.
Greenberg and Baron (2008) argued that formal succession-
planning efforts are more likely to occur in large organizations
than small ones. Large ?rms generally have formal plans on record,
specifying exactly who will move into certain positions once they
are vacated. Thus, the sample for this study consisted of managers
in the top 1000 manufacturing, top 500 service, and top 100 ?nance
companies inTaiwan as listed by CommonWealth Magazine (2008).
Using the strati?ed sampling method, 800 questionnaires were
sent to the ?rms. Phone calls were made for follow-up. A total of
316 questionnaires were collected, with 285 valid questionnaires
(35.6%) remaining after the removal of 31 invalid questionnaires. Of
the valid questionnaires, 65.3% were from manufacturing
(including the high-tech industry and the conventional
manufacturing industry), 23.8% from the service industry, and
10.9% fromthe ?nancial industry. In sampling, the samples selected
for the study are de?ned by company size (working capital size of
more than US$3.15 million), which is chosen as the control variable
for this study.
Of the respondents, 74.7% were men and 25.3% were women,
showing that senior management is still dominated by men. In
terms of age, the largest number of respondents belonged to the
31e40-year-old age group (51.2%), whereas in terms of duration of
tenure, employees with 2e5 years' tenure had the largest number
(29.8%), followed by 6e10 years' tenure (27%), which shows that for
an average employee who enters an organization there will be great
promotion and career advancement opportunities until they reach
31e40 years of age. According to Super (1984), there are ?ve stages
of career development. In the establishment stage (26e45 years),
people will gain work experiences related to their career choices,
and they will try to determine the value of their career choices.
Therefore, talented individuals will consider if they really want to
pursue that career or not in this stage. If talented individuals learn a
lot about their jobs and are satis?ed with their career, there will be
promotion and career advancement opportunities (Robert & Roger,
2000; Super, 1984). Thus, this sample will also be useful for
exploring the research on career development and succession
issues.
OCS
ICD
Affective
commitment
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis 4
Hypothesis 2
Hypothesis 3
Hypothesis 5
CPC
Fig. 1. Proposed model. CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career develop-
ment; OCS ¼ organizational career script.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 13
3.2. Measurement development
OCS was measured using the following three dimensions
(Cappellen & Janssens, 2010; Williamson & Otte, 1986): career
consultation, role of supervisor, and training and development. The
scale was assessed using 15 items. These items were summed to
arrive at an OCS score. Responses are indicated on a ?ve-point
Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree). Examples
of items include “My company has provided seminar or informa-
tion about career consultation or career guidance,” for career
consultation; and “Supervisor willing to deal working issues with
me frankly,” for role of supervisor; and “When employees complete
training, they can be promoted to higher position,” for training and
development. Alpha reliabilities were 0.956 for OCS.
ICD was measured using eight items developed by Orpen (1994),
covering the following two dimensions: career self-management
strategies and career advancement opportunity. These two
indices were measured on a ?ve-point Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly
disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with sample items such as “I have
de?nite goals for my career over my lifetime,” for career self-
management strategies, and “I try to have as much visibility and
exposure to my bosses as I can,” for career advancement opportu-
nity. Alpha reliabilities were 0.7 for career self-management stra-
tegies and 0.68 for career advancement opportunity (Orpen, 1994).
CPC was measured using eight items developed by Gutteridge
et al. (1993b). We used items that covered the two dimensions of
career path: plan for career path change and support for succession
planning. These two indices were measured on a ?ve-point Likert
scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with sample items
such as “Company creates or introduces new job opportunity for
me and encourages me to try,” for plan for career path change, and
“Supporting company trains reserved manager by rotation for
promoting position in the future,” for support for succession
planning. Alpha reliabilities were 0.7 for CPC.
Affective commitment was measured and proposed by Allen and
Meyer (1990). This eight-item questionnaire was designed to
measure the degree to which the individuals feel committed to
their organization. Responses are indicated on a ?ve-point Likert
scale (1 ¼ strongly disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree), with such items as
“I have very high loyalty to the company.”
3.3. Construct analysis
Table 1 presents the result of the con?rmatory factor analysis.
Chi-square difference tests indicated that the hypothesized four-
factor model (i.e., OCS, ICD, CPC, and affective commitment) pro-
vides a better ?t for the data than did (1) the one-factor model, Dc
2
(N ¼285) ¼427.5, p < 0.01; (2) the two-factor model, Dc
2
¼338.93,
p < 0.01; and (3) the three-factor model, Dc
2
¼ 246.72, p < 0.01.
These results suggest that the present study's constructs were
distinct.
We also assessed each construct's reliability based on composite
reliability and variance-extracted measure (VE; Hair, Anderson,
Tatham, & Black, 1998). The results (Table 2) showed that all
construct reliabilities and VE measures were above the cutoff
values of 0.70 and 0.05 (Hair et al., 1998).
3.4. Results
Table 3 presents the subdimensions' alpha reliability, means,
standard deviations, and corrections observed fromthe survey. The
values of Cronbach alpha (a) ranges from 0.782 to 0.97, which are
all well above the 0.70 limit and show that the model had good
reliability (Nunnally &Bernstein, 1994). The correlations among the
dimensions of OCS range from 0.58 to 0.64, which show that the
three dimensions measure different facets of OCS. The correlations
among ICD (career advancement opportunity and career self-
management strategies), career path (plan for career path change
and support for succession planning), and affective commitment
measures range from 0.12 to 0.64.
We examined the overall ?t of the model using several ?t
indices (Table 4). Our model has an adequate ?t with the data, as
indicated by the Chi-square/df value of 4.242. The goodness-of-?t
index (GFI) assesses how well the hypothesized model re-
produces the sample data without the reference model. A good GFI
should be 0.9 or higher. Our model's GFI of 0.928 thus shows a good
?t (adjusted GFI ¼ 0.864). Segars and Grover (1993) and Chau and
Hu (2001) proposed that an adaptive standard above 0.8 displays
an acceptable degree of overall adaptation. In addition, the
comparative ?t index (0.928), normal ?t index (0.909), mean-
square residual (0.028), and root-mean-square error of approxi-
mation (0.107) all suggest that our model ?ts the data well.
Table 4 and Fig. 2 provide the maximum likelihood parameter
estimates for this research model. Based on data in Table 4, we
found that the OCS had a signi?cant positive in?uence on CPC
(g
11
¼0.379, p < 0.001), which supports Hypothesis 1. OCS can help
managers develop greater career maturity and ?nd more oppor-
tunities for professional development within their present ?rms
(Feldman, 2003).
The OCS has a signi?cant effect on affective commitment
(g
12
¼ 0.155, p < 0.05), indicating that if managers' perception of
organizational career-related practices is ?awless, it in?uences
their psychological attachment to the organization and positively
affects affective commitment, thus supporting Hypothesis 2.
Managers' perceptions of career-related practices in?uence their
psychological attachment to the organization and enhance affective
commitment.
Meanwhile, ICD appears to have a signi?cant effect on CPC
(g
21
¼ 0.442, p < 0.001), which supports Hypothesis 3. It indicates
that managers should be responsible for knowing their own
occupational needs, motivations, values, and beliefs. This
Table 1
Results of con?rmatory factor analysis of study variables (N ¼ 285).
Model c
2
df Dc
2
CFI IFI NFI SRMR
Null model 5842.30 1034
Hypothesized
four-factor model
129.24 29 0.924 0.925 0.905 0.031
One-factor model 427.50 35 298.26
a
0.702 0.704 0.686 0.063
Two-factor model 338.93 34 209.69
a
0.768 0.770 0.751 0.053
Three-factor model 246.72 32 117.48
a
0.837 0.838 0.819 0.043
For the one-factor model, all seven constructs are combined into one factor; for the
two-factor model, the OCS and ICD (individual career development) are combined
into one factor, and CPC and affective commitment are combined into another
factor; for the three-factor model, OCS and ICD are combined into one factor.
CFI ¼ comparative ?t index; CPC ¼ career path choice; IFI ¼ incremental ?t index;
NFI ¼ normal ?t index; OCS ¼ organizational career script; SRMR ¼ standardized
root-mean-square residual.
a
p < 0.01.
Table 2
Measurement properties.
Construct Composite reliability Variance extracted No. of items
OCS 0.96 0.89 15
ICD 0.95 0.92 8
CPC 0.96 0.93 8
Affective commitment 0.97 0.93 8
CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career development;
OCS ¼ organizational career script.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 14
knowledge can serve as a basis for future career decisions and for
the development of appropriate career strategies. In addition, ICD
has a signi?cant positive effect on affective commitment
(g
22
¼ 0.343, p < 0.001), supporting Hypothesis 4. Good career self-
management and perceptions of career opportunity will enhance
talented individuals' affective commitment. Lastly, this research
found that CPC has a signi?cant positive effect on affective
commitment (b
12
¼ 0.371, p < 0.001), supporting Hypothesis 5.
Perception of succession planning and career development activ-
ities remain important predictors of affective commitment.
Fig. 2 depicts the results of the path analysis and demonstrates
the relationship between the exogenous and endogenous variables.
As shown in the ?gure, OCS has a direct effect on affective
commitment. At the same time, OCS also has a direct effect on CPC,
and CPC has a direct effect on affective commitment. The Sobel test
shows that OCS has a signi?cant indirect effect on affective
commitment (t ¼ 2.97, p < 0.01), in which the indirect in?uence is
0.14 (g
11
b
12
¼ 0.379 Â 0.371). Thus, OCS appears to increase the
affective commitment through CPC, supporting Hypothesis 6. ICD
has a direct effect on CPC. Using the Sobel test, we found that the
ICD has a signi?cant indirect effect on affective commitment
(t ¼ 3.01, p < 0.01), in which the indirect in?uence is 0.164
(g
21
b
12
¼ 0.442 Â 0.371). Obviously, the ICD will affect affective
commitment through the mediating effects of CPC. Thus, Hypoth-
esis 7 was supported.
4. Discussion
This research investigated the relationship among OCS, ICD, CPC,
and affective commitment. Simultaneously, we explored the
mediating effect of CPC. Organizations may want to design their
career development systems in accordance with managers' career
orientations and allow managers to adjust their own career paths.
Furthermore, managers interpret OCS as indicative of the person-
i?ed organization's commitment to them, and therefore, recipro-
cate accordingly by showing an increased level of loyalty (Lee &
Bruvold, 2003). ICD has to satisfy both the opportunity to ful?ll
one's career potential and one's career development through pro-
motion or support for succession planning (Aryee et al., 1994;
Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). Furthermore, managers' perceptions of
opportunity for achievement, which gives them a sense of intrinsic
reward, are an important antecedent to affective commitment
(Morris et al., 1993; Shepherd et al., 2011; Tansky & Cohen, 2001).
Accordingly, when managers' perceive well-developed OCS,
they are likely to consider and execute ICD plan at the same time.
This echoes the idea of the social cognitive career theory, that is,
many explicit environmental contextual factors in?uence the
manager's career choice behavior. If these two, OCS and ICD, ?t very
well, they will perfectly deliver the CPC, thus supporting the suc-
cession planning. Eventually, these will positively affect affective
commitment.
4.1. Limitations
This study is based on the related literature and a theoretical
framework was developed according to the social cognitive career
theory. In the research process, efforts were made to achieve an
objective and rigorous outcome, but there are still several limita-
tions to this study. First, obtaining complete records for enterprise
managers is not a simple task. Despite the con?rmation and
obtaining as many samples as possible, this study uses only a
representative sample of benchmark ?rms, including those from
the high-tech, conventional manufacturing, service, and ?nancial
industries. Moreover, we were unable to complete the investigation
of other industrial managers.
Second, the questionnaire respondents in this study were
managers, and their level of understanding of the items and sub-
jective awareness could affect the responses. Therefore, a bias
phenomenon may affect the results.
Table 3
Alpha reliability, mean, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables (N ¼ 285).
Latent variables Measured variables Alpha reliability M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OCS 1. Career consultation 0.856 2.56 0.87 1.00
2. The role of supervisor 0.892 3.12 0.85 0.64
a
1.00
3. Training and development 0.836 3.24 0.74 0.61
a
0.58
a
1.00
CPC 4. Plan for career path change 0.867 3.56 0.76 0.42
a
0.46
a
0.38
a
1.00
5. Support for succession planning 0.873 3.84 0.74 0.26
a
0.39
a
0.36
a
0.64
a
1.00
ICD 6. Self-development programs 0.782 4.02 0.58 0.12
a
0.28
a
0.26
a
0.32
a
0.37
a
1.00
7. Career advancement opportunity 0.802 3.98 0.55 0.16
a
0.42
a
0.37
a
0.39
a
0.43
a
0.55
a
1.00
Affective commitment 8. Affective commitment 0.97 4.00 0.70 0.28
a
0.41
a
0.43
a
0.44
a
0.55
a
0.38
a
0.47
a
1.00
CPC ¼ career path choice; ICD ¼ individual career development; M ¼ mean; OCS ¼ organizational career script; SD ¼ standard deviation.
a
p (two tailed) < 0.01.
Table 4
Results of the structural equation modeling testing.
1. Measurement model Direct effects
OCS/Career consultation 0.766
a
OCS/The role of supervisor 0.816
a
OCS/Training and development 0.757
a
ICD/Career self-management strategies 0.66
a
ICD/Career advancement opportunity 0.834
a
CPC/Plan for career path change 0.767
a
CPC/Support for succession planning 0.834
a
Affective commitment/Affective commitment 0.908
a
2. Key parameter estimates
Hypothesized paths Direct effects CR
OCS/CPC (g
11
) 0.379 4.8
a
OCS/Affective commitment (g
12
) 0.155 2.064
b
ICDC/CPC (g
21
) 0.442 4.984
a
ICDC/Affective commitment (g
22
) 0.343 3.668
a
CPC/Affective commitment (b
12
) 0.371 3.774
a
3. Fit indices for the structural model
Chi-square ¼ 123.004
GFI ¼ 0.928
AGFI ¼ 0.864
RMR ¼ 0.028
RMSEA ¼ 0.107
CFI ¼ 0.928
NFI ¼ 0.909
AGFI ¼goodness-of-?t index; CFI ¼comparative ?t index; CPC ¼career path choice;
GFI ¼ goodness-of-?t index; ICD ¼ individual career development; NFI ¼ normal ?t
index; OCS ¼ organizational career script; RMR ¼ mean-square residual;
RMSEA ¼ root-mean-square error of approximation.
Using a signi?cance level of 0.05, critical ratios (CRs) that exceed 1.96 are considered
signi?cant.
a
CR > 3.29.
b
CR > 1.96.
M.-C. Yu, M.-H. Lee / Asia Paci?c Management Review 20 (2015) 11e17 15
4.2. Conclusions and implications
According to this research, if a company offers more training and
development programs, and if the supervisor can provide assis-
tance, then the managers will acquire the experience needed to
undertake a special task and to plan for a career path change. With
the essential assistance offered by their supervisors, the managers
hope to develop their core competencies to match the organiza-
tional strategy, including job rotation plans and succession plan-
ning (Rothwell, 2011). Furthermore, if the company offers more
training and career consultations, and if there is more assistance
from supervisors, the managers will put more effort to help the
organization achieve its goals and will have a higher emotional
investment and attachment to the organization.
Managers have opportunities for career advancement, and
career self-management strategies will be an advantage inplanning
career path changes. If the manager is aware of personal occupa-
tional opportunities and career self-management strategies, he/she
will identify himself/herself more with the company and exert
more effort to help the organization achieve its goals.
With this backdrop, as companies change their structure, partly in
consideration of technological changes, managers will accept that
uncertainty and change are a fact of life in organizations. Organiza-
tional restructuring has largely in?uenced a new orientation toward
OCS, and has provided rich opportunities for career development.
Manyhumanresources professionals haveadvocatedtheuseof career
development and development systems for improving managers'
career motivation and commitment, awareness of the purported link
between career development, performance, developmental behavior,
and participation in development activities (Betz, 2001; Noe, 1996).
Thus, when organizations and individuals share responsibility
for the careers of managers, the managers are likely to have more
successful careers. Some organizations have been relying on career
development interventions to avoid the problems associated with
career plateaus and other career-related issues, such as ?nding the
right job or adjusting to new jobs. These interventions are sys-
tematic efforts to help manage people's careers while simulta-
neously helping the organizations in which they work (Greenberg
& Baron, 2008; Orpen, 1994).
4.3. Suggestions
This study suggests that a company must help establish the core
competencies of its managers so they can deliver what is expected
of them. A company should bear in mind that ICD and organiza-
tional development should be consistent with each other. A com-
pany must assist the managers in planning ICD and providing
training to help achieve the individual's career plans.
Moreover, decision makers (or top management teams) should
develop appropriate succession planning. A company should value
its talented individuals and design CPC opportunities for them.
When the organization executes the career development plan and
links it with the succession planning integrated into the organiza-
tional vision, the managers will be able to demonstrate in the future
the performance required of them. Therefore, succession planning
is the basis for a company to move toward sustainable
development.
Finally, further research may suggest other key factors for
effective succession planning. Future studies may adopt this case
study to analyze succession planning. Further research can also
investigate the relationship and interaction between OCS and ICD,
and determine the good ?t index between organizational plans of
career path and individual cognition of career development.
Con?icts of interest
All contributing authors declare no con?icts of interest.
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OCS
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choice
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Plan for career path change
Support for succession planning
Career self-management
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