International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

New generation, psychological empowerment: can empowerment lead to career competencies and
career satisfaction?
Haiyan Kong Ning Sun Qi Yan
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Haiyan Kong Ning Sun Qi Yan , (2016),"New generation, psychological empowerment: can empowerment lead to career
competencies and career satisfaction?", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 28 Iss 11 pp. -
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 New generation, psychological empowerment: Can empowerment lead to career

competencies and career satisfaction?

Submitted: 12 May 2014

1st Revision: 16 September 2014

2nd Revision: 07 January 2015

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3rd Revision: 18 August 2015

4th Revision: 11 December 2015

5th Revision: 15 February 2016

Accepted: 03 April 2016

1
 1. Introduction

The main workforces in the hospitality industry in China comprise Generation Y

employees. Generation Y indicates those who were born from 1981-2000 (Gursoy et

al., 2013). These individuals are also known as Millennials, Nexters, and Echo

Boomers (Parry and Urwin, 2011). These young employees own distinctive
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generational characteristics and values (Chen and Choi, 2008; Park and Gursoy, 2012),

which influence the requirements for all human resource management aspects, such as

training, rewards, and career management. Understanding, serving, and providing

customized management activities for Generation Y offered new challenging topics

for both researchers and practitioners.

Most generation Y employees received high education, they are ambitious and

attach importance to career development (Dinnell, 2007; Josiam et al., 2010). They

concerned more on work-life balance, equity in the workplace, and individual career

development than previous generations (Broadlbride et al., 2007; Kong, 2013; Kong

et al., 2015). Enjoying opportunities for career advancement, as well as having a

fulfilled and balanced life, appears to motivate Generation Y more than money alone

(Brown et al., 2014; Crumpacker and Crumpacker, 2007).

In addition to career-related issues, Generation Y employees prefer clear

directions and expect autonomy to accomplish the job via empowerment (Morton,

2002; Raines and Filipczak, 2000). Psychological empowerment is an internal

stimulator that enables to complete their tasks (Spreitzer, 1995). This type of

2
 empowerment is an internal motivation to promote the organizational citizenship

behavior of employees (Conger and Kanungo, 1988). Psychological empowerment

affects the job roles as well as the job performance of employees.

Therefore, career-related issues and empowerment are two most important

factors for Generation Y, and career development and empowerment theories may

serve as a theoretical foundation for this study. Although previous studies (Parry and

Urwin, 2011); Gursoy et al., 2013) have explored the generational differences of
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Generation Y, empirical studies remain scarce (Parry and Urwin, 2011). As regards the

research on empowerment, most studies focused on its influence on job performance

(Chow et al., 2006; Niehoff et al., 2001), however limited attention has been directed

toward the relationship between empowerment and career issues. Therefore, this study,

aims to explore the effects of empowerment on career competencies, and career

satisfaction. The specific research objectives are to examine the influence of

psychological empowerment on career competencies, to explore the effect of

psychological empowerment on career satisfaction, and to explore the mediating

effect of career competencies.

2. Literature review

2.1 Relationship between psychological empowerment and career competencies

It has been found that psychological empowerment is a motivational construct

used to enhance job performance of employees (Spreitzer, 1995). This concept

indicates that psychological empowerment has four dimensions, namely, meaning,

competence, self-determination, and impact (Spreitzer, 1995; Thomas and Velthouse,

3
 1990). Meaning indicates the fit between values and job, competence refers to

self-efficacy, self—determination and impact means autonomy over task, and

influence over job outcomes, respectively.

Arthur et al., (1995) suggest that personal competencies reflect different forms of

knowing, and the intelligent careers reflect the application of these forms of knowing.

Career competencies include knowing-why, knowing-whom, and knowing-how. The

knowing-why career competency indicates the motivational energy to understand

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oneself, explore different possibilities, and adapt to a dynamic ever-changing work

situations (Arthur et al., 1999). It involve three variables, namely, proactive

personality, career insight, and openness to experience (Eby et al., 2003). Given that

psychological empowerment is a motivational process that enhances the self-efficacy

of employees (Conger and Kanungo, 1988; Kim et al., 2012), it may help to enhance

their career competencies. For example, psychological empowerment has been proved

to encourage employees by increasing their motivation and aspiration (Morrison,

1996), to help them realize their full potential (Klagge, 1998), and set up realistic

career goals (Kong et al., 2012). Thus, psychological empowerment may enhance

knowing-why career competency.

The ‘knowing whom’ competency refers networks and contacts relating to

careers (DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994). Psychological empowerment not only affects

job performance, but also influences the working environment, and communication

skills of employees (McMillan et al., 2011; Spreitzer, 1995). Empirical study showed

the perceived psychological empowerment resulted in a supportive work climate full

4
 of care and trust (Corsun and Enz, 1999). The feeling of empowerment increases as

leader approachability, group effectiveness, and group value increase. The

relationships of employees with one another tend to be people oriented and based on

sharing (Koberg et al., 1999). When employees are trusted and empowered, they feel

a sense of pride in their job and feel confident to communicate with others (McMillan

et al., 2011), and also would be likely to provide better service to customers (Chow et

al., 2006). All these indicated that psychological empowerment may help to enhance
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the knowing-whom career competency of employees.

The ‘knowing how’ competency reflects skills and knowledge relating to careers

( DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994). It comprises two components, career identity and

career-/job-related skills. Psychological empowerment may enhance the self-esteem,

innovation, and hard work (Gecas, 1989), as well as skill development of employees

(McMillan et al., 2011; Wellins et al., 1991). The perception of empowerment may

help employees cooperate toward common goals, and to overcome obstacles with

their intelligence (Gill and Fitzgerald, 2010). Psychological empowerment contributed

positively to organizational learning (Rahmatollan et al., 2011), which ensured that

employees remain marketable and abreast with current development. When

employees are empowered, they may have sufficient confidence to perform activities

skillfully (Spreitzer, 1995). Thus, it is predicted that:

H1: Psychological empowerment may influence career competencies positively.

2.2 Relationship between career competencies and career satisfaction

Career satisfaction indicates the satisfaction that individuals derive from the

5
 intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of their careers, which include developmental

opportunities, pay, and advancement (Greenhaus et al., 1990). People with high

knowing-why career competencies may identify the jobs that they are interested in

and further clarify their career objectives (Suutari and Makela, 2007). They tend to

seek career development opportunities, carry out realistic activities, and finally lead to

high level of career satisfaction (Crant, 2000) . In addition, knowing-whom career

competency may enhance the career satisfaction by setting up good networks inside
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and outside the organization, (Kong et al., 2012). Furthermore, an individual with a

high level of knowing-how career competency tends to seek training opportunities,

and obtain portable skills (Suutari and Makela, 2007). Given the dynamic

employment situation and the need to be constantly aware of ways by which to build

new skills sets, knowing-how competency contributes positively to career satisfaction.

Thus, it is predicted that:

H2: Career competencies may influence career satisfaction positively.

2.3 Relationship between psychological empowerment and career satisfaction

Psychological empowerment encourages the beliefs of employees regarding the

meaning of their jobs, their ability to complete their tasks, their sense of

self-determination, and their impact on influence the work outcomes (Boonyarit et al.,

2010；Karatepe and Karadas, 2015). When Generation Y employees are empowered to

resolve the work problems, they feel a sense of trust and pride in their jobs (Chow et

al., 2006). Studies conducted on empowerment revealed the positive contribution of

empowerment to self-efficacy and satisfaction of employees (Kim et al., 2012;

6
 Namasivayam et al., 2014; Pelit et al., 2011). Hospitality research also confirmed the

positive relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction (Chiang and Jang,

2008; Gazzoli et al., 2010; Jung and Yoon, (2015);Salazar et al., 2006). Hence, the

third hypothesis is as follows:

H3: Psychological empowerment may influence career satisfaction positively.

2.4 Mediating effect of career competencies

Empirical studies have shown that empowerment results in motivation (Caudron,

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1995; Janssen et al., 1997), self-efficacy (Kim et al.2012; Liden et al.,2000;Spreitzer

et al., 1997), work performance (Sigler and Pearson, 2000), and skill development

(Wellins et al., 1991). All these factors enhance career competencies of employees.

Previous studies have proven the contribution of career competencies to career

satisfaction (Kong et al., 2011; 2012). That is, empowerment increased intrinsic

motivation and career competencies, which in turn enhanced employees’ career

satisfaction.

Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H4: Career competencies may mediate the relationship between psychological

empowerment and career satisfaction

Please insert Figure 1 here.

3. Research methodology

3.1 Research design

The target population of this study comprises young employees working in four

or five-star hotels in China, because Generation Y has become the main workforce of

7
 the hospitality industry in the country. Participants were asked to evaluate their

perceptions of psychological empowerment, their career competencies and career

satisfaction. A seven-point Likert-type scale was used to measure all the questions.

3.2 Instrument measurement

Psychological empowerment was examined by items developed by Spreitzer

(1995). This measurement tool was selected because of its high levels of reliability

and validity, given that it has been validated in the Asia setting (Li et al., 2006).
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Career competencies were measured using items developed by Kong (2010). The

measurement of career competencies has been used and proved to be valid in many

previous studies (Kong et al., 2012; 2013). Career satisfaction was measured by five

items developed by Greenhaus et al., (1990). This measurement appeared to be the

best measurement available in the literature (Oberfield, 1993), and has been widely

used by researchers in different fields (Judge et al., 1995; Kong et al., 2012).

3.3 Data Collection

The survey was conducted nationwide by convenience sampling method in 15

four or five star hotels in main tourist cities in China, including Beijing, Guangdong,

Shanghai, Shandong, and so on. The researcher approached 12 of the surveyed hotels.

For the three hotels in Guangdong, which were far from the work institution of the

researcher, the questionnaire was sent to the human resource manager by email. A key

person in each hotel, such as the human resource manager or marketing manager was

contacted to ensure the recruitment of participants and the success of the survey

process. The researcher first explained the age requirements and the research

8
 objectives of the survey in detail. With the help of the hotel managers, the survey was

conducted among Generation Y employees in the hotel. The researcher distributed the

questionnaires and incentive gifts to participants. To ensure the high quality of the

data, the researcher explained the importance of completing the questionnaire, and

checked each questionnaire quickly whiling collecting the data to avoid missing data.

Finally, of the 500 distributed questionnaires 458 valid data were collected, providing

necessary data for this study.

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3.4 Data analysis method

Structural equation modelling (SEM), with the use of AMOS software, was

applied for data analysis. SEM enables the identification of structural relationships,

especially those between latent constructs or variables, by integrating the new

development of two statistical methods: factor analysis and path analysis. By

combining the two statistical methods, SEM overcomes the methodological

limitations of factor analysis and path analysis. It is therefore a useful statistical tool

for understanding the interrelationships among several latent variables.

The analysis procedure was conducted in the following steps: (a) testing each

individual measurement models, including a brief descriptive statistics and reliability

test, (b) randomly dividing all the questionnaires into two equal sections for

exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (c) testing

the overall measurement model with all data, and (d) conducting SEM with all data to

test the relationships among the constructs.

In accordance with previous studies (Judge et al., 1995; McDonald and Hite,

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 2008; Parry and Urwin, 2011), gender, age, and education were controlled because

they may be related to perceptions of career satisfaction. Likewise, career competency

may vary based on individual job tenure. This variable was thus treated as control

variable. This study focused on the career and psychological empowerment of

Generation Y. According to Rhodes (1983), the meaning of empowerment and career

may have shifted across generations.

4. Results
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4.1 Profile of the respondents

The target populations of this study comprised young employees between 20 and

35 years old. About 41.9% of the respondents were male, and 58.1% of them were

female. Approximately 67.2% of the respondents were aged between 20 and 30.

About 41% of the respondents graduated from professional schools, whereas more

than 48% have received college and university education. Approximately 23% of the

employees surveyed had working experience of from one to three years, whereas

23.8% worked for three to six years, and the remaining 29.5% had working

experience from six to the years. In terms of the position, more than 57.9% of the

respondents were working as staff members, 25.9% were working as foreman and

supervisor, and 16.2% were in relatively higher position, working as department

manager or deputy general manager. Table 1 presents the profile of the respondents.

4.2 Individual measurement model

EFA of individual measurement model

EFA was first conducted to purify the measurement scales. Several criteria were

considered for factor extraction. First, one of the most common criteria to address the

10
 number of factors is to retain factors with eigenvalues above 1 (Kaiser, 1960). Second,

a factor loading below 0.40 was used as the cut-off point for factor interpretation

(Stevens, 1992). Third, although factor loadings are useful, it is not the only way for

factor selection. Communality and screen plots should also be used for factor

extraction. For a sample size more than 250, the average communality should exceed

0.60 (Kaiser, 1974). Fourth, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to measure the scale

internal consistency for the factors identified, with 0.70 as the minimum acceptable
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value. The varimax rotation method was selected because the method has a good

general approach to simplify the interpretation of factors (Field, 2005). Based on the

criteria listed for EFA, an iterative process was conducted to obtain the acceptable

factors.

Consistent with previous studies (Spreitzer, 1995), psychological empowerment

comprises four components-- meaning, self-determination, competence, and impact.

The results of EFA analysis were: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)=0.84, Bartlett’s Test

of Sphericity: Chi-square=2094.91, degree of freedom (df)=66, p<0.00. The Bartlett

test of sphericity was significant and KMO was 0.84, indicating that the patterns of

correlation were relatively compact and the factors identified were distinct and

reliable. Cronbach’s alpha of the total construct was 0.90, the scale reliability of each

dimension ranged from 0.77 to 0.90, above 0.70, the minimum standard for reliability

(Nunnally, 1978). Therefore, the items were internally consistent, stable, and

reliable.

EFA analysis of career competencies yielded the following results: KMO=0.71,

11
 Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity: Chi-square=272.74, degree of freedom (df)=13, p<0.00.

The Eigen-value was 2.13, and all items explained 71.01% of the total variance.

Cronbach’s alpha, the most common measure of scale reliability was 0.79. All of the

items were therefore averaged to form a composite career competencies construct,

with a satisfactory reliability of 0.80.

The results of EFA analysis (KMO=0.85, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity:

Chi-square=1020.27, degree of freedom (df)=20, p<0.00) indicated that the factors

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were distinct and reliable. Five items of career satisfaction explained 73.50% of the

overall variance, with eigenvalue of 3.68. The Cronbach's alpha of the construct was

0.91, suggesting satisfactory internal consistency.

CFA of individual measurement model

The analysis of CFA yielded the goodness-of-fit indices of each measurement

model as follows:(1) psychological empowerment model (x2=169.78, df =50,

CFI=0.94, GFI=0.92, RMSEA=0.08); (2) career competencies model (x2=107.73, df

=17, CFI =0.90, GFI =0.91, RMSEA =0.08); (3) career satisfaction model (x2 =53.16,

df = 5, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.08.). The values indicated that the model

fit the data well.

The critical ratio (C. R.) was used to test statistics in this study. It ratio operated

as a z-statistic to test whether the estimate was statistically different from zero. The

absolute value of the statistics should be greater than 1.96 (Byrne, 2001). The C.R.

value of psychological empowerment ranged from 9.21 to 13.31, whereas that of

career competencies and career satisfaction ranged from 10.02 to 10.35, and 13.11 to

12
 14.53. All C.R. values were higher than 1.96, and standardized loading estimate

exceeded 0.5, indicating statistically significant.

The measurement model validity depends on acceptable levels of goodness-of-fit,

and construct validity (Hair et al., 2009). Construct validity may be explained by two

components—convergent validity and discriminant validity. Average variance

extracted (AVE) was used to test both convergent validity and discriminant validity.

As shown in Table 2, the AVE values of the construct of the three constructs exceeded
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0.50, confirming the convergent validity. The AVE value of each construct was greater

than the squared correlation coefficients for the corresponding inter-constructs,

indicating satisfactory discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

4.3 Overall measurement model

The overall measurement model was examined after each individual

measurement model was examined and found to be reliable and valid. The fit indices

(x2=420.08, df=155, CFI=0.93, GFI=0.90, RMSEA=0.07) suggested that the model fit

the sample data fairly well. As shown in Table 3, the reliability of each construct was

above 0.70, ranging from 0.77 to 0.91. Hence, the overall measurement model proved

to satisfactorily fit the data.

Please insert Table 2 here.

4.4 Structural model

After the measurement model was found to be acceptable, the structural model

was evaluated using all the sample data. The model fit indices (x2 =129.95, df=50,

CFI=0.96, GFI=0.94, and RMSEA=0.07) indicated that the model represented a fairly

13
 good fit to the data.

As psychological empowerment comprises four factors, this study further

explored the influence of the four factors on career competencies and career

satisfaction, to help determine the different contributions of each factor. The model fit

indices of the final structural model were as follows: x2 =628.23, df=157, CFI=0.91,

GFI=0.90, and RMSEA=0.08. The results reflected a good fit between the final

structural model and the data. Figure 2 shows the final structural model as well as the
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standardized parameter estimates.

Please insert Figure 2 here.

4.5 Hypotheses Testing

Once all the models were found to fit the data fairly well, hypothesis testing was

conducted by evaluating the path coefficient and significance levels. The statistic

significant level used here was the critical ratio (C.R.), which indicated whether the

parameter estimate is statistically different from zero (Byrne, 2001). The value of C.R.

should be greater than 1.96.

H1: A positive relationship exists between psychological empowerment and

career competencies. This hypothesis was tested by examining the path coefficient

between the exogenous variable psychological empowerment and the endogenous

variable career competencies. The results were presented in Table 4. The path

coefficient from psychological empowerment to career competencies was 0.54,

whereas C.R. was 8.83 (above 1.96). The path coefficient value and significance level

combined to prove that the effect of psychological empowerment on career

14
 competencies was both positive and significant; thus the hypothesis 1 was supported.

H2: A positive relationship exists between career competencies and career

satisfaction. The path coefficient between career competencies and career satisfaction

was positive (0.77), and statistically significant (C.R.=3.46>1.96). Thus, hypothesis 2

was supported.

H3: A positive relationship exists between psychological empowerment and

career satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested by examining the path coefficient
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between the exogenous variable psychological empowerment and the endogenous

variable career satisfaction. The path coefficient from psychological empowerment to

career satisfaction was 0.19, and C.R. value was 2.32 (greater than 1.96). Thus,

psychological empowerment contributed positively to career satisfaction, and

hypothesis 3 was supported.

H4: Career competencies mediate the relationship between psychological

empowerment and career satisfaction

The mediation hypotheses were assessed using Sobel Test. Following the

formula proposed by MacKinnon et al. (1995), the indirect effect was calculated as

follows: Indirect effect = a × b (a is the path coefficient of the association between

the exogenous variable and the mediator, whereas b is the path coefficient for the

association between the mediator and the outcome). Significance level was calculated

using Sobel test.

The results of the mediating effect of career competencies on the relationship

between psychological empowerment and career satisfaction were as follows: indirect

15
 effect coefficient = 0.42, t-value = 3.22, and p-value = 0.00. Given that the indirect

effect coefficient was positive and significant (p < 0.05), hypothesis 4 was supported.

Using the same method, the mediating effects of career competencies on the

relationship between the four factors of psychological empowerment and career

satisfaction were also confirmed. As shown in Table 3, the proposed relationships

between psychological empowerment and career competencies as well as career

satisfaction were all supported.

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Please insert Table 3 here.

5. Discussions and conclusion

5.1 Conclusions

This study explored the relationships between psychological empowerment,

career competencies, and career satisfaction. The findings indicated that perceived

psychological empowerment contributed positively to career competencies and career

satisfaction. Career competencies had positive influence on career satisfaction, and it

also mediated the relationship between psychological empowerment and career

satisfaction. In addition, the four dimensions of psychological empowerment were

also positive predictors of career competencies and career satisfaction. The results

may provide implications to both practical managers and Generation Y employees.

5.2 Theoretical implications

Theoretically, this study provided new findings on the outcomes of psychological

empowerment and career issues of Generation Y employees. The findings provided

initial evidence of psychological empowerment’s influence on career competencies

16
 and career satisfaction. On the basis of organizational career management on the

careers of employees (Kong et al., 2012; 2013), this study extended the research to

empowerment issues. The findings of this study have the potential to help researchers

better understand the relationship between empowerment and career issues. In

addition, this study may, hopefully, motivate further comprehensive research.

This study enriched the knowledge on career systems by exploring the mediating

effect of career competencies. The findings indicated that apart from the direct effect
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on career satisfaction, career competencies also mediated the relationship between

psychological empowerment and career satisfaction. The findings may provide a

current perspective to conduct career research.

This study also provided detailed information on psychological empowerment by

exploring the function of its four factors. The results distinguished the contributions

of four factors of psychological empowerment on career competencies and career

satisfaction. The different functions may stimulate researchers to further explore the

influence of empowerment on career and job outcomes.

5.3 Practical implications

The findings of this study may provide useful guidance for the management and

development of Generation Y employees. First, this study explored the influence of

empowerment on the career development of young employees. Psychological

empowerment is an internal stimulator to motivate behavior and performance of

employees. Apart from influencing job roles and performance (Liden et al., 2000;

Stajkovic and Luthans, 1998), psychological empowerment proven to contribute

17
 positively to career competencies and career satisfaction. For example, Generation Y

employees prefer more autonomy in their jobs and trust their ability to complete

work-related tasks via empowerment (Morton, 2002). The hotel managers may

provide challenging jobs and empower young employees to work together and finish

the task. Thus, the results of this study may help hotel managers to better understand

young employees and motivate them to enhance the level of job and career

satisfaction.
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Second, this study may provide guidance in the recruitment and retention of

qualified staff. White-collar Generation Y employees were the most frequent job

hoppers at an average of 2.4 times in 6 years. Approximately 68% of Generation Y

employees in the workforce have experienced changing jobs (Zhao, 2008). Generation

Y employees job hop because of limited advancement opportunity, job pressure,

generational conflict with the older generation, and the lack of appreciation from

leaders. Generation Y employees were frustrated with the gap between the reality and

ideal. They aspire for respect and achieve strong self-realization in the workplace.

When employees trust their ability to complete work-related tasks, they are likely to

perform better. Thus, to show respect to the personal value of Generation Y and to

provide them more freedom via empowerment are important.

Third, this study indicated the importance of enhancing career competencies.

Generation Y employees are career-oriented, and advancement opportunities matter to

them. The findings of this study indicated that career competencies are important

predictors of career satisfaction, and also mediator between empowerment and

18
 satisfaction. To recruit the talents and make them happy, hotel managers should

enhance the career competences of employees, and in turn achieve the goal of career

satisfaction. For example, managers may draw a clear picture of career development

based on the evaluation of the potential abilities of qualified young employees. A clear

career ladder may motivate employees and increase their career satisfaction, and

organizational commitment.

5.4 Limitation and future research

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The limitation of this study is related to the sampling method. The convenience

sampling method was used to select the participants according to their accessibility,

which may influence the generability of the sample. Future studies should collect a

reasonably broad sample by using probability sampling methods. Another limitation is

the cross-sectional study, which may not reflect on the causal nature of data. Collect

data from more comprehensive perspectives is suggested for future studies.

As this study focused on Generation Y, the results are appropriate for young

employees. Further study may target on population of different generation, and to

explore which generation need more empowerment. The comparative study may

provide useful implications for practical management.

19
 Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank the support of Shandong Social

Science Planning Research Foundation (#15CGLJ16), and the support of Shandong

Development and Reform Commission.

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 Table 1 Profile of Respondents
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Characteristics Valid N Percentage

Gender

Male 192 41.9

Female 266 58.1

Age

Below 20 54 11.8

20-24 140 30.6

25-30 168 36.6

31-35 96 21.0

Marital Status

Married 179 39.1

Single 182 39.7

Others 97 21.2

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 Educational Level

Secondary/high school 43 9.3

Vocational/ technical school 189 41.3

College 149 32.5

Bachelor’s degree 73 16.0

Postgraduate 41 0.9
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Years of working in the industry

Less than 1 year 93 20.2

1-3 years 106 23.2

3-6 years 109 23.8

6-10 years 135 29.5

Above 10 years 15 3.3

Position

Assistant general manager 27 5.9

Department manager 47 10.3

Supervisor 73 15.9

Foreman 46 10.0

Staff 265 57.9

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 Table 2. Correlations (Squared Correlation), Reliability, AVE, and Mean

Constructs SD IP CC CS
MN CP
1.00
MN
CP 0.40 1.00

(0.16)

SD 0.45 0.60 (0.36) 1.00

(0.20)
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IP 0.30 0.46 (0.21) 0.47 1.00

(0.09) (0.22)

CC 0.47 0.50 (0.25) 0.46 0.52 (0.27) 1.00

(0.22) (0.21)

CS 0.40(0.16) 0.33(0.11) 0.31(0.10) 0.38(0.14) 0.49(0.24) 1.00

Reliability 0.84 0.77 0.86 0.90 0.80 0.91

AVE 0.66 0.55 0.67 0.76 0.77 0.68

Mean 5.20 5.15 4.92 4.16 4.83 4.48

Std.Dev. 1.05 0.97 1.10 1.29 0.77 1.19

Mn= Meaning, CP=Competence, SD=Self-determination, IP=Impact, CC=Career

competencies, CS=Career satisfaction. Note: All are significant at the 0.01 level.

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 Table 3 Results of Structural Model and Hypotheses Testing

Hypotheses/ Path Coefficient C.R. Results

H1: Perceived psychological empowerment 0.54 8.83** Supported

may have a positive effect on career

competencies.

1) Meaning -> Career competencies 0.40 5.52 ** Supported

2) Competence -> Career competencies 0.26 2.93 ** Supported

3) Self-determination -> Career competencies 0.15 1.98 * Supported

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4) Impact-> Career competencies 0.39 6.07** Supported

H2: Career competencies may have a positive 0.77 3.46** Supported

effect on career satisfaction

H3: Perceived psychological empowerment 0.19 2.32** Supported

may have a positive effect on career

satisfaction.

1) Meaning -> Career satisfaction 0.21 2.42 ** Supported

2) Competence -> Career satisfaction 0.05 1.74* Supporte

3) Self-determination -> Career satisfaction 0.03 1.95* Supporte

d
4) Impact-> Career satisfaction 0.11 2.04**

Supporte

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 H4: Career competency may mediate the 0.42 3.22** Supported

relationship between psychological

empowerment and career satisfaction

1) Career competency mediate the relationship 0.31 2.93 ** Supported

between meaning and career satisfaction

2) Career competency mediate the relationship 0.20 2.24* Supporte

between competence and career satisfaction d

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3) Career competency mediate the relationship 0.12 1.72* Supporte

between self-determination and career d

satisfaction

4) Career competency mediate the relationship 0.30 3.01** Supporte

between impact and career satisfaction d

Notes: * Parameter estimates significant at p<0.05, ** Parameter estimates significant

at p<0.01

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 Career
competencies
H2
H1

Psychological H3 Career
empowerment Satisfaction
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Figure 1. The proposed framework

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 Career
Competencies

0.4

0.
26

Meaning

77
0.
5

0.21
0 .1
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Comptence
9
0.3

0.05
Career
Satisfaction
0.03

Self-Determination
0.11

Impact

Figure 2. The final structural model

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 Appendix 1

Measurement Scales of Empowerment

Meaning

1. The work I do is meaningful to me (Meaning 1).

2. My job activities are personally meaningful to me (Meaning 2).

3. The work I do is very important to me (Meaning 3).

Competence
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1. I am confident about my ability to do my job (Competence 1).

2. I am self-assured about my capabilities to perform my work activities

(Competence 2).

3. I have mastered the skills necessary for my job (Competence 3).

Self-Determination

1. I have significant autonomy in determining how I do my job (Self-determination1)

2. I can decide on my own how to go about doing my work (Self-determination 2).

3. I have considerable opportunity for independence and freedom in how I do my job

(Self-determination 3).

Impact

1. I have a great deal of control over what happens in my department (Impact 1).

2. I have significant influence over what happens in my department (Impact 2).

3. My impact on what happens in my department is large (Impact 3).

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39