THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PROACTIVE PERSONALITY IN THE EFFECT OF CAREER ADAPTABILITY ON JOB PERFORMANCE

Abstract

In today’s business world, rapid changes have increased the uncertainties and challenges faced by employees in their careers, highlighting the growing importance of career adaptability. Career adaptability refers to individuals’ capacity to adjust to changing work environments, cope with career-related challenges, and sustain professional development. Within the framework of Career Construction Theory, this concept is defined through four dimensions—concern, control, curiosity, and confidence—which explain how individuals manage their career processes. At the same time, employees’ job performance is shaped not only by their ability to adapt to external conditions but also by their personality traits. In this regard, proactive personality, which reflects the tendency to take initiative, seize opportunities, and drive change, plays a significant role in enhancing job performance. Therefore, it is assumed that proactive personality may act as a mediator in the relationship between career adaptability and job performance. The present study aims to examine the effect of career adaptability on job performance and to test the mediating role of proactive personality in this relationship. The research was conducted with data collected from 470 employees working in the service sector in Istanbul and analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Demographic characteristics of the participants were taken into account during the analysis, and the data collection instruments included the Career Adaptability Scale developed by Savickas and Porfeli (2012), the Proactive Personality Scale developed by Bateman and Crant (1993), and the Job Performance Scale developed by Borman and Motowidlo (1993). The findings revealed that career adaptability has a strong positive effect on job performance (β = 0.691, p < 0.01) and that this effect is partially mediated by proactive personality (β = 0.289, 95% CI = 0.282–0.296). Among the sub-dimensions of career adaptability, confidence and curiosity were found to make significant contributions to job performance. Moreover, demographic variables such as gender, age, education, and income demonstrated the potential to influence these relationships, while marital status did not produce a significant difference. These results contribute to Career Construction Theory and personality-based performance models, emphasizing that organizations in the service sector can improve job performance by supporting career adaptability and promoting proactive behaviors through recruitment and training practices. Future studies are encouraged to investigate these relationships in different cultural contexts and using longitudinal research designs.