Political skills, job resources, and career adaptability of R&D personnel

Abstract

ABSTRACT R&D employees play a critical role in improving organisational creativity and innovation. However, they often face significant career risks when disruptive technological innovations emerge. Therefore, understanding the development of R&D employees’ career adaptability is an important area of research. This study proposes a research model that examines the direct effect of political skills on the career adaptability of R&D employees, with job resources functioning as a mediating variable in this relationship. By analysing two waves of survey data collected from 262 R&D employees in large firms in South Korea, the study develops a formative second-order construct of political skills and demonstrates its positive impact on the career adaptability. Furthermore, this study reveals that job resources mediate the relationship between political skills and career adaptation. This research contributes to the field of human resource management (HRM) for R&D employees and innovation studies by highlighting the socio-political foundation of innovation activities within organisations and emphasizing the importance of political skills in facilitating both career transition and the utilisation of job resources.