Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T00:54:41.517Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Predictors of professional commitment for Chinese new generation cohorts in a sample of seafaring officers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2021

Xiaohui Jia*
Affiliation:
School of Shipping Economics & Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China

Abstract

This study aims to examine the predictors of professional commitment of the Chinese new generation, divided into post-80s and post-90s cohorts. A questionnaire survey was employed to collect data from Chinese seafaring officers of these cohorts. The results through hierarchical regression analysis present the two cohorts as having both similar and different predictors. The main difference is that company management and policies positively drive the post-80s cohort to work at sea but not the post-90s. The main similarity is that the work itself is the most important predictor for both cohorts. This study contributes to helping maritime companies to estimate the possibility of Chinese new generation officers quitting sea jobs and can be of value to both managers and authorities as they seek to comprehend the generational dynamic features to better cope with the problem of shortage of younger qualified officers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arora, R. and Rangnekar, S. (2016). Towards understanding the two way interaction effects of extraversion and openness to experience on career commitment. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 16, 213232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhattacharya, Y. (2015). Employee engagement as a predictor of seafarer retention: a study among Indian officers. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 31(2), 295318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blau, G. J. (1985). The measurement and prediction of career commitment. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 58(4), 277288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caesar, L. D., Cahoon, S., Fei, J. G. and Sallah, C. A. (2020). Exploring the antecedents of high mobility among ship officers: empirical evidence from Australia. Maritime Policy & Management. DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2020.1762012.Google Scholar
Cameron, L., Erkal, N., Gangadharan, L. and Meng, X. (2013). Little emperors: behavioral impacts of China's one-child policy. Science, 339(6122), 953957.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, S. H. J. and Mai, X. (2015). The relation of career adaptability to satisfaction and turnover intentions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 89, 130139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, S. H. and Gibson, H. J. (2015). The relationships between four concepts (involvement, commitment, loyalty, and habit) and consistency in behavior across leisure and tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 13, 4150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, H.-Y., Shyu, Y.-I.-L., Wong, M.-K., Friesner, D., Chu, T.-L. and Teng, C-I. (2015). Which aspects of professional commitment can effectively retain nurses in the nursing profession? Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(5), 468476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dencker, J. C., Joshi, A. and Martocchio, J. J. (2008). Towards a theoretical framework linking generational memories to workplace attitudes and behaviors. Human Resource Management Review, 18(3), 180187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamantopoulos, A. and Winklhofer, H. (2001). Index construction with formative indicators: an alternative to scale development. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 269277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egri, C. P. and Ralston, D. A. (2004). Generation cohorts and personal values: a comparison of China and the United States. Organization Science, 15(2), 210220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Exarchopoulos, G., Zhang, P., Pryce-Roberts, N. and Zhao, M. (2018). Seafarers’ welfare: a critical review of the related legal issues under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006. Marine Policy, 93, 6270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eyoun, K., Chen, H., Ayoun, B. and Khliefat, A. (2020). The relationship between purpose of performance appraisal and psychological contract: Generational differences as a moderator. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 86, 102449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fouad, N. A., Kim, S., Ghosh, A., Chang, W. and Figueiredo, C. (2015). Family influence on career decision making. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(1), 197212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galdames, S. and Guihen, L. (2020). Millennials and leadership: a systematic literature review. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. DOI: 10.1080/14783363.2020.1812380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goulet, L. R. and Singh, P. (2002). Career commitment: a reexamination and an extension. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 7391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gu, Y., Liu, D., Zheng, G., Yang, C., Dong, Z. and Tee, E. Y. J. (2020). The effects of Chinese seafarers’ job demands on turnover intention: the role of fun at work. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gursoy, D., Chi, C. G.-Q. and Karadag, E. (2013). Generational differences in work values and attitudes among frontline and service contact employees. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 32, 4048.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, A. and Qian, Z. (2016). Does higher education expansion promote educational homogamy? Evidence from married couples of the post-80s generation in Shanghai, China. Social Science Research, 60, 148162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ito, J. K. and Brotheridge, C. M. (2005). Does supporting employees’ career adaptability lead to commitment, turnover, or both? Human Resource Management, 44(1), 519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joshi, A., Dencker, J. C., Franz, G. and Martocchio, J. J. (2010). Unpacking generational identities in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 392414.Google Scholar
Karmel, S. M. (1994). Emerging securities markets in China: capitalism with Chinese characteristics. China Quarterly, 140, 11051120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kartal, Ş. E., Uğurlu, Ö., Kaptan, M., Arslanoğlu, Y., Wang, J. and Loughney, S. (2019). An analysis and comparison of multinational officers of the watch in the global maritime labor market. Maritime Policy & Management, 46(6), 757780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lannoo, S. and Verhofstadt, E. (2016). What drives the drivers? Predicting turnover intentions in the Belgian bus and coach industry. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 91, 251259.Google Scholar
Lee, K., Carswell, J. J. and Allen, N. J. (2000). A meta-analytic review of occupational commitment: relations with person- and work-related variables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 799811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, K. X., Yin, J., Luo, M. and Wang, J. (2014). Leading factors in job satisfaction of Chinese seafarers. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 6(6), 680693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
London, M. (1983). Toward a theory of career motivation. Academy of Management Review, 8(4), 620630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, K. Y., Chang, L. C. and Wu, H. L. (2007). Relationships between professional commitment, job satisfaction, and work stress in public health nurses in Taiwan. Journal of Professional Nursing, 23(2), 110116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manuel, M. E. (2011). Potential sociological impacts of unfair treatment of seafarers. Maritime Policy & Management, 38(1), 3949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGinnis, S. K. and Morrow, P. C. (1990). Job attitudes among full- and part-time employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 36(1), 8296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J. and Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(4), 538551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow, P. C. and McElroy, J. C. (1986). On assessing measures of work commitment. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 7, 139145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nittari, G., Pirillo, I., Amenta, F. and Ricci, G. (2019). The right to medical assistance for seafarers. Ethical and practical consequences of the introduction of telemedicine to improve healthcare on board ships. Marine Policy, 106, 103525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, T. T., Ghaderi, H., Caesar, L. D. and Cahoon, S. (2014). Current challenges in the recruitment and retention of seafarers: an industry perspective from Vietnam. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 30(2), 217242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ong, C.-E. and du Cros, H. (2012). The post-Mao gazes: Chinese backpackers in Macau. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 735754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettit, S. J., Gardner, B. M., Marlow, P. B., Naim, M. M. and Nair, R. (2005). Ex-seafarers’ shore-based employment: the current UK situation. Marine Policy, 29(6), 521531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosen, S. (2009). Contemporary Chinese youth and the state. The Journal of Asian Studies, 68(2), 359369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggunan, S. and Kanengoni, H. (2017). Pursuing a career at sea: an empirical profile of South African cadets and implications for career awareness. Maritime Policy & Management, 44(3), 289303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salami, S. O. (2008). Demographic and psychological factors predicting organizational commitment among industrial workers. The Anthropologist, 10(1), 3138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silos, J. M., Piniella, F., Monedero, J. and Walliser, J. (2012). Trends in the global market for crews: a case study. Marine Policy, 36(4), 845858.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva, R., Stanton, P. and Stanton, J. (2011). Determinants of India sub-continent officer-seafarer retention in the shipping industry. Maritime Policy & Management, 38(6), 633644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sima, Y. and Pugsley, P. (2010). The rise of ‘me culture’ in post-socialist China: Youth, individualism and identity creation in the blogosphere. International Communication Gazette, 72(3), 287306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, R., Zhang, Y., Wan, M. M. and Fouad, N. A. (2018). Why do women engineers leave the engineering profession? The roles of work-family conflict, occupational commitment, and perceived organizational support. Human Resource Management, 57(4), 901914.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, L., Llangco, M. O. S. and Zhao, Z. (2016). Transformations and continuities of issues related to Chinese participation in the global seafarers’ labour market. Maritime Policy & Management, 43(3), 344355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, L. and Zhang, P. (2019). Global problems, local solutions: unfree labour relations and seafarer employment with crewing agencies in China. Industrial Relations Journal, 50(3), 277291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, N., Wang, Y. and Zhang, K. (2017). Values of Chinese generation cohorts: Do they matter in the workplace? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 143, 822.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teng, C.-I., Shyu, Y.-I. L. and Chang, H.-Y. (2007). Moderating effects of professional commitment on hospital nurses in Taiwan. Journal of Professional Nursing, 23(1), 4754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tsaur, S.-H. and Yen, C.-H. (2018). Work–leisure conflict and its consequences: Do generational differences matter? Tourism Management, 69, 121131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, J. (2005). Bourgeois Bohemians in China? Neo-tribes and the urban imaginary. The China Quarterly, 183, 532548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X., Yuen, K. F., Wong, Y. D. and Li, K. X. (2020). How can the maritime industry meet Sustainable Development Goals? An analysis of sustainability reports from the social entrepreneurship perspective. Transportation Research Part D, 78, 102173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weng, Q. D., Wu, S., McElroy, J. C. and Chen, L. (2018). Place attachment, intent to relocate and intent to quit: the moderating role of occupational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 108, 7891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, I. A., Wan, Y. K. P. and Gao, J. H. (2017). How to attract and retain Generation Y employees? An exploration of career choice and the meaning of work. Tourism Management Perspectives, 23, 140150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yousaf, A., Sanders, K. and Abbas, Q. (2015). Organizational/occupational commitment and organizational/occupational turnover intentions. Personnel Review, 44(4), 470491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yousaf, A., Sanders, K. and Yustantio, J. (2018). High commitment HRM and organizational and occupational turnover intentions: the role of organizational and occupational commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(10), 16611682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, H., Jiang, S. and Land, K. C. (2015). Multicollinearity in hierarchical linear models. Social Science Research, 53, 118136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yuen, K. F., Loh, H. S., Zhou, Q. and Wong, Y. D. (2018). Determinants of job satisfaction and performance of seafarers. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 110, 112.Google Scholar
Zhang, P. and Zhao, M. (2015). Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the Chinese seafarers: how far is China to ratification? Marine Policy, 61, 5465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar