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TY  - THES
AU  - Lerche, André Daniel Stephan
TI  - Interests and competence beliefs relating to applied work : a specific domain of vocational orientations
PB  - Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
VL  - Dissertation
CY  - Aachen
M1  - RWTH-2021-06611
SP  - 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen
PY  - 2021
N1  - Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University
N1  - Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2021
AB  - In this doctoral thesis, the vocational orientation toward working in an applied field is investigated. With a focus on early-career scientists, the specific orientation is examined regarding two dimensions of individual differences: vocational interests and vocational competence beliefs. The thesis builds on a cumulative research process, comprising three manuscripts. In Manuscript I, the concept of vocational application orientation is developed (referring to inclinations toward applied work fields) and validated in a multiple-study approach. The concept was developed exploratively in a content analysis based on statements of professionals (N = 102) working in private industry (i.e., content validity; Study 1), revealing applied work fields to be represented by certain task domains (e.g., product focus, customer focus). Moreover, in a sample of university students and professionals (N = 200), expected associations between applied work task domains and other vocational orientations were found (i.e., convergent and discriminant validity; Study 2). In addition, compared with academicians (N = 40), professionals in industry (N = 108) reported stronger preferences for applied work tasks (i.e., construct validity; Study 3). Lastly, early-career scientists (N = 128) reporting higher applied work interests, were found to also exhibit stronger behavioral tendencies toward industrial work when assigned a behavioral simulation task (i.e., assessment center; predictive validity; Study 4). Taken together, the results indicate that the newly developed construct of vocational application orientation is distinct from other constructs and that it is a valid contribution to the literature of vocational orientations. As part of Manuscript II, the longitudinal developments of job demands for applied work and related competence beliefs were examined, in addition to reciprocal relations between the two dimensions. Data stemmed from a larger four-year longitudinal (eight measurement waves) panel study (N = 3619) on the career decisions and trajectories of early-career scientists. Analyses were conducted using latent bivariate dual change score modeling (McArdle </td><td width="150">
AB  -  Hamagami, 2001) with young scientists (i.e., PhD students and PhD holders) continuously working in academia (N = 1205) or having recently transitioned from academia to private industry (N = 436). Corroborating the assumptions, whereas applied work demands were found to increase in academia and industry, related competence beliefs only rose in industry. Moreover, higher applied work demands led to a faster increase in related competence beliefs in academia and higher competence beliefs accelerated the increase in demands in industry. Hence, the findings indicate a distinct, sample-specific pattern concerning longitudinal developments of and dynamics between job demands for applied work and related competence beliefs. In Manuscript III, associations between demands-abilities congruence and work-related outcomes (i.e., work satisfaction and turnover) were examined. Congruence was investigated in terms of job demands and related competence beliefs concerning two task domains: applied work tasks and self-regulation tasks. Again, data stemmed from the larger panel survey (N = 3619), namely from the subsamples of young scientists in academia and industry. For hypothesis testing, the analytical approach of multiple-indicator latent moderated structural equations modeling (Su et al., 2019) was applied and extended to a multilevel framework to separate intraindividual variance from interindividual variance. As suggested, based on intraindividual fluctuations over time, higher congruence concerning applied work demands and competence beliefs was associated with higher work satisfaction in the group of young scholars in industry. Moreover, in accordance with the assumptions, young academicians reporting incongruence of applied work demands and competence beliefs were more likely to later change from academia to industry. Concerning self-regulation (in)congruence, however, no predictive effect on work satisfaction or turnover was found. The findings lead to the conclusion that applied work congruence is relevant to work satisfaction in young scientists in industry and that academicians with competencies exceeding demands tend to transition to industry. In sum, this thesis develops a deeper understanding of the vocational orientation toward working in an applied field, with regard to person factors, environment factors, and their dynamic relationships. The thesis constitutes a relevant contribution to the literature, because it emphasizes a new and distinct domain of vocational orientations (i.e., application orientation), it focuses on a specific target sample (i.e., early-career scientists), it examines longitudinal developments of constructs of interest, and it applies a dynamic perspective to interdependencies between the focal variables.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)11
DO  - DOI:10.18154/RWTH-2021-06611
UR  - https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/822229
ER  -