Organizational career management: a review and future prospect

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review the research about organizational career management (OCM) and provide an integrated understanding of OCM research.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors systematically review 85 OCM-related papers published in highly influential journals over the past four decades (1978–2021). This paper reviews the definitions, measurements, antecedents, outcomes, mediators and moderators of OCM.FindingsDiverse definitions of OCM exist, with three key common factors: what should be included in OCM, who is responsible for OCM and the goal of OCM. Scholars use different OCM measures, which might be due to different nations, industries, groups and scale development methods. More than 20 papers demonstrated the positive influences of OCM, providing convincing evidence of the necessity of OCM. About 90% of the current papers we reviewed (27 out of 30 papers) dominantly examined the influence of OCM on individuals’ attitudes or work behavior. The influence of OCM on organizational outcomes was less addressed.Originality/valueFirst, the authors review the existing OCM measurements and distinguish two ways of measuring OCM: OCMP (organizational level, rated by HR managers or HR vice president or CEO, capturing the real practices) and POCM (Perceived OCM, individual level, rated by employees, capturing subjective perception of practices). This distinction reduces the ambiguity in existing measurements. Second, we summarize the empirical findings of OCM, including the antecedents, outcomes, mediators and moderators. These findings uncover the benefits/risks of OCM and the factors that may influence its effectiveness. Third, the review provides several practical implications as the findings can help managers improve their career development programs.