The effects of career development programs on R&D personnel in Taiwan

Abstract

This study examines the effects of career development programs on R&D personnel, and the results show that a higher level of satisfaction with such programs produces correspondingly higher levels of quality of working life, job satisfaction, professional development and productivity.We argue that professional development is a mediator of both job satisfaction and productivity, and that as R&D personnel achieve higher levels of job satisfaction, their motivation towards engaging in such professional development becomes greater, leading to a substantial increase in their productivity levels. We also find that development programs which are more career-challenge oriented have a greater impact on the quality of working life, job satisfaction, professional development and productivity.