Design and Validation of a Model for Identifying Career Anchors among Employees of the General Departments of Sport and Youth in Northwestern Iran
Keywords:
General Departments of Sport and Youth, validation, career anchorsAbstract
The purpose of this study was to design and validate a model for identifying career anchors among employees of the General Departments of Sport and Youth in northwestern Iran. The research was applied in purpose, descriptive-survey in data collection and implementation, and quantitative in nature. The statistical population consisted of all employees of the General Departments of Sport and Youth in the northwestern provinces of Iran (Ardabil, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and Zanjan). A stratified random sampling method proportional to the population size was used. Based on Morgan’s table (1998), a total of 120 individuals were selected to participate in the study. The data collection instrument was Edgar Schein’s (2006) standardized Career Anchor Questionnaire, consisting of 40 items rated on a four-point Likert scale (1–4). The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and specialists in sport management, and its internal consistency reliability, determined through a pilot study, was 0.91. Descriptive statistics and the Friedman test were used for data analysis, and all computations were performed using SPSS software. The results indicated that all dimensions of career anchors were at a desirable level. The ranking of the career anchor variables was as follows: (1) security-stability, (2) lifestyle, (3) general managerial competence, (4) pure challenge, (5) technical-functional competence, (6) entrepreneurial creativity, (7) autonomy-independence, and (8) service and dedication. The findings can assist human resource managers and decision-makers in the General Departments of Sport and Youth to design their human resource management policies in a way that enhances motivation, job satisfaction, and the retention of skilled personnel through a better understanding of employees’ career anchors. Moreover, attention to these anchors can facilitate the development of diverse and personalized career paths that align with individual characteristics.
Downloads
References
[1] E. H. Schein and J. Van Mannen, "Career anchors and job/role planning," Organizational Dynamics, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 165-173, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2016.07.002.
[2] Y. Safari, M. Torkman, and S. Ghasemi, "Predicting the organizational performance based on the employees' job career anchors in Kermanshah Ministry of Education," International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS), vol. 1, no. 1, p. 1064, 2016.
[3] A. G. Woldeamanuel, "A scientometric analysis of career anchor/orientation research from 1975 to 2023," Future Business Journal, vol. 10, p. 74, 2024, doi: 10.1186/s43093-024-00366-w.
[4] L. Zhang, "Career anchor in the concept of self-employment Catholic high school teacher," The Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2024, doi: 10.33369/tmr.v5i1.29587.
[5] J. R. Chapman and B. L. Brown, "An empirical study of the career anchors that govern career decisions," Personnel Review, vol. 43, pp. 717-740, 2014, doi: 10.1108/PR-01-2013-0017.
[6] N. Danziger and R. Valency, "Career anchors: distribution and impact on job satisfaction, the Israeli case," Career Development International, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 293-303, 2005, doi: 10.1108/13620430610672513.
[7] A. Olfati, B. Yousefi, S. Bahrami, and H. Eidi, "Identifying and Prioritizing Barriers to Accountability in Sports Organizations," Sport Management Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 141-160, 2021.
[8] A. M. Amirtash, A. A. Mozafari, K. Mehri, and H. Janani, "A Comparison of Career Anchors and Organizational Commitment Between Faculty Members of Physical Education and Non-Physical Education Departments in Islamic Azad Universities of Iran," Beyond Management, vol. 5, no. 17, p. 115, 2011.
[9] H. Wechtler, A. Koveshnikov, and C. Dejoux, "Career Anchors and Cross-Cultural Adjustment Among Expatriates in a Non-Profit Organization," Management International Review, vol. 57, no. 2, p. 277, 2017, doi: 10.1007/s11575-016-0307-6.
[10] K. Miran and S. Ji‑Ah, "The effect of career anchors, job‑esteem, and work engagement on retention intention in hospital nurses," Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, vol. 8, no. 5, p. 1543‑1550, 2024, doi: 10.55214/25768484.v8i5.1869.
[11] A. Askari and M. M. Nazarpoor, "Investigating the Relationship Between Career Anchor and Job Satisfaction: With an Emphasis on the Mediating Role of Job Stressors," Quarterly Journal of Applied Research in Counseling, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 53-74, 2022.
[12] P. Nirun, "The Relationship of Career Anchors on Job Satisfaction Mediated by Work-Family Enrichment in Convention and Exhibition Industry in Thailand," 2023.
[13] S. M. Hatami, "Investigating the Relationship Between Career Plateau and Career Anchors with Organizational Commitment and Job Burnout Among all Female High School Teachers in Raze va Jargalan County," Urmia University, 2017.
[14] A. Askari, R. Azizi, and R. Rahmatjou, "Psychometric Characteristics of the Career Anchor Questionnaire in Managers of the Iranian Gas Transmission Company," Psychological Methods and Models, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 193-210, 2020.
[15] Y. Mohammadi Moghadam, M. Dehnad, A. Delavar, and Z. Alipour Darvishi, "Research Article: Compiling Career Progression Path Anchors Strategies for Employees," National Defense Strategic Management Studies, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 418-449, 2019.
[16] A. Askari, M. M. Nazarpoor, S. Tavakkoli, and F. Khodakarimi, "A Comparative Study of Personality and Job Satisfaction Based on Career Anchors," Strategic Studies in Oil and Energy Industry, vol. 13, no. 49, pp. 21-45, 2021.
[17] H. Gholami and P. Yar Mohammadzadeh, "Path Analysis of the Relationship Between Career Path Anchors and Managers' Performance," Scientific-Research Quarterly of New Approach in Educational Management, 2014.
[18] T. Tuononen, J. Lammintakanen, and A. L. Suominen, "Career anchors of dentist leaders," Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, vol. 74, no. 6, p. 487, 2016, doi: 10.1080/00016357.2016.1204559.
[19] Y. Kubo, Y. Hatono, T. Kubo, S. Shimamoto, J. Nakatani, and B. J. Burgel, "Exploring career anchors among occupational health nurses in Japan: A qualitative study," Japan Journal of Nursing Science, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 61, 2017, doi: 10.1111/jjns.12137.
[20] K. Agger, "Cultural orientations as antedecents of career anchors: an exploratory study," San José State University, 2018.
[21] K. Weber and A. Ladkin, "Career anchors of convention and Exhibition Industry professionals in Asia," Journal of convention& Event Tourism, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 243-255, 2009, doi: 10.1080/15470140903356411.
[22] Makado.Tisahe, "2ACT: AI-accentuated career transitions via skill bridges," 2025.
[23] j. Hae, "CareerPooler: AI-powered metaphorical pool simulation improves experience and outcomes in career exploration," 2025.
[24] J. Robinson, "Career path recommendations for long-term income maximization: A reinforcement learning approach," 2023.
[25] T. Rebecca, "The Relationship between Career Anchors and Organizational Commitment," University of South Africa, 2007.
[26] R. Kaplan, C. Shmulevitz, and D. Raviv, "Career Anchors and Professional Development in Nursing," International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 24, 2009, doi: 10.2202/1548-923X.1482.
[27] H. Hoon Tan and B. Choo Quek, "An Exploratory Study on the Career Anchors of Educators in Singapore," The Journal of Psychology, vol. 135, no. 5, pp. 527-545, 2001, doi: 10.1080/00223980109603717.
[28] E. Jafari and A. Khaleghkhah, "The mediating role of professional ethics and career anchors on the causal relationship between psychological well-being and quality of work life for nurses," Journal of Clinical Nursing and Midwifery, vol. 6, no. 4, p. 66, 2018.
[29] V. Marshal and D. Bonner, "Career anchors and the effects of downsizing. Implications for generations and cultures at work: a preliminary investigation," Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 281-291, 2003, doi: 10.1108/03090590310479910.
[30] C. Aydogmus, "Millennial's career attitudes: the roles of career anchors and psychological empowerment," International Journal of Academic and Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 1-23, 2018, doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i6/4176.
[31] S. Deylamghani and M. Zakeri, "Determining the Relationship Between Career Path Anchors and Organizational Trust of Employees," Quarterly Journal of New Research in Management and Accounting, vol. 3, no. 7, p. 279, 2016.
[32] C. Maher, "Career anchors of social enterprise managers in the UK-an empirical analysis," Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, vol. 9, no. 4, p. 398, 2016, doi: 10.1504/JIBED.2016.080019.
[33] A. S. Simionca, "Career Anchors Reimagined: Expertise, Stability and Recognition in Structured Organizational Fields," Studia Universitatis Babes‑Bolyai Sociologia, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 5-31, 2024, doi: 10.2478/subbs-2024-0006.
[34] H. Kiyani Rad and S. Sayyadi, "The Application of Career Path Anchors in Individuals' Careers Based on Schein's Model," Management Bi-monthly, p. 153, 2017.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mahdi Pashaie, Mehrdad Moharramzadeh, Masoud Imanzadeh (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
