THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CAREER ADAPTABILITY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Digital transformation has fundamentally altered work systems and employee responsibilities in the banking industry, creating challenges to sustaining employee performance. Although perceived organizational support is widely recognized as a determinant of employee outcomes, previous studies report inconsistent findings regarding its direct influence on performance. To address this gap, this study examines the mediating role of career adaptability in the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee performance within Indonesia’s state-owned banking sector. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory and Career Construction Theory, a quantitative explanatory design was employed using survey data collected from 100 state-owned banking employees in Central Java. The structural model was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The empirical findings reveal that organizational support does not directly influence employee performance. Instead, organizational support acts as a powerful catalyst that significantly strengthens employees' career adaptability, which subsequently exerts a dominant positive effect on their actual work performance. These results establish a mechanism of full mediation, proving that career adaptability fully bridges the gap between institutional support and banking productivity. This study extends the human resource management literature by proving that external corporate support must be transformed through internal individual adaptability to maintain optimal performance during disruptive technological shifts.