Testing the effects of career development process on organizational commitment and intention to leave with structural equation modeling

In the business world, having qualified employees is very important for organizations that want to be successful by keeping up with the constant change and competitive environment. Career development services play an important role in hiring qualified employees and keeping them in the organization. Employees perform better in their jobs when they receive career development services and do not want to leave the organization that contributes to their career. Therefore, serving career development opportunities to employees provides various benefits for both organizations and employees. In this study, the effects of organizational career development services, employees' commitment to their careers and their level of satisfaction with achieving career goals on the aviation ground service employees' organizational commitment and intention to leave were investigated. Using the literature, the measurement tool formed and applied to employees in the aviation ground services organizations that have "Working License Group A" (a working license for gound handling companies) in Turkey. The survey was conducted in Istanbul, Ankara, Mugla, and Adana. The three organizations operate together in these provinces. 600 personnel who agreed to participate in the survey took the questionnaire; 317 of them completed the questionnaire and gave it back. The response rate of the surveys is 52.83%. Since 10 of the surveys contain insufficient information, 307 surveys were considered valid. The factor and the structural equation modeling analysis results show that organizational career development services have an effect on aviation ground services employees' organizational commitment and career satisfaction, but show no effect on the intention to leave. Key Words: Career Development, Organizational Commitment, Intent to Leave