Career adaptability, perceived organizational support, work–family balance and job satisfaction among new graduates: The case of a collectivist country

Career adaptability has a direct and positive relationship with job satisfaction, particularly in rapidly changing work environments. Therefore, this study determines how career adaptability (CA) affects new graduates job satisfaction, how CA mediates the relationship between job satisfaction (SA) and perceived organizational support (SU), and how work-family balance (WB) influences these relationships. The study is grounded in Savickas’ Career Construction Theory and employs the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale. The quantitative method was used through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), based on data collected from 389 new graduates in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The research results continue to confirm that Savickas' CAAS scale is valuable in assessing career aspirations of new graduates in Vietnam. In this regard, CA had a positive effect on SA, with curiosity and interest identified as the most important sub-dimensions. SU indirectly affected SA through CA. WB exerted a strong direct positive effect on SA but exhibited a negative moderating effect on the CA–SA relationship, suggesting that increasing WB moderated the effect of CA on SA. The study confirms the theoretical importance of career adaptability in enhancing early career satisfaction and highlights the complex interplay between individual resources and contextual factors. The findings also confirm the specific characteristics that influence the career adaptability of new graduates in country with collectivist cultures. Practical implications are offered for universities and higher education institutions to better support young talent entering the workforce. This study contributes to the theoretical literature on career adaptability and person–environment fit (P–E fit) while emphasizing the central role of perceived work–family balance in enhancing the quality and satisfaction of young human resources entering the workforce.