Analyzing the role of employee career aspirations in enhancing task performance in Saudi women

Purpose The study's main purpose is to explore Saudi women's career aspirations with various dimensions (achievement, education and leadership) that impact occupational self-efficacy and proactive behavior, which leads to employee/task performance. Design/methodology/approach The study targets first-line and middle-management Saudi women, who are also studying in Master’s and PhD programs within Saudi universities. Between September and December 2024, self-reported questionnaires were used for data collection in two phases. The questionnaires were distributed in four major Saudi cities (i.e., Jeddah, Medina, Dammam and Riyadh) to obtain a nationally diverse sample. Participants were chosen by snowball sampling. Snowball sampling enabled the researchers to leverage professional and academic networks to recruit participants during a two-phase data collection period, ensuring both geographic and institutional diversity. Findings The results demonstrated how an employee's career aspirations (i.e., CAA, CLA and CEA) could affect their performance. The outcomes also confirm that ECA (i.e., achievement, leadership and education) affects OSE and PEB. Additionally, the findings show a large and strong direct relationship between OSE and EP, OSE and PEB and PEB and EP. Originality/value This research study sought to provide an exponential study. We made this the first attempt to explore career aspirations and their subscales (achievement, education and leadership), showing the variables' reflective and composite impact. Hence, this study provides new insights into theoretical knowledge that has added value to the review literature by exploring various career aspirations subscales in depth. Additionally, this research provides methodological contributions, which showcase a well-defined assessment model using each dimension of career aspirations separately. Thus, this has bridged the gap between theoretical and practical approaches.