Career Advancement Practices and Employee Adaptability in the Tourism Sector: An Empirical Study of Delhi-NCR

Abstract

This study examines the association of four organisational career advancement practices—training and development, promotion opportunities, career planning, and mentorship—with employee adaptability among tourism-sector employees in Delhi-NCR. The paper isolates adaptability as an important employee-level outcome of career development practices. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used. Of 473 responses collected through a structured questionnaire, 424 usable observations were retained. The dataset was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The four career advancement practices were specified as predictors of employee adaptability. The structural model explained 49.9% of the variance in employee adaptability (R² = .499; adjusted R² = .494). The standardised paths reported in the study were positive: training and development (β = .258), promotion opportunities (β = .191), career planning (β = .267), and mentorship (β = .325). Mentorship exhibited the largest coefficient, followed by career planning, training and development, and promotion opportunities. Statistical significance should be reported from the study bootstrapping table, not inferred from coefficients alone. The paper foregrounds adaptability rather than treating retention as the only endpoint of career-development investments. It contributes contextual evidence from tourism employment in Delhi-NCR and connects organisational career practices with employees’ capacity to respond to changing work requirements. career advancement; employee adaptability; training and development; promotion opportunities; career planning; mentorship; tourism; Delhi-NCR; PLS-SEM