This study integrated research on competitive psychological climate (CPC) and successful career development within transactional stress theory and the job-demands resources model. The theoretical model assumed two different processes from CPC at work that might either foster or hamper career success. Specifically, CPC might be positively related to work engagement (motivation-enhancing path, CPC appraised as challenge) or burnout (energy-decreasing path, CPC appraised as hindrance), which then should be positively or negatively related to objective and subjective career success, respectively. High versus low leader-member exchange relationships are assumed to moderate the relationships between CPC and work engagement and burnout. In Study 1, we tested the theoretical model within a sample of 808 academic scientists from different research fields in Germany. By doing so, we applied conditional indirect effects analyses within a path-modeling framework. The results largely supported the theoretical model, and showed that CPC is positively related to the number of publications and career satisfaction via work engagement under the condition of a high LMX quality. By contrast, CPC was negatively related to career satisfaction via burnout under the condition of a low LMX quality. Within Study 2 and an additional independent sample, results showed that these pathways are explained via hindrance and challenge appraisals of CPC. We discuss these results against the background of competition-based HR systems, as well as the integration of challenge–hindrance frameworks in career developmental research.

本研究在交易压力理论和工作需求资源模型的基础上，将竞争性心理氛围（CPC）和成功的职业发展进行了综合研究。理论模型假设工作中的CPC来自两个不同的过程，这些过程可能会促进或阻碍职业成功。具体而言，每次点击费用可能与工作投入（动机提高路径，CPC评估为挑战）或倦怠（能量减少路径，CPC评估为障碍）成正相关，然后应与客观和主观的职业成功成正相关或负相关，分别。假定领导者与成员之间的交换关系相对较高或较低，以缓和CPC和工作投入与倦怠之间的关系。在研究1中，我们在来自德国不同研究领域的808名学术科学家的样本中测试了理论模型。通过这样做，我们在路径建模框架内应用了条件间接效应分析。结果在很大程度上支持了理论模型，并表明，在LMX质量较高的情况下，CPC与出版物数量和职业参与度对职业满意度成正相关。相比之下，CPC与LMX质量低下的倦怠与职业满意度负相关。在研究2和其他独立样本中，结果表明，通过CPC的障碍和挑战评估可以解释这些途径。我们在基于竞争的人力资源系统的背景下讨论这些结果，