20398: The Power of Females How Political Skills Drive Boundary-Spanning Behavior via Personal Brand Equity (session 26233)

The rise of economic globalization, industry growth, and the hypercompetitive labor market has highlighted the importance of building personal brand equity (PBE) across different career stages. Despite the growing attention to PBE, existing research predominantly focuses on stable personality traits as antecedents, overlooking the dynamic, developmental processes that influence PBE over time. This study adopts a life-span career development approach to explore the role of political skill as a developmental capability that enhances PBE and facilitates boundary-spanning behavior, a key career-building activity. We integrate conservation of resources theory and social role congruity theory to examine the gendered dynamics of personal brand equity development. Two independent studies are conducted to test the theorized model (N = 391 Study 1 and N = 391 Study 2). We find that political skill is positively related to boundary-spanning behavior through PBE, with the effect being stronger for female employees due to alignment with gender stereotypes of communal traits. This research extends the nomological network of personal brand equity by incorporating developmental skills, highlights gender differences in the resource management process, and enriches the understanding of boundary-spanning behavior as a crucial career-building strategy. Implications for career management and organizational practices are discussed, along with directions for future research.

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