Kim Yin Chan

• PhD Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1999
• Professor (Associate) at Nanyang Technological University

A broad, integrative theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between individual differences and various leader behaviors is presented; it proposes a new individual-differences construct called the motivation to lead (MTL). A large-scale study using 3 samples in different occupational and cultural contexts shows 3 factors underlying...

Military Leadership in the 21st Century aims to provide junior commanders or entry-level military officers with an introductory-level appreciation of the key concepts and issues related to military leadership from a social-behavioral science perspective. The book focuses on “direct-level” or “team leadership”. It has three main themes: (1) the huma...

This study seeks to enhance the distal-proximal modeling of personality trait–leader emergence relationships by (1) distinguishing between the motivation to lead (i.e., the reasons why a person seeks leadership roles) and leadership intention (i.e., one’s expressed desire to claim a leadership role) and by (2) examining how the Dark Triad traits ad...

With careers increasingly taking place within and between cities, this article maps the territory for research and theory on careers in cities. Cities present a microcosm for advancing a systemic understanding of people’s careers over time and in relation to broader issues. We acknowledge cities’ multilayered contexts by identifying six spheres—loc...

With careers increasingly taking place within and between cities, this article maps the territory for research and theory on careers in cities. Cities present a microcosm for advancing a systemic understanding of people's careers over time and in relation to broader issues. We acknowledge cities' multilayered contexts by identifying six spheres-loc...

This book updates the theory and brings together empirical research based on the multidimensional entrepreneurship–professionalism–leadership (EPL) framework for subjective career ‘space’. It also discusses the extension of the original ‘person-centred’ framework to other levels of analysis, for example, ways of considering the EPL (human capital)...

The emergence of the boundaryless career paradigm in the 21st century has triggered new approaches to career guidance that aim to strengthen individual agency in the context of a wide variety of work arrangements and career forms. A divide has emerged between the person-centered, psychological approach to careers versus the sociological approach th...

This chapter presents the EPL framework as a way of conceptualizing individual careers and the multilevel contexts which shape and facilitate them. We suggest ways in which the EPL framework can be used as a common language for considering careers across levels. Starting with a consideration of the EPL development of individuals over time, we discu...

Today, tertiary educational institutions are especially concerned with the work-readiness and employability of their graduates beyond mere education for education’s sake. More than academic results, university graduates are expected to possess transferable skills, life-long learning and self-managing career skills and mindsets beyond their technica...

In this paper, we report the adaptation and validation of Chan et al. (2012) “Entrepreneurship, Professionalism and Leadership” (EPL) motivation scales for use in the working adult population. Three studies were conducted. In the first study, 214 working adults from healthcare, research, innovation and enterprise sectors were surveyed for the devel...

This chapter seeks to contribute to the emerging literature on developmental readiness (Avolio and Hannah, 2008). First, we propose to broaden the developmental readiness (DR) concept beyond leadership domain to include other viable career tracks (e.g., expert or entrepreneur). To that extent, we use Chan’s et al. (2012) EPL model to represent DR c...

We report the development of a new self-report measure of individual differences in Preferences for Non-Standard Work (PNSW), and an effort to explore relationships between PNSW and Entrepreneurial-Professional-Professional motivations and efficacies, alongside measures of perceived employability and career adaptabilities. Using data collected from...

Today, many developed countries around the world are embracing science, technology and innovation as an important engine for economic growth. Innovation is fundamentally a human activity and a social one that involves more than any single individual’s efforts. It is thus important not only to study core innovation processes but also the approach to...

This chapter begins by documenting the origins of Chan et al.’s (2012a) early Entrepreneurship, Professionalism and Leadership (EPL) research, which began with an annual university-wide survey of students’ entrepreneurial motivation. Following that research, we embarked on a 3-year project to transform the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Car...

The study of traits and leadership is one of the earliest intellectual traditions in leadership research and at a mature stage of inquiry. This chapter begins with a review of what is empirically known about the relationship between individual differences and leadership where we highlight what we consider second-order lessons from the past century...

Read the full call for papers here: http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/CareersInCities.html Deadline for paper submissions: 31 January 2019 This special issue aims to advance interdisciplinary research and theory on the topic of 'careers in cities'. By recognizing the importance of urban areas as a context for careers in the...

Our study focuses on the impact of systematic entrepreneurship training comprising both active and passive learning activities on entrepreneurial alertness and efficacy among adolescent youth. Reports from a two-wave online survey among 328 students from five secondary schools (aged 13–16 years; 34.8% male and 65.2% female) reveal that those who we...

This paper reports an empirical study conducted to examine the relationship between employees’ Entrepreneurial, Professional, and Leadership (EPL) career motivations and their intrapreneurial motivation. Using data collected from 425 working adults in the research/innovation and healthcare settings, we develop a self-report measure of employee intr...

This chapter describes a new measure of career aspirations designed to be relevant in today’s work contexts. The measure was initially implemented at Nanyang Technological University as a university-wide student survey to enable the university to understand the entrepreneurial motivation, efficacy, and intentions (collectively called “career aspira...

Rothwell et al. (2008) proposed that an individual’s Perceived Employability (PE) could be measured by four components: (i) the status and credibility of one’s field of study, (ii) the state of the external labour market, (iii) one’s awareness of employment opportunities and confidence in skills, and (iv) one’s academic performance. We examined...

Research has shown that Entrepreneurial-Professional-Leadership (EPL) motivation profiles (Chan et al., 2012) are related to boundaryless career attitudes and self-directed learning. This paper further examines the relationship between different EPL motivation profiles and vocational identity statuses. First, using data from 400 Singaporean univers...

Rothwell et al. (2008) proposed that an individual’s Perceived Employability (PE) could be measured by four components: the status and credibility of one’s field of study, the state of the external labour market, one’s awareness of employment opportunities and confidence in skills, and one’s academic performance. We examined the factorial structure...

Previous research has indicated robust relationships between implicit motives and various indices of career preference and performance, with the implicit need for power (nPow) and the implicit need for achievement (nAch) found to associate with leadership and entrepreneurship, respectively. However, relatively little work has examined the relations...

Using a new framework that includes entrepreneurship, professionalism and professionalism as different dimensions of subjective career space, we investigated whether different kinds of people are motivated towards entrepreneurial as compared to organizational leadership or specialized professional work-roles. Correlations from two samples of 396 an...

We would like to acknowledge the Office of the Chief Executive Officer (Innovation) of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the Nanyang Innovation and Enterprise Office, as well as NTU Ventures Pte. Ltd. for their support and contributions. We would also like to thank the 37 national experts for taking the time to share their valuable insights a...

In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive and concise summary of recent entrepreneurial activities and attitudes in Singapore based on the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Singapore report (Chernyshenko et al. 2013). The 2012 GEM Singapore report included various key indicators of entrepreneurial activities and attitudes in Singapore in...

This paper examines the factor structure and relationships between two self-report measures of career adaptability: the revised Career Maturity Inventory “Adaptability” form (rCMI-A Savickas & Porfeli, 2011) – an attitudinal measure of career adaptability, and, the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS; Savickas & Porfeli, 2012) which conceptualizes c...

Universities today play two important roles in the systematic development of future professionals: They influence both the students’ entry into professional careers and the development of professionalism. Yet, the psychology of professional career entry and the development of professionalism among university students are not well-understood. This p...

Professionals in traditional professions such as medicine, law and accounting face tremendous challenges in the 21st century as they operate in increasingly entrepreneurial and bureaucratic contexts (e.g., Friedson, 2001). Today, sociologists and macro organizational researchers are actively studying changes in the forms of professional organizatio...

We examined the impact of contextual elements on the development of entrepreneurial career aspiration beyond the effects of dispositional influences. Drawing on social cognitive career theory, we considered both formal (exposure to entrepreneurship training programs which promote nascent entrepreneurial activities) and informal (social influence fr...

Chan and Drasgow's (2001) Motivation to Lead (MTL) construct has been studied in many different military forces (e.g., Amit et al., 2007; Clemmons, 2011; Luria & Berson, 2012; Maurer & Lippstreu, 2010). This paper reviews the empirical research on the MTL construct and presents findings of recent research examining the relationships between persona...

Gatzka, Elprana, Stiehl, & Felfe (2009) noted that past attempts to explain the under-representation of women in leadership positions worldwide had neglected the motivational aspects of leadership. In their structured interviews with 50 organizational leaders, male managers rated the motivation to lead (MTL) as significantly more essential in attai...

Purpose. In 2001, Chan & Drasgow developed a 3-factor model and self-report measure of the motivation to lead (MTL) including affective, social-normative and non-calculative factors.

The NTU Career Aspiration Survey (CAS) was conducted for the second year in September 2011. 6,162 NTU students provided valid responses (19% of total student population). The main aim of the survey was to monitor students’ entrepreneurial motivations (i.e., interest in founding or joining start-ups) relative to competing professional and leadership...

This paper is an early version of a paper that was eventually published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior. Please refer to the published article or email the authors for the final version of the questionnaire: Chan, K. Y., Moon-ho, R. H., Chernyshenko, O. S., Bedford, O., Uy, M. A., Gomulya, D., & Phan, W. M. J. (2012). Entrepreneurship, profe...

This study extends multisource feedback research by assessing the effects of rater source and raters' cultural value orientations on rating bias (leniency and halo). Using a motivational perspective of performance appraisal, the authors posit that subordinate raters followed by peers will exhibit more rating bias than superiors. More important, giv...

The trait theory of leadership is advanced by a joint investigation of the mediating role of (a) leadership self-efficacy (LSE = leader's perceived capabilities to perform leader roles) in linking neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness with leader effectiveness and (b) the moderating role of job demands and job autonomy in influencing the...

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) first promulgated a set of Core Values to all ranks in 1996. The seven SAF Core Values were intended to reflect the unique military character of the SAF which is largely a conscript force. Until 2006, the SAF's strategy for values inculcation aimed at raising awareness and acceptance of the seven Core Values. This y...

This paper articulates the organizational purpose, considerations and vision for implementing MSLF as part of a larger strategy for systematic Leadership Development (LD) in the SAF. In contrast to organizations that implement MSF as part of job performance management and development systems, the SAF has decided to implement its MSLF system within...

With rapid advances in information technologies, many modern military forces are also transforming themselves to operate in more "network-centric" environments, where information-sharing and decision-making is pervasive, thereby enabling more decentralised military action. In this environment, military leaders and personnel need to work in smaller...

The study tests the distinction between typical and maximum criteria with ratings of transformational leadership performance, and examines whether the criterion-related validities of the five factor model differ for the two types of criteria. Using an East Asian military sample (n= 1,259) where multiple ratings of typical and maximum performance we...

This paper describes the Singapore Armed Force's (SAF's) framework for leadership development.

The INDCOL measure of individualism and collectivism (Singelis et al., 1995) has been used increasingly to test complex cross-cultural hypotheses. However, sample differences in translation, culture, organization, and response context might threaten the validity of cross-cultural inferences. We systematically explored the robustness of the INDCOL,...

Reviews of Best Practices in leadership development (LD) have concluded that the key to effective LD in organisations is the systematic application of tools and practices (e.g., Day & Halpin, 2001). In recent years, the SAF has embarked on an effort to systematise LD in its training system (e.g., Chan & Lew, 2003). This study describes the developm...

This Monograph, written by staff of the Centre of Leadership Development, attempts to present a historical perspective on the SAF’s thinking with regard to leadership and ethos. It also suggests a broader context of the SAF transformation – one that is tied to the maturing of our Nation, i.e., the post-independence generation – and the changing nat...

The spectrum of missions that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has to deal with has expanded in recent years. At the same time, the SAF is transforming itself to exploit the rapidly emerging possibilities presented by networked new technologies. This paper describes two frameworks recently adopted by the SAF to enhance leadership development. These...

The effects of faking on personality test scores have been studied previously by comparing (a) experimental groups instructed to fake or answer honestly, (b) subgroups created from a single sample of applicants or nonapplicants by using impression management scores, and (c) job applicants and nonapplicants. In this investigation, the latter 2 metho...

The present study compared the fit of several IRT models to two personality assessment instruments. Data from 13,059 individuals responding to the US-English version of the Fifth Edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and 1,770 individuals responding to Goldberg's 50 item Big Five Personality measure were analyzed. Various i...

A broad, integrative theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between individual differences and various leader behaviors is presented; it proposes a new individual-differences construct called the motivation to lead (MTL). A large-scale study using 3 samples in different occupational and cultural contexts shows 3 factors underlying...

Two issues regarding the factor structure of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) Fifth Edition were investigated: (a) unidimensionality of the 16 noncognitive scales and (b) hierarchical factor structure of the inventory. The Schmid and Leiman orthogonalization procedure was applied to obtain a hierarchical factor solution in which...

Multidimensional scaling is used to examine the relation between vocational interests as conceptualized by Holland's (1973, 1997) hexagonal model and a newly proposed individual differences construct, called the motivation to lead or MTL (Chan, 1999). The findings support the hypothesis that the MTL construct, while correlated with certain interest...

The psychometric stability of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery was studied with data collected at 5 points over a 16-year period using item response theory (IRT) methods. Although 25 of the 200 items changed significantly over the years across 3 different gender-ethnic groups (i.e., White men, White women, and Black men), the overall...

The psychometric stability of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery was studied with data collected at 5 points over a 16-year period using item response theory (IRT) methods. Although 25 of the 200 items changed significantly over the years across 3 different gender-ethnic groups (i.e., White men, White women, and Black men), the overall...

Military interest in the use of multi-source feedback (MSF) for the purpose of leadership development (LD) has grown in recent years. In this regard, many have debated over whether MSF should be employed for purely evaluative or developmental purposes, or both – a concern being that the context in which MSF is applied will affect the validity of ra...