In pursuit of success: the differential moderating effects of political skill on relationships among career-related psychological needs and ingratiation

Ingratiation is one of the most commonly studied social influence tactics that is used by employees to advance their career goals. Research examining predictors of ingratiation has rather shown inconsistent findings. To address these inconsistencies, this study drew on social cognitive theory to investigate the role of political skill as a moderator in the associations between two career-related psychological needs (i.e., need for achievement and need for power) and ingratiation. We tested these associations using independent 150 matched employee–peer dyads from Thailand. Results revealed that self-reported political skill exerted differential moderating effects on the associations among the two career-related psychological needs and peer-rated ingratiation. Whereas the association between need for achievement and ingratiation was positive under high levels of political skill, the association between need for power and ingratiation was positive under low levels of political skill.