Malaysia’s decline in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) underscores a need to address intangible factors in talent management. This study examines how political skill, work-life balance (WLB), and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) influence personal reputation among professional Centennials in Malaysia’s service industry, with trust as a potential mediator. Using signaling theory, data was collected from 201 respondents through an online survey and analyzed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that political skill, WLB, and OCB positively enhance personal reputation, while trust does not mediate these relationships. Political skill emerged as the most influential factor. The findings offer insights for practitioners aiming to develop competitive talent strategies centered on personal reputation.
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