Protean career orientation and boundaryless career orientation as determinants of career success a study in select it organizations of north India

Abstract

Career orientations are regarded as key drivers of individual s career choices and management. Contemporary career orientations such as protean and boundaryless career orientations comprise a range of proclivities that assist employees in managing their careers and achieving success. The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of protean career orientation and boundary-less career orientation on career success with the mediating role of career self management. The study has been explored in the context of Information Technology (IT) sector that is regarded paradigmatic for new careers. The research enables an empirical examination of these U.S. rooted contemporary careers in the Indian scenario. The study utilized exploratory factor analysis to develop and validate a new measure of protean career orientation to address the limitations of the prior scales. Data was gathered with the help of a questionnaire from 472 employees of 15 IT organizations listed at the National Stock Exchange. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypotheses and the findings revealed that dimensions of protean and boundary-less career orientations influenced career self management and career success. In addition, career self-management played a pivotal role as a mediator. Further, the impact of socio-demographics on the career concepts was investigated with the help of independent samples t-test and ANOVA. This study adds to a deeper knowledge of IT professionals and their careers, as well as a number of practical implications were proposed that would assist IT organizations in North India create a more appealing and stimulating work environment. newline