Antecedents of protean and boundaryless career orientations: The role of core self-evaluations, perceived employability and social capital

Research on protean and boundaryless career orientations has explored their consequences for individuals and organizations while largely ignoring their key antecedents. Our paper address this omission by exploring three potential antecedents of contemporary careers - core self-evaluations (CSEs), social capital and perceived employability. Findings from a longitudinal study of university students transitioning into the labour market support the role of these constructs as antecedents of both career orientations. An exception is the negative direct effect of CSEs on boundaryless career orientations; but there are positive indirect effects via perceived employability. Our paper offers one of the first longitudinal studies identifying and empirically exploring the role of antecedents of protean and boundaryless career orientations. It also contributes to establishing the conceptual and empirical distinctions between the two orientations.