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Journal of Vocational Behavior
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb
Why do millennials stay in their jobs? The roles of protean career
orientation, goal progress and organizational career management
Claudia Holtschlaga,d,⁎
, Aline D. Masudab
, B. Sebastian Reichec
, Carlos Moralesa,d
a
CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School, Jirón Daniel Alomía Robles 125, Urbanización Los Álamos de Monterrico, Santiago de Surco 15023,
Lima, Peru
b
EADA Business School, C/Aragó 204, 08011 Barcelona, Spain
c
IESE Business School, Carrer d'Arnús i de Garí, n° 3, 7, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
d
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
A R T I C L E I N F O
Keywords:
Protean career orientation
Millennials
Goal progress
Organizational career management
Turnover intentions
A B S T R A C T
In this paper we report a time-lagged study over six months analyzing the indirect effect of
protean career orientation on changes in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress in a
sample of millennial employees. Consistent with protean career theory and social exchange
theory, we found that protean career orientation indirectly leads to decreases in turnover in-
tentions over time and this effect was moderated by organizational career management practices.
This effect was observed because the relationship between goal progress and decreases in turn-
over intentions became less salient when organizations were perceived to offer high levels of
formal career practices. We discuss the implications for research and practice.
Millennials, who are individuals born between 1980 and 1996, are assumed to be notorious “job hoppers” (Landrum, 2017),
having substantially raised turnover costs for organizations (Adkins, 2016). Academic evidence generally supports this reputation.
According to a meta-analysis of 20 studies on generational differences, millennials—compared with other generations—are more
likely to report intentions to leave their organizations (Costanza, Badger, Fraser, Severt, & Gade, 2012). At the same time, while
millennials demonstrate more inter-organizational career transitions than previous generations, the evidence for stark differences in
career patterns and the “death” of the traditional organizational career is not overwhelming (Chudzikowski, 2012). As such, it is
important to study what predicts whether millennials more or less likely want to leave their employers.
A promising concept to understand contemporary careers is the protean career orientation (PCO), which reflects the degree to
which individuals self-direct their careers and are guided by their own values (Briscoe, Hall, & Frautschy DeMuth, 2006; Hall, 1996;
Hall, 2002; Hall & Moss, 1998). As with millennials, it is commonly assumed that protean careerists are more proactive in searching
for alternative career opportunities and hence more inclined to change employers (Baruch, Wordsworth, Mills, & Wright, 2015). Thus
far, empirical findings are, however, mixed regarding the association between PCO and mobility preferences (Briscoe & Finkelstein,
2009) such that some researchers found a positive association between PCO and turnover intentions (Supeli & Creed, 2015), whereas
others report a negative (Baruch et al., 2015) or non-significant (Baruch, 2014; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2014; Redondo, Sparrow, &
Hernández-Lechuga, 2019) relationship. These ambivalent findings suggest that the relationship between PCO and turnover inten-
tions might be contingent upon moderating and mediating factors (McElroy & Weng, 2015).
As Hall, Yip, and Doiron (2018) argue, PCO may also lead to positive organizational outcomes, such as lower turnover intentions.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103366
Received 13 March 2019; Received in revised form 26 November 2019; Accepted 30 November 2019
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: choltschlag@pucp.edu.pe (C. Holtschlag), amasuda@eada.edu (A.D. Masuda), SReiche@iese.edu (B.S. Reiche),
morales.ce@pucp.edu.pe (C. Morales).
Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
Available online 05 December 2019
0001-8791/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.
T
For example, the so-called Protean Paradox suggests that protean careerists can be better organizational citizens despite their self-
focused career approach. More research is, however, required to understand the organizational settings that promote the positive
potential of PCO. In this study, we integrate protean career and social exchange theories to examine how and when millennials'
protean career orientation explains changes in turnover intentions. In line with protean career theory, which holds that career agency
is a fundamental process that explains the work outcomes of high-PCO individuals (Hall et al., 2018), we argue that high-PCO
millennials will report a decrease in turnover intentions because they are more likely to progress towards their personal work goals.
Goal progress is a critical construct for understanding the agency with which individuals navigate their careers (Creed, Prideaux, &
Patton, 2005). In fact, personal goals are fundamental for understanding individuals' behaviors and attitudes at work (Klug & Maier,
2015; Wiese & Freund, 2005) because they guide thought and action, and provide a standard against which to measure individuals'
career accomplishments (Maier & Brunstein, 2001).
The changes in mobility preferences of protean careerists likely not only depend on their agency, as expressed by the progress
towards their self-defined goals, but also by the experienced organizational setting. Specifically, we argue that individuals' percep-
tions of organizational career management (OCM), which refers to “the policies and practices deliberately designed by their orga-
nizations in order to enhance the career effectiveness of employees” (Pazy, 1988, p. 313), serve as a situational moderator of the
indirect relationship between millennials' PCO and their changes in turnover intentions over time via goal progress. Drawing on
social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) we expect that the indirect effect of PCO through goal progress will be less important in
predicting a decrease in turnover intentions, if millennials work in organizations that are seen as providing extensive OCM. This is
because OCM provides millennials with external benefits such as salary growth and training opportunities and offers them the chance
to continue working towards meaningful goals in the future, even if they do not make progress towards their current goals. In turn,
millennials will reciprocate by increased loyalty towards their organizations over time.
Our study makes several contributions to the careers literature. First, to our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the
mediating and moderating mechanisms by which high-PCO individuals experience lower intentions to leave over time. Following
Gubler, Arnold, and Coombs' (2014) recommendation, we test the effects of PCO on turnover intentions using a longitudinal research
design. Specifically, we conducted a time-lagged study with three waves over six months. Second, we address the calls to study the
context for understanding the work implications of PCO (Hall, 2004; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009) and career transitions in general
(Guan, Arthur, Khapova, Hall, & Lord, 2019). Taking into consideration that individual and situational factors interact to shape
individuals' careers (Guan et al., 2019), we combine the agentic and structural careers perspective and recognize that turnover
intentions are a function of both individual and situational factors. Third, to our knowledge this is the first study that integrates
protean career theory and social exchange theory to explain how PCO predicts work attitudes. In this study, we show that career
agentic and social exchange behaviors serve as compensatory mechanisms, which calls on future research to simultaneously take into
consideration both theoretical mechanisms to better understand work phenomena.
Finally, following previous calls by researchers on millennials (Lyons & Kuron, 2014), we provide scientific evidence to prevent
the perpetuation of unfounded stereotypes and thus help to uncover the true nature of millennials' work-related attitudes and pre-
ferences. Specifically, our study suggests that not all millennials have a high proclivity for “job hopping” and that personality and
situational variables both play a role when predicting turnover intentions over time in this population. Below, we first describe each
construct before developing our hypotheses. Fig. 1 illustrates our conceptual model.
1. Core constructs
1.1. Protean career orientation
Protean career orientation describes an individual attitude towards (1) defining career success according to internal standards and
Fig. 1. Conceptual model.
Goal progress and changes in turnover intentions are controlled for by age, gender, salary and university.
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
2
(2) actively managing to achieve these self-set success criteria (in comparison to relying on external guidance and direction) (Direnzo
& Greenhaus, 2011; Hall, 1976). As such, the construct reflects the idea that individuals, instead of organizations, are primarily in
charge of their own careers. In line with this conceptualization, the construct is comprised of two sub-dimensions (Briscoe et al.,
2006): The values-driven dimension measures the extent to which individuals are aware of their identity—more specifically, their
needs, motivations, abilities, values, interests—and assesses the extent to which individuals rely on their own values in guiding their
careers and in interpreting career success. The self-directed dimension measures the degree to which individuals are able and willing
to adapt to their career environment and the degree to which they take an active and independent role in managing their careers
(Gubler et al., 2014).
1.2. Personal work goal progress
Personally meaningful work goals are an essential construct for understanding the active role that individuals take in their career
management (Wiese & Freund, 2005). Compared to assigned goals, which have important implications for job performance (Locke &
Latham, 1990), personal work goals are considered to be particularly relevant for understanding job attitudes, particularly turnover
intentions, because individuals base their work attitudes on the experiences they gain while advancing towards such work goals
(Hülsheger & Maier, 2010). In fact, Direnzo and Greenhaus (2011) explain that goal-oriented behaviors such as making progress
towards personally meaningful goals form part of one's job search. In case of low progress towards their goals, it is likely that
individuals will search for a better job elsewhere to help them achieve their desired outcomes. By contrast, at higher levels of goal
progress individuals will more likely stay with their employer because achieving their desired outcomes in the current organization
appears more likely. Goal progress has also received particular attention in the careers literature (e.g., Holtschlag, Reiche, & Masuda,
2018; Hülsheger & Maier, 2010; Maier & Brunstein, 2001). Goal progress reflects the “small wins” (Weick, 1984) that individuals
experience during their goal pursuit, and which signal to individuals that they are advancing well towards the achievement or
completion of their personal work goals (Brunstein, 1993).
1.3. Organizational career management
Organizational career management describes the career management practices that individuals receive from their companies,
such as training and developing, mentoring, and personal development plans (Sturges, Guest, Conway, & Davey, 2002). Key to the
definition of career management practices is that such practices are implemented by the organization, as opposed to career self-
management practices which are under the control of employees themselves. Evidence suggests that formal career management
practices such as training and development are positively related to employees' organizational commitment (Sturges et al., 2002).
Additionally, perceived organizational career management practices have been negatively related with turnover intentions (Guan,
Zhou, Ye, Jiang, & Zhou, 2015) and turnover as long as career opportunities within the company were perceived to be high (Kraimer,
Seibert, Wayne, Liden, & Bravo, 2011).
2. Theoretical framework
2.1. Protean career orientation and goal progress
PCO is thought to lead to work and career outcomes through three interrelated processes, namely awareness (identity work),
adaptability (responding to change) and agency (exercising choice and intention) (Hall et al., 2018). Given that personal work goals
are an important construct for understanding the active role that individuals take in their career management (Wiese & Freund,
2005), the research on personal work goals can provide important insights into the work experiences of high-PCO millennials. As Hall
et al. (2018) outline, the mechanisms of identity awareness and adaptability are insufficient for being successful in a career. Central
to individuals' career experiences are the actions that help individuals to realize their career values and goals. In this sense, the
pursuit of personal work goals reflects the agentic process by which individuals direct their careers.
Even though no research has empirically investigated how PCO and goal progress are related, several scholars have advocated
that protean careerists might be more likely to progress towards their career goals than their low-PCO counterparts (Direnzo,
Greenhaus, & Weer, 2015; Sargent & Domberger, 2007). In line with protean career theory, the reasons are twofold. First, the self-
driven dimension of protean career theory likely leads to goal progress because it enables career agency and adaptability. By defi-
nition, protean careerists are masters of their own careers, taking a more active role in their overall career management and in
pursuing their career goals (Hall, 2002). Given their self-driven approach, protean careerists are more likely to engage in career
planning, which helps them gain human, social and psychological capital (Direnzo et al., 2015)—all of which are instrumental for
achieving personal career goals. Individuals high on PCO are also more likely to self-manage their goal-directed behavior, for ex-
ample, by engaging in network and visibility strategies (De Vos & Soens, 2008), displaying occupational self-efficacy (Hirschi,
Jaensch, & Herrmann, 2017) and showing proactive work behaviors (Gulyani & Bhatnagar, 2017; Herrmann, Hirschi, & Baruch,
2015; Hirschi et al., 2017). The proactive behaviors related to individuals' goal pursuit in turn promote goal progress (Duffy & Lent,
2009; Lent & Brown, 2006). The self-driven dimension also involves adaptability, which reflects individuals' ability to change in light
of disruptions to their environment. Goal pursuit is rarely linear but rather involves facing sudden obstacles and the need to respond
to changing demands. As such, adaptability should facilitate goal progress.
Second, the values-driven PCO dimension should relate to goal progress through the process of identity awareness. Protean
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
3
careerists are more likely to follow a calling and a “path with a heart” in their careers (Hall, 2004). By definition, individuals high on
PCO are more aware of their values and use such values to guide their careers (Hall, 1976), instead of relying on external career
influences (Briscoe & Finkelstein, 2009). Choosing goals in accordance with one's values has indeed been found to predict goal
progress (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005; Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001). Individuals high on PCO are more likely to progress
towards their personal goals because they might be particularly attentive to situational information to advance towards their valued
goals and because they might be more effective in coming up with potential career strategies that guide them towards their career
goals (Direnzo & Greenhaus, 2011). Individuals high on values-driven PCO are also more likely to leverage organizational resources,
such as the internal network, in order to progress towards their personal work goals in the following six months (Redondo et al.,
2019). Further, they are more likely to be in an organization that fits their values and interest (Baruch et al., 2015). In line with this
reasoning, empirical evidence shows that high-PCO individuals are more likely to display passion for work (Gulyani & Bhatnagar,
2017).
In sum, according to protean career theory individuals high on PCO have three characteristics that are beneficial to their goal
progress (i.e., agency, awareness, and adaptability). As such, we expect that individuals with high PCO are more likely to progress
towards their personal work goals compared with their low-PCO peers. Taken together:
Hypothesis 1. PCO is positively associated with personal work goal progress.
2.2. Personal work goal progress and changes in turnover intentions
We expect personal work goal progress to predict changes in turnover intentions, defined as a conscious and premeditated
willingness to abandon the organization (Tett & Meyer, 1993). Consistent with Direnzo and Greenhaus (2011), we argue that goal-
oriented behaviors such as making progress towards personally meaningful work goals are linked to one's job search such that they
should decrease turnover intentions. This is because individuals who progress towards their personal goals are likely satisfied with
their current situation and feel no need to move to another company to search for a better job. Additionally, several career re-
searchers have advocated that employees only stay with their organization when they advance towards their career goals and fulfill
their career needs (Hall, 2002; Weng & McElroy, 2012). Accordingly:
Hypothesis 2. Personal work goal progress predicts decreases in turnover intentions.
2.3. The mediating role of personal work goal progress
Implicit to our previous arguments is that the link between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions is indirect rather than direct,
which is in line with protean career theory. Specifically, protean careerists will experience a decrease in their turnover intentions over
time because they progress towards their personal work goals. First, the self-driven dimension of PCO should enable high-PCO
individuals to self-manage their goal-directed behavior and adapt to necessary changes in the environment in order to progress
towards their personal work goals. In fact, empirical research has shown that adaptability is negatively related with turnover in-
tentions since employees who are more adaptable develop a more positive view towards their careers (Zhu, Cai, Buchtel, & Guan,
2019). In this sense, due to their adaptability high-PCO employees are likely to view their goal progress in a more positive light,
which should reduce their turnover intentions.
Second, the values-driven dimension of PCO should prompt high-PCO individuals to choose work goals that are consistent with
their values and remain attentive to situational information that help advance towards the valued goals (Hall et al., 2018). Ad-
ditionally, high-PCO individuals will be able to follow their passions and values if they progress towards personal work goals. Making
progress towards personally meaningful goals should in turn decrease their intentions to leave because staying with the organization
should allow them to achieve their career goals in the future. By contrast, leaving the organization may be a risk to their long-term
career development (Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Weng, McElroy, Morrow, & Liu, 2010).
Hypothesis 3. Personal work goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions.
2.4. The moderating role of organizational career management
Although we expect that, compared to their low-PCO counterparts, individuals with high levels of PCO experience decreases in
turnover intentions over time by successfully managing their goal pursuit, we also expect that this indirect effect is contingent on the
degree of career support they receive from their organizations. Specifically, we argue that the indirect effect is less pronounced when
individuals perceive extensive career support from their companies.
Social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) provides the underlying logic for why OCM may moderate the indirect relationship between
PCO and decreases in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress. According to social exchange theory, organizational
practices that support the employee may signal to the employee that the company cares for and values its employees, which in turn
creates feelings of obligation to reciprocate the benefits and opportunities provided by the organization by helping the organization
(Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990; Gouldner, 1960). Previous research shows that OCM can improve employees' work
attitudes through positive evaluations and expectancies of career development (Guan et al., 2014). When perceiving high levels of
OCM, individuals are less likely to switch employers because this would imply to forfeit both symbolic and concrete benefits provided
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
4
by their current employer. The symbolic resources are beyond objective worth, such as signals of self-worth and career satisfaction,
whereas concrete resources refer to tangible resources related to instrumental needs, such as expected salary growth (Zhu et al.,
2019). In this sense, individuals who perceive greater support from their companies are more likely to reciprocate via continued
participation in organizational life (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986).
In line with social exchange theory, empirical research predominantly confirms that perceived organizational support leads to
lower turnover intentions (Allen, Shore, & Griffeth, 2003; Dawley, Houghton, & Bucklew, 2010; Guan et al., 2015). Hence, irre-
spective of their degree of goal progress, individuals who perceive high levels of OCM should develop fewer turnover intentions
because they feel valued and have the opportunity to gain human and social capital, which can help them achieve their long-term
career goals.
Further, in the presence of objective benefits and external referents of career success as reflected by OCM, the impact of goal
progress, which presents an internal reference of how individuals' careers are advancing, is likely to be less important for decreasing
individuals' turnover intentions. In fact, while individuals' career self-management and organizational career support may work
together in explaining individuals career outcomes (Guan et al., 2015), previous research has also shown that individuals' career self-
management and organizational career support serve as compensatory mechanisms. Specifically, De Vos, De Clippeleer, and Dewilde
(2009) show that high levels of OCM can compensate for low career self-management, such that OCM and career self-management
might substitute each other in explaining subjective career success. OCM, with its focus on external benefits (e.g., salary growth
opportunities, trainings), may thus present an alternative reason for remaining in the company. In other words, the prospect of
obtaining the external benefits associated with OCM, which are both symbolic and tangible in nature, may compensate for low levels
of current goal progress, which is an internal measure of advancement in one's career, in predicting changes in individuals' inclination
to leave their employers. Hence, we expect that the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress will be
weaker when individuals experience high OCM.
Hypothesis 4. Organizational career management moderates the indirect relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover
intentions through personal work goal progress. Specifically, the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via
personal work goal progress will be weaker when individuals perceive high levels of organizational career management.
3. Methods
3.1. Sample and study design
To test our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged study with three measurement waves. We administered the questionnaires
each three months apart, following previous research on the relationship between individual differences, personal goals, and work
attitudes, which has used time lapses between two and four months (e.g., Judge et al., 2005; Maier & Brunstein, 2001). We invited
Alumni, who had previously completed a postgraduate degree at two Spanish business schools, via email to our longitudinal study,
offering them in return an individual report, which explained their personal scores and compared them to those of the cohort means.
We chose this sample because it represents an internationally diverse sample of millennials, who had prior work experience and were
fluent in English.
In total, 349 alumni accepted our invitation to participate. In the first measurement wave, we assessed individuals' level of PCO.
Data were missing for seven participants, leaving 342 eligible respondents for the Time 2 and Time 3 questionnaires. In the second
measurement wave, we asked individuals to write down their personal work goals for the next 3 months and assessed their baseline
level of turnover intentions. In the final data collection, we asked for individuals' assessments of their goal progress and their level of
turnover intentions. In total, 176 participants responded to all three surveys (follow-up response rate of 51%), of which 138 had no
missing data on our study variables. Missing data ranged from a low of 0% for PCO to 9% for goal progress and 13% for organi-
zational career management. Little's (1988) missing data analysis test suggests that data is missing completely at random (χ2
= 66.6,
p = .07). In the following analyses, we deleted cases with missing data. We tested the robustness of our findings with full information
maximum likelihood, as recommended by Schlomer, Bauman, and Card (2010). Results remained substantially the same.
On average, the participants in our final sample were 31 years old, and 27% were female. Most of the study participants occupied
a managerial position (85%) and worked full time (97%). Participants worked in a variety of industries, such as healthcare, consumer
goods, consultancy, construction, IT, and banking. They also worked in a number of different occupations, including as consultant,
strategy specialist, civil servant, HR professional, marketing professional and project manager. They had an average work experience
of 7 years and an average organizational tenure of 2.5 years. As all Alumni in our study had completed their postgraduate degree in
English and therefore were sufficiently proficient in English, we selected English as our survey language to reflect the language in
which the original measurement scales we adopted were developed.
3.2. Measures
3.2.1. Protean career orientation
In the first measurement wave, we assessed protean career orientation using the 14-item scale developed by Briscoe et al. (2006).
The measure of protean career orientation includes two sub-dimensions: the self-directed scale (sample item: “In the past I have relied
more on myself than others to find a new job when necessary”) and the value-driven scale (sample item: “What's most important to
me is how I feel about my career success, not how other people feel about it”). Responses were made on a five-point Likert scale
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
5
ranging from 1 (to little or no extent) to 5 (to a great extent) (α = 0.77 for the overall PCO scale; α = 0.65 for values-driven PCO;
α = 72 for self-directed PCO). Given that previous research has reported some empirical inconsistencies of the PCO scale (Hall et al.,
2018), we tested the construct validity with CFA. According to Hu and Bentler (1999), RMSEA values below 0.06, SRMR values below
0.08, and CFI values close to 0.95 are indicators of good model fit. The results of a CFA modelling the two sub-dimensions of PCO
have an acceptable fit (χ (76) = 148.61, p = .00; CFI = 0.81; RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.08). All items load significantly on their
respective factor with the exception of the last item of the value-driven PCO scale (“In the past I have sided with my own values when
the company has asked me to do something I don't agree with”). Comparing this result to the original study (Briscoe et al., 2006), this
item also did not significantly load on the values-driven dimension of PCO in the principal component analysis of Briscoe et al.
(2006), although it had significant factor loadings in the CFA. This item seems to be a rather poor indicator of values-driven PCO,
which might be due to the fact that the item captures the assumption that all respondents have experienced a situation in which the
company has done something they don't agree with. To be consistent with Briscoe et al.'s study, we nevertheless kept this item in
order to use the same validated scale.
3.2.2. Organizational career management practices
In the first wave, we also measured the formal career management practices respondents received from their organizations using
Sturges et al.'s (2002) six-item measure (sample item: “I have been given training to help develop my career”). Responses were made
on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (α = 0.83). Performing a confirmatory factor analysis with
the six OCM items shows that that all factor loadings are significant and that the model fit is good, although the RMSEA value is
rather high (χ (9) = 21.85, p = .01; CFI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.10).
3.2.3. Personal work goal progress
We assessed personal work goals following the procedure employed by Hülsheger and Maier (2010) and Brunstein, Schultheiss,
and Grässman (1998). In the second measurement wave we asked respondents to think about the personal work goals they aimed to
pursue in the next six months. Personal work goals were defined as “objectives, projects, and plans that are related to your job, career,
and occupation” (Maier & Brunstein, 2001, p. 1036). We asked the participants to write down their three most important personal
work goals for the following six months. In the third wave, we reminded respondents of the three personal work goals they generated
at Time 2 and asked them to rate their progress towards achieving each of the three goals using four items (sample item: “I ac-
complished what I set out to do with this goal”) (Greguras & Diefendorff, 2010). The goal progress items were rated on a scale from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In total, we thus had twelve items measuring goal progress. In line with previous studies on
goal progress (e.g., Judge et al., 2005; Wiese & Freund, 2005) we aggregated the twelve items to build an overall goal progress scale
(α = 0.90).
3.2.4. Turnover intentions
In the second and third measurement waves, we used Colarelli's (1984) three-item scale of intention to quit the job to measure
individuals' turnover intentions. A sample item is “I have my own way, I will be working for my company one year from now.”
Responses were made on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), both with high internal reliabilities
(T2: α = 0.84 and T3: α = 82). We tested whether the turnover intentions scale was invariant across time. Such measurement
invariance is a prerequisite for assessing change over time. The good fit of the model and the results of the chi-square tests indicate
that the scales provide full metric invariance and scalar invariance (see Table 2). Given that the conventional levels of measurement
invariance are met (Lance, Dawson, Birkelbach, & Hoffman, 2010; Pitts, West, & Tein, 1996), we can conclude that the meaning of
the underlying constructs is unlikely to have changed substantially over time.
3.2.5. Control variables
We controlled for participants' business school (dummy variable), age (in years) and gender (0 = male; 1 = female) as these
demographic variables might affect turnover intentions (Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000) or personal work goal progress. Further, to
examine whether our hypothesized model holds over and above respondents' level of objective career success, we controlled for
salary (measured in 22 steps from “no salary” to “more than €20,000 per month”). The control variables were assessed at Time 1 with
the exception of salary, which was measured at Time 3.
3.3. Analyses
We tested the hypothesized moderated mediation within a path analytic framework using Mplus. We used average scores to
represent each study variable. In line with the recommendations of Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken (2003), we mean-centered the
independent variables and moderator variables before creating interaction terms and plotted the interactions at two values of the
moderator ( ± 1 SD). A 5000-replication bootstrapping was used to obtain bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals (CI) for our
postulated indirect effects.
We assessed changes in turnover intentions using residual scores. Following the suggestions of Smith and Beaton (2008), we
obtained the change scores by regressing the Time 3 scores of turnover intentions on the corresponding Time 2 scores. The differences
between the predicted and observed scores of turnover intentions at Time 3 are measured as the standardized residual scores, which
means that positive (negative) residual scores indicate an increase (decrease) in turnover intentions. We performed three regression
analyses for each turnover intention item as dependent variables. We used these change scores to compute the composite construct of
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
6
change in turnover intentions. For hypothesis testing, we hence used the average score of change in turnover intentions. The method
of using residual scores as indicators of change is superior to the use of difference scores because it does not inflate error (Cronbach &
Furby, 1970).
4. Results
The descriptive statistics of our study variables are presented in Table 1.
As indicated in Table 2, the model fit indices suggest that the measurement model has a good model fit (χ (59) = 56.68, p = .56;
CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.00) and is superior to an alternative one-factor model in which all constructs load on the same factor. All
items loaded significantly onto their respective factor, with the exception of one item of the values-driven PCO sub-dimension (“In the
past I have sided with my own values when the company has asked me to do something I don't agree with”). This result is likely due to
semantic reasons and is in line with previously known psychometric properties of the values-driven PCO scale (Hall et al., 2018).
Following previous research, we used the full scale in our analyses.
4.1. Hypothesis testing
In line with Hypotheses 1–3, we tested whether personal work goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and changes
in turnover intentions. The results of the path analysis show that PCO was positively associated with goal progress (B = 0.29, p = .03,
Table 3a), thus providing support for Hypothesis 1. An examination at the sub-dimension level revealed that the self-directed subscale
of PCO is positively associated with goal progress (B = 0.27, p = .05, Table 3b), whereas the values-driven scale is not significantly
related with goal progress (B = 0.16, p = .16, Table 3c).
Further, in line with Hypothesis 2 goal progress was significantly related with decreases in turnover intentions (B = −0.45,
p < .001, Table 3a). To test Hypotheses 3, which predicts that goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and decreases in
turnover intentions, we used a 5000-replication bootstrapping to obtain bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals. Consistent with
Hypothesis 3, PCO leads to decreases in turnover intentions through goal progress (B = −0.13; p = .04, 95% CI [−0.28; −0.02]).
The postulated mediation model had a good fit: χ (1) = 0.11, p = .74, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA < 0.01.
To test for partial mediation, we included a path from PCO to changes in turnover intentions. The additional path was not
statistically significant (Δ turnover intentions on PCO: B = −0.04; p = .73), suggesting that the relationship between PCO and
turnover intentions is fully mediated by personal work goal progress. At a subscale level, goal progress also mediates the relationship
between the self-directed dimension of PCO and decreases in turnover intentions as the bootstrap CIs excluding zero indicate
(B = −0.12; p = .07, 95% CI [−0.27; −0.01], Table 3b). As expected, given the non-significant relationship between the values-
driven dimension of PCO and goal progress, goal progress does not mediate the relationship between values-driven PCO and changes
Table 1
Descriptive statistics of study variables.
Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 Age 31.34 3.71
2 Gender 0.29 0.46 −0.18⁎
3 Group 0.48 0.50 −0.35⁎
0.19⁎
4 Salary 6.39 3.83 0.30⁎
−0.14 −0.14
5 PCO 3.89 0.45 0.12 −0.05 0.03 0.09
6 PCO (VD) 3.66 0.60 0.15 −0.05 −0.02 0.02 0.85⁎⁎
7 PCO (SD) 4.06 0.46 0.06 −0.04 0.07 0.13 0.86⁎⁎
0.46⁎⁎
8 OCM 3.53 0.80 −0.20 0.01 0.13 0.12 −0.13 −0.14 −0.08
9 Goal progress 3.50 0.80 −0.02 0.15 0.26 −0.02 0.17⁎
0.12 0.17⁎
0.15
10 TI (T2) 2.61 1.16 0.18⁎
−0.07 0.05 0.05 −0.04 −0.01 −0.08 −0.18⁎
−0.24⁎⁎
11 TI (T3) 2.77 1.16 0.14 −0.20⁎
0.03 0.08 −0.09 −0.02 −0.14 −0.21⁎
−0.48⁎⁎
0.67⁎⁎
12 Δ TI 0.01 0.78 0.03 −0.23⁎
0.02 0.07 −0.08 −0.03 −0.11 −0.13 −0.44⁎⁎
0.07 0.78⁎⁎
Note: TI = turnover intentions; PCO (VD) = values-driven PCO; PCO (SD) = self-driven PCO; N = 138.
⁎⁎
p < .01.
⁎
p < .05.
Table 2
Confirmatory factor analyses.
Model χ2
df Δ χ2
CFI RMSEA
Measurement invariance
Invariance 3.06 5 1.00 0.00
Metric invariance 4.34 7 1.28 1.00 0.00
Scalar invariance 9.48 10 5.14 1.00 0.00
Note. N = 138. df = degrees of freedom; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CFI = comparative fit index.
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
7
in turnover intentions (B = −0.07; p = .17, 95% CI [−0.18; 0.02], Table 3c).
Hypothesis 4 predicts that organizational career management moderates the indirect effects from PCO to decreases in turnover
intentions via goal progress. We first simultaneously tested for the possibility of first-stage and second-stage moderation of OCM
(Edwards & Lambert, 2007). Results show that OCM does not significantly moderate the first stage of the indirect effect (i.e., PCO
predicting goal progress), even though the interaction term is negative (B = −0.18; p = .19, Table 3a). The second stage (i.e., goal
Table 3a
Results of moderated mediation with overall PCO scale.
Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model
B SE β T B SE β T B SE β T
Mediator
Goal progress
University 0.42 0.14 0.26 3.07⁎⁎
0.40 0.14 0.25 3.07⁎⁎
0.42 0.14 0.26 3.02⁎⁎
Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 0.21 0.14 0.12 1.41 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41
Age 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.99 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.99 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.99
Salary 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.03 −0.01 0.02 −0.04 −0.44 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.44
PCO 0.29 0.13 0.16 2.19⁎
0.94 0.48 0.52 1.96⁎
0.29 0.15 0.16 1.99⁎
OCM 0.88 0.53 0.89 0.09
PCO ∗ OCM −0.18 0.14 −0.76 −1.35
R2
0.11 0.15⁎
0.11⁎
DV
Δ TI
University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎
−0.35 0.13 −0.20 −2.71⁎⁎
−0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎
Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.20
Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.12 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.12
Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎
−1.21 0.35 −1.23 −3.52⁎⁎
−1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎
OCM −0.85 0.34 −0.86 −2.49⁎
−0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎
Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.22 0.09 1.19 2.27⁎
0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎
R2
0.26⁎
0.29⁎⁎
0.29⁎⁎
N = 138.
Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses.
⁎⁎
p < .01.
⁎
p < .05
Table 3b
Results of moderated mediation with self-directed PCO subscale.
Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model
B SE β T B SE β T B SE Β T
Mediator
Goal progress
University 0.41 0.14 0.26 3.01⁎⁎
0.39 0.14 0.25 2.88⁎
0.41 0.14 0.26 2.97⁎
Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 0.19 0.14 0.12 1.34 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.45
Age 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.17 0.03 0.02 0.11 1.50 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02
Salary −0.01 0.01 −0.12 −0.13 −0.01 0.02 −0.04 −0.57 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.15
PCO_SD 0.29 0.13 0.16 2.00⁎
1.05 0.51 0.52 2.04⁎
0.27 0.14 0.16 1.92⁎
OCM 1.05 0.59 0.89 1.77
PCO_SD ∗ OCM −0.22 0.14 −0.76 −1.51
R2
0.11 0.15⁎
0.11⁎
DV
Δ turnover intentions
University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎
−0.35 0.13 −0.2 −2.71⁎⁎
−0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎
Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.21 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21
Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.03 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02
Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎
−1.14 0.34 −1.23 −3.34⁎⁎
−1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎
OCM −0.78 0.34 −0.86 −2.31⁎
−0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎
Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎
0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎
R2
0.26⁎
0.29⁎⁎
0.29⁎⁎
N = 138.
Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses.
⁎⁎
p < .01.
⁎
p < .05.
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
8
progress predicting changes in turnover intentions) was moderated, however, by OCM (B = 0.21; p = .03). Thus, we ran a final
model, which only includes the mediation and the moderation of the second stage. The postulated moderated mediation model had a
good fit: χ (1) = 0.01, p = .90, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA < 0.01. In order to ascertain the nature of the moderated relation, we plotted the
interactions at two values of the moderator ( ± 1 SD). As Fig. 2 indicates, the relationship between personal work goal progress and
decreases in turnover intentions is stronger when OCM is low. We further calculated the region of significance in order to assess for
which values of OCM goal progress leads to decreases in turnover intentions. As the region of significance points out, personal work
goal progress only leads to decreases in turnover intentions if OCM is low to moderate (< 0.90 of mean-centered OCM). Accordingly,
the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress is more pronounced when individuals perceive less
Table 3c
Results of moderated mediation with values-driven PCO subscale.
Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model
B SE β T B SE β T B SE β T
Mediator
Goal progress
University 0.43 0.14 0.27 3.21⁎⁎
0.42 0.14 0.26 3.06⁎⁎
0.43 0.14 0.27 3.12⁎⁎
Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.38 0.22 0.14 0.12 1.52 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41
Age 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.98 0.03 0.02 0.11 1.24 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.89
Salary 0.00 0.02 0.01 −0.09 −0.01 0.02 −0.02 −0.25 0.00 0.02 0.01 −0.10
PCO_VD 0.16 0.11 0.12 1.40 0.55 0.38 0.42 1.48 0.16 0.11 0.12 1.45
OCM 0.56 0.39 0.56 1.43
PCO_VD ∗ OCM −0.11 0.10 −0.46 −1.04
R2
0.10 0.13⁎
0.10⁎
DV
Δ turnover intentions
University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎
Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎
−0.33 0.13 −0.20 −2.57⁎
−0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎
Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21
Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.03 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02
Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎
−1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.39⁎⁎
−1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎
OCM −0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎
−0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎
Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎
0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎
R2
0.26⁎
0.29⁎⁎
0.29⁎⁎
N = 138.
Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses.
⁎⁎
p < .01.
⁎
p < .05.
Fig. 2. Interaction of goal progress and OCM in explaining changes in turnover intentions.
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
9
organizational career management (see Tables 3a and 4). The results at the sub-dimension level also show that the indirect effect of
self-driven PCO is more pronounced when OCM is low (see Table 5).
4.2. Additional analyses
To test the longitudinal implications of our hypothesized model, we examined the association of our study variables with par-
ticipants' number of employer changes 6.5 years after having finished data collection for our time-lagged study (M = 1.2, SD = 1.08).
To that end, we assessed via their LinkedIn accounts how often the study participants had changed their employers and were able to
access data for 81 individuals. Correlation results show that employer change is positively associated with PCO (r = 0.28, p = .04),
turnover intentions (T2: r = 0.18, ns; T3: r = 0.36, p < .01), increases in turnover intentions (r = 0.34, p = .01), and negatively with
goal progress (r = −0.29, p = .01). Correlations at the sub-dimension level reveal that number of employer changes is marginally
positively associated with values-driven PCO (r = 0.09, p = .06), but unrelated with self-directed PCO (r = 0.04, p = .29). We
subsequently tested the hypothesized moderated mediation model and additionally allowed for a serial mediation from PCO to
number of employer changes through goal progress and changes in turnover intentions. The results indicate that the number of
employer changes is predicted by an increase in turnover intentions (B = 0.32; p = .01). This means that increases in turnover
intentions during the period of data collection explain subsequent inter-organizational career mobility. As the results from the
mediation analysis suggest, high-PCO individuals are indirectly less likely to change employers because they progress towards their
personal work goals and hence decreased their turnover intentions (B = −0.14; 95% CI [−0.39; −0.02]). Simultaneously, the
results indicate that PCO positively predicts number of employer changes (B = 0.46; p = .02), which suggests that there might be
several parallel mediating mechanisms that can shed light on the mobility behavior of protean careerists. The total effect, i.e. the sum
of the indirect and direct effect, of PCO on number of employer changes is non-significant (B = 0.32; p = .14). These results reflect an
inconsistent mediation, which describes a model in which a mediated effect has a different sign than other mediated or direct effects
in the model (MacKinnon, Fairchild, & Fritz, 2006).
Running the mediation model with the sub-dimensions of PCO reveals that only the values-driven dimension of PCO predicts the
number of employer changes (B = 0.31; p = .02), but—as previously shown—does not display an indirect effect through goal pro-
gress and turnover intentions (B = −0.07; 95% CI [−0.25; 0.01]). The total effect of values-driven PCO is positive, but only
marginally significant (B = 0.24; p = .09). The self-directed dimension of PCO marginally significantly predicts number of employer
changes (B = 36; p = .07), but displays a negative indirect effect through goal progress and changes in turnover intentions
(B = −0.13; 95% CI [−0.39; −0.01]). The total effect is non-significant (B = 0.22; p = .29).
5. Discussion
Our study demonstrates that protean career theory and social exchange theory work together to explain when and how mil-
lennials' protean career attitudes relate to changes in turnover intentions. Two major findings emerged from this study. First, in-
dividuals high in PCO were more likely to experience a decrease in their turnover intentions over a time span of three months. This
relationship was indirect rather than direct. Consistent with protean career theory, the indirect relationship between PCO and
changes in turnover intentions can be explained by personal work goal progress such that high-PCO individuals are more likely to
progress towards their work goals, which in turn explains decreases in their turnover intentions. Second, and in line with social
exchange theory, the indirect effect from PCO to decreases in turnover intentions through goal progress was weaker when individuals
perceived high levels of organizational career support. Specifically, the relationship between goal progress and decreases in turnover
intentions became weaker when organizations were perceived to offer a high degree of formal career practices.
5.1. Theoretical implications
Taken together, we believe our findings contribute to the career literature in several aspects. First, this study extends the no-
mological network of PCO by showing that PCO relates to changes in turnover intention via personal work goal progress. Our findings
Table 4
Conditional indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions at values of organizational career management.
Mediator Organizational career management Effect E Bootstrap CI
Goal progress Low −0.38 0.24 [−1.01; −0.04]
Goal progress High −0.28 0.17 [−0.72; −0.04]
Table 5
conditional indirect effect of self-directed PCO on changes in turnover intentions at values of organizational career management.
Mediator Organizational career management Effect E Bootstrap CI
Goal progress Low −0.35 0.24 [−1.03; −0.01]
Goal progress High −0.29 0.17 [−0.76; −0.03]
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
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point to a complex relationship between PCO and mobility behavior and may thus shed some light on why previous research has
found mixed results concerning the mobility preferences of high-PCO individuals (Baruch et al., 2015; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2014;
Supeli & Creed, 2015). Specifically, our results suggest an indirect relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions.
Millennials high on PCO are thus not per se inclined to job hop—as both research on millennials and protean career theory would
imply—but their turnover intentions can instead be explained by how successful they manage their personal work goal pursuit. In this
sense, our research also indicates that millennial employees, even those with a pronounced self-driven career attitude, do not ne-
cessarily display lower loyalty to their employers.
Analyses on the sub-dimension level show that only the self-directed dimension of PCO is related to goal progress. Although value-
driven individuals could also more likely progress towards their work goals due to their internal awareness and propensity to pursue
self-concordant goals (Judge et al., 2005), our study did not find support for potential benefits of value-driven protean careerists in
terms of goal progress.
Interestingly, using a follow-up of participants' inter-organizational career movements 6.5 years after finishing this research study,
additional analyses point to an inconsistent mediation (MacKinnon et al., 2006) and suggest that the protean career orientation is
positively related to number of employer changes, while at the same time displaying an indirect negative effect on number of
employer changes via goal progress and changes in turnover intentions. This highlights that contemporary career concepts such as
PCO may not be directly associated with reduced employee loyalty (Spell & Blum, 2000) and frequent inter-organizational career
moves (Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). Instead, there likely are different and potentially opposing mechanisms that explain when and why
millennials high on PCO are more prone to switch organizations.
We thus advance protean career theory by identifying explanatory mechanisms for the relationship between PCO and changes in
turnover intentions. Our results indicate that PCO was positively related with personal work goal progress. In this respect, our finding
suggests that high-PCO individuals are better able to manage their goal pursuits compared with their low-PCO counterparts.
Relatedly, our results at the sub-dimension level show that the proposed mediation of personal work goal progress only holds for the
self-directed—but not the values-driven—dimension of PCO. As such, the processes of adaptability and, in particular, agency seem to
be more clearly linked to goal-setting and goal pursuit whereas awareness in and of itself appears insufficient for driving goal
progress, and in turn decreases in turnover intentions. This finding contributes to protean career theory by refining our understanding
regarding the relative weight of the three protean career mechanisms for explaining relevant work and career outcomes (Hall et al.,
2018). It specifically underlines that a differentiated view on the sub-dimensions of PCO is important for understanding mobility
behavior. As of now, most research studying PCO and turnover intentions used an overall scale of PCO (Baruch et al., 2015) or the
self-driven scale (Redondo et al., 2019).
Second, this study responds to earlier calls (e.g., Hall, 2004; McElroy & Weng, 2015; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009) to examine the
interplay between PCO and career situations when predicting career outcomes. When the organization is seen to provide high career
management practices, the indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress diminishes. On
the contrary, in situations of low organizational career management, goal progress is a more important internal referent for un-
derstanding changes in turnover intentions. This suggests that the work advantages typically associated with high-PCO individuals
are especially strong in career environments in which individuals predominantly need to rely on their own resources to guide their
careers, instead of relying on external referents, such as organizational career support, for making turnover decisions. Considering
that low-PCO individuals, who prefer the company to take care of their careers, have increasingly been found to be at risk (Baruch,
2004; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009), our findings suggest that low PCO does not necessarily need to be associated with disadvantages at
work. Specifically, high degrees of OCM can partly compensate for the lack of goal progress that is associated with low PCO, such that
individuals low on PCO could also experience a variety of positive job attitudes related with goal progress, including job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, and engagement (Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Masuda, Holtschlag, & Nicklin, 2017), when they perceive
obtaining high OCM.
Third, our study integrates protean career theory and social exchange theory arguments to explain high-PCO individuals' changes
in intentions to leave, and show that they imply alternative and interacting mechanisms through which these job attitudes evolve.
Our finding that individuals' personal work goal progress is less likely to decrease turnover intentions, and that the indirect effect of
PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress is less pronounced at high levels of OCM, points to boundary conditions of
self-directed behavior and hence career agency. Our results thus contribute to the discussion of the bounded nature of careers by
hinting at an interactive effect of individual agency and situational variables, such that a high degree of external support can
compensate for self-directed behavior, specifically goal progress. In this sense, OCM provides a career boundary that alters the
importance of individuals' goal pursuit, showing that career agency is not equally important across career contexts. Our study shows
that personal work goal progress only decreases turnover intentions as long as OCM is not very high.
The finding also points to a relative importance of social exchange theory explanations and hence perceived organizational career
support for influencing individuals' turnover intentions. It suggests that organizations may only need to actively reduce turnover
intentions if employees perceive that they currently do not progress towards their personal work goals. The interplay of PCO, goal
progress, and organizational career management further adds to recent research on the contingencies of social exchange theory,
which shows that organizational career support only leads to lower voluntary turnover when employees perceive high career growth
opportunities (Kraimer et al., 2011).
5.2. Practical implications
Our findings have several practical implications. First, our results show the importance of personal work goal progress for
C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366
11
reducing employees' conscious desire to leave their organizations. The findings suggest that millennials are not necessarily more
inclined to switch employers. An important factor to tie them to the organization might be to allow them to advance towards their
individually valued goals. This seems particularly important given how much millennial employees are attracted towards meaningful
work goals more broadly. Based on our research, companies can create interventions to help employees set effective goals and
support them in their goal pursuit. These practices could consist of formal career management practices, development and training
opportunities or coaching and mentoring. The pursuit and progress towards effective goals does not only lead to performance, as
goal-setting research has shown (Locke & Latham, 1990), but can also improve their proclivity to stay with their employer.
Second, our findings point to the importance of providing career management practices especially for individuals low on PCO.
These individuals will particularly benefit from having a structured career management environment in their organizations. Although
our findings suggest that low-PCO individuals were still less likely to advance towards their personal work goals even if they received
extensive OCM, our results indicate that OCM can at least compensate for the lack of goal progress. This is potentially because OCM
already signals recognition and helps individuals fulfill their need of achievement. Our study also suggests that it might not ne-
cessarily be important for companies to recruit employees that are high on PCO, if the organization provides practices that support
employees' career development.
5.3. Limitations and conclusions
The limitations of this study should be acknowledged. First, although the time-lagged nature of our research allows us to
overcome the shortcomings of most studies examining protean career orientations, namely the use of cross-sectional data (Gubler
et al., 2014), the nature of our data does not allow us to draw causal inferences. Future studies could further build on our findings and
either manipulate goal appraisals or use cross-lagged designs, measuring protean career orientation, goal appraisals, and work
attitudes multiple times. We also note that our sample size is somewhat limited, thereby restricting our statistical power. We en-
courage future studies with larger time-lagged samples to replicate and further establish these findings.
Second, we used self-reported measures in this study, which raises questions of common-method bias. To reduce problems as-
sociated with common-method bias we temporally separated the measurement of the independent, mediator and dependent variable
(Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). Considering that employees themselves have the clearest idea about their career or-
ientation, personal work goal progress, and intentions to leave, it would have been difficult to obtain accurate information with a
different method other than self-report (Spector, 2006). However, future research could obtain multi-source data by asking collea-
gues or significant others to assess individuals' protean career orientation. Further, future studies would contribute to the literature by
testing the indirect effect of PCO on actual turnover via goal progress. By examining goal progress as a potential mediator between
these relationships we could better understand the contradictory findings in this literature. Further, while it would have been va-
luable to have an additional external measure of managerial career practices, researchers have argued that individual perceptions of
the situation (the so-called “functional” view of situations, Block & Block, 1981) are more appropriate for understanding the impact
of situational variables than objective characteristics of situations (i.e., the “psycho-biological view of situations”) (e.g., Meyer et al.,
2014).
Third, we argued that high-PCO individuals are better able to manage goal pursuit than low-PCO individuals. However, we did
not test why protean careerists make more progress towards their personal work goals. Future studies could look at other measures of
goal pursuit such as goal appraisals, goal congruency, and goal content (i.e. difficult versus specific goals) as potential mediators of
the relationship between PCO, goal progress, and changes in job attitudes. For example, the indirect relationship between PCO and
changes in turnover intentions could also be explained by the fact that high-PCO individuals are more likely to network, seek career
guidance, and actively cope with change (Briscoe, Henagan, Burton, & Murphy, 2012; De Vos & Segers, 2013; De Vos & Soens, 2008).
The purpose of this paper was, first, to examine the indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions via personal work
goal progress and, second, to analyze how organizational career management moderates this effect. We showed that high PCO
predicted decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress particularly when organizations did not provide a high extent of formal
career management practices. We hope that future studies can build on these findings to further examine the explanatory mechanisms
and contingencies under which PCO leads to job attitudes.
Author contribution
Claudia Holtschlag: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft. Aline Masuda:
Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing - Review & Editing. B. Sebastian Reiche: Conceptualization, Methodology,
Investigation, Writing - Review & Editing. Carlos Morales: Formal analysis, Writing - Reviewing and Editing.
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Why-do-millennials-stay-in-their-jobs--The-roles-of-prote_2020_Journal-of-Vo.pdf

  • 1. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Vocational Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb Why do millennials stay in their jobs? The roles of protean career orientation, goal progress and organizational career management Claudia Holtschlaga,d,⁎ , Aline D. Masudab , B. Sebastian Reichec , Carlos Moralesa,d a CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School, Jirón Daniel Alomía Robles 125, Urbanización Los Álamos de Monterrico, Santiago de Surco 15023, Lima, Peru b EADA Business School, C/Aragó 204, 08011 Barcelona, Spain c IESE Business School, Carrer d'Arnús i de Garí, n° 3, 7, 08034 Barcelona, Spain d Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Protean career orientation Millennials Goal progress Organizational career management Turnover intentions A B S T R A C T In this paper we report a time-lagged study over six months analyzing the indirect effect of protean career orientation on changes in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress in a sample of millennial employees. Consistent with protean career theory and social exchange theory, we found that protean career orientation indirectly leads to decreases in turnover in- tentions over time and this effect was moderated by organizational career management practices. This effect was observed because the relationship between goal progress and decreases in turn- over intentions became less salient when organizations were perceived to offer high levels of formal career practices. We discuss the implications for research and practice. Millennials, who are individuals born between 1980 and 1996, are assumed to be notorious “job hoppers” (Landrum, 2017), having substantially raised turnover costs for organizations (Adkins, 2016). Academic evidence generally supports this reputation. According to a meta-analysis of 20 studies on generational differences, millennials—compared with other generations—are more likely to report intentions to leave their organizations (Costanza, Badger, Fraser, Severt, & Gade, 2012). At the same time, while millennials demonstrate more inter-organizational career transitions than previous generations, the evidence for stark differences in career patterns and the “death” of the traditional organizational career is not overwhelming (Chudzikowski, 2012). As such, it is important to study what predicts whether millennials more or less likely want to leave their employers. A promising concept to understand contemporary careers is the protean career orientation (PCO), which reflects the degree to which individuals self-direct their careers and are guided by their own values (Briscoe, Hall, & Frautschy DeMuth, 2006; Hall, 1996; Hall, 2002; Hall & Moss, 1998). As with millennials, it is commonly assumed that protean careerists are more proactive in searching for alternative career opportunities and hence more inclined to change employers (Baruch, Wordsworth, Mills, & Wright, 2015). Thus far, empirical findings are, however, mixed regarding the association between PCO and mobility preferences (Briscoe & Finkelstein, 2009) such that some researchers found a positive association between PCO and turnover intentions (Supeli & Creed, 2015), whereas others report a negative (Baruch et al., 2015) or non-significant (Baruch, 2014; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2014; Redondo, Sparrow, & Hernández-Lechuga, 2019) relationship. These ambivalent findings suggest that the relationship between PCO and turnover inten- tions might be contingent upon moderating and mediating factors (McElroy & Weng, 2015). As Hall, Yip, and Doiron (2018) argue, PCO may also lead to positive organizational outcomes, such as lower turnover intentions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103366 Received 13 March 2019; Received in revised form 26 November 2019; Accepted 30 November 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: choltschlag@pucp.edu.pe (C. Holtschlag), amasuda@eada.edu (A.D. Masuda), SReiche@iese.edu (B.S. Reiche), morales.ce@pucp.edu.pe (C. Morales). Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 Available online 05 December 2019 0001-8791/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc. T
  • 2. For example, the so-called Protean Paradox suggests that protean careerists can be better organizational citizens despite their self- focused career approach. More research is, however, required to understand the organizational settings that promote the positive potential of PCO. In this study, we integrate protean career and social exchange theories to examine how and when millennials' protean career orientation explains changes in turnover intentions. In line with protean career theory, which holds that career agency is a fundamental process that explains the work outcomes of high-PCO individuals (Hall et al., 2018), we argue that high-PCO millennials will report a decrease in turnover intentions because they are more likely to progress towards their personal work goals. Goal progress is a critical construct for understanding the agency with which individuals navigate their careers (Creed, Prideaux, & Patton, 2005). In fact, personal goals are fundamental for understanding individuals' behaviors and attitudes at work (Klug & Maier, 2015; Wiese & Freund, 2005) because they guide thought and action, and provide a standard against which to measure individuals' career accomplishments (Maier & Brunstein, 2001). The changes in mobility preferences of protean careerists likely not only depend on their agency, as expressed by the progress towards their self-defined goals, but also by the experienced organizational setting. Specifically, we argue that individuals' percep- tions of organizational career management (OCM), which refers to “the policies and practices deliberately designed by their orga- nizations in order to enhance the career effectiveness of employees” (Pazy, 1988, p. 313), serve as a situational moderator of the indirect relationship between millennials' PCO and their changes in turnover intentions over time via goal progress. Drawing on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) we expect that the indirect effect of PCO through goal progress will be less important in predicting a decrease in turnover intentions, if millennials work in organizations that are seen as providing extensive OCM. This is because OCM provides millennials with external benefits such as salary growth and training opportunities and offers them the chance to continue working towards meaningful goals in the future, even if they do not make progress towards their current goals. In turn, millennials will reciprocate by increased loyalty towards their organizations over time. Our study makes several contributions to the careers literature. First, to our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the mediating and moderating mechanisms by which high-PCO individuals experience lower intentions to leave over time. Following Gubler, Arnold, and Coombs' (2014) recommendation, we test the effects of PCO on turnover intentions using a longitudinal research design. Specifically, we conducted a time-lagged study with three waves over six months. Second, we address the calls to study the context for understanding the work implications of PCO (Hall, 2004; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009) and career transitions in general (Guan, Arthur, Khapova, Hall, & Lord, 2019). Taking into consideration that individual and situational factors interact to shape individuals' careers (Guan et al., 2019), we combine the agentic and structural careers perspective and recognize that turnover intentions are a function of both individual and situational factors. Third, to our knowledge this is the first study that integrates protean career theory and social exchange theory to explain how PCO predicts work attitudes. In this study, we show that career agentic and social exchange behaviors serve as compensatory mechanisms, which calls on future research to simultaneously take into consideration both theoretical mechanisms to better understand work phenomena. Finally, following previous calls by researchers on millennials (Lyons & Kuron, 2014), we provide scientific evidence to prevent the perpetuation of unfounded stereotypes and thus help to uncover the true nature of millennials' work-related attitudes and pre- ferences. Specifically, our study suggests that not all millennials have a high proclivity for “job hopping” and that personality and situational variables both play a role when predicting turnover intentions over time in this population. Below, we first describe each construct before developing our hypotheses. Fig. 1 illustrates our conceptual model. 1. Core constructs 1.1. Protean career orientation Protean career orientation describes an individual attitude towards (1) defining career success according to internal standards and Fig. 1. Conceptual model. Goal progress and changes in turnover intentions are controlled for by age, gender, salary and university. C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 2
  • 3. (2) actively managing to achieve these self-set success criteria (in comparison to relying on external guidance and direction) (Direnzo & Greenhaus, 2011; Hall, 1976). As such, the construct reflects the idea that individuals, instead of organizations, are primarily in charge of their own careers. In line with this conceptualization, the construct is comprised of two sub-dimensions (Briscoe et al., 2006): The values-driven dimension measures the extent to which individuals are aware of their identity—more specifically, their needs, motivations, abilities, values, interests—and assesses the extent to which individuals rely on their own values in guiding their careers and in interpreting career success. The self-directed dimension measures the degree to which individuals are able and willing to adapt to their career environment and the degree to which they take an active and independent role in managing their careers (Gubler et al., 2014). 1.2. Personal work goal progress Personally meaningful work goals are an essential construct for understanding the active role that individuals take in their career management (Wiese & Freund, 2005). Compared to assigned goals, which have important implications for job performance (Locke & Latham, 1990), personal work goals are considered to be particularly relevant for understanding job attitudes, particularly turnover intentions, because individuals base their work attitudes on the experiences they gain while advancing towards such work goals (Hülsheger & Maier, 2010). In fact, Direnzo and Greenhaus (2011) explain that goal-oriented behaviors such as making progress towards personally meaningful goals form part of one's job search. In case of low progress towards their goals, it is likely that individuals will search for a better job elsewhere to help them achieve their desired outcomes. By contrast, at higher levels of goal progress individuals will more likely stay with their employer because achieving their desired outcomes in the current organization appears more likely. Goal progress has also received particular attention in the careers literature (e.g., Holtschlag, Reiche, & Masuda, 2018; Hülsheger & Maier, 2010; Maier & Brunstein, 2001). Goal progress reflects the “small wins” (Weick, 1984) that individuals experience during their goal pursuit, and which signal to individuals that they are advancing well towards the achievement or completion of their personal work goals (Brunstein, 1993). 1.3. Organizational career management Organizational career management describes the career management practices that individuals receive from their companies, such as training and developing, mentoring, and personal development plans (Sturges, Guest, Conway, & Davey, 2002). Key to the definition of career management practices is that such practices are implemented by the organization, as opposed to career self- management practices which are under the control of employees themselves. Evidence suggests that formal career management practices such as training and development are positively related to employees' organizational commitment (Sturges et al., 2002). Additionally, perceived organizational career management practices have been negatively related with turnover intentions (Guan, Zhou, Ye, Jiang, & Zhou, 2015) and turnover as long as career opportunities within the company were perceived to be high (Kraimer, Seibert, Wayne, Liden, & Bravo, 2011). 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. Protean career orientation and goal progress PCO is thought to lead to work and career outcomes through three interrelated processes, namely awareness (identity work), adaptability (responding to change) and agency (exercising choice and intention) (Hall et al., 2018). Given that personal work goals are an important construct for understanding the active role that individuals take in their career management (Wiese & Freund, 2005), the research on personal work goals can provide important insights into the work experiences of high-PCO millennials. As Hall et al. (2018) outline, the mechanisms of identity awareness and adaptability are insufficient for being successful in a career. Central to individuals' career experiences are the actions that help individuals to realize their career values and goals. In this sense, the pursuit of personal work goals reflects the agentic process by which individuals direct their careers. Even though no research has empirically investigated how PCO and goal progress are related, several scholars have advocated that protean careerists might be more likely to progress towards their career goals than their low-PCO counterparts (Direnzo, Greenhaus, & Weer, 2015; Sargent & Domberger, 2007). In line with protean career theory, the reasons are twofold. First, the self- driven dimension of protean career theory likely leads to goal progress because it enables career agency and adaptability. By defi- nition, protean careerists are masters of their own careers, taking a more active role in their overall career management and in pursuing their career goals (Hall, 2002). Given their self-driven approach, protean careerists are more likely to engage in career planning, which helps them gain human, social and psychological capital (Direnzo et al., 2015)—all of which are instrumental for achieving personal career goals. Individuals high on PCO are also more likely to self-manage their goal-directed behavior, for ex- ample, by engaging in network and visibility strategies (De Vos & Soens, 2008), displaying occupational self-efficacy (Hirschi, Jaensch, & Herrmann, 2017) and showing proactive work behaviors (Gulyani & Bhatnagar, 2017; Herrmann, Hirschi, & Baruch, 2015; Hirschi et al., 2017). The proactive behaviors related to individuals' goal pursuit in turn promote goal progress (Duffy & Lent, 2009; Lent & Brown, 2006). The self-driven dimension also involves adaptability, which reflects individuals' ability to change in light of disruptions to their environment. Goal pursuit is rarely linear but rather involves facing sudden obstacles and the need to respond to changing demands. As such, adaptability should facilitate goal progress. Second, the values-driven PCO dimension should relate to goal progress through the process of identity awareness. Protean C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 3
  • 4. careerists are more likely to follow a calling and a “path with a heart” in their careers (Hall, 2004). By definition, individuals high on PCO are more aware of their values and use such values to guide their careers (Hall, 1976), instead of relying on external career influences (Briscoe & Finkelstein, 2009). Choosing goals in accordance with one's values has indeed been found to predict goal progress (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005; Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001). Individuals high on PCO are more likely to progress towards their personal goals because they might be particularly attentive to situational information to advance towards their valued goals and because they might be more effective in coming up with potential career strategies that guide them towards their career goals (Direnzo & Greenhaus, 2011). Individuals high on values-driven PCO are also more likely to leverage organizational resources, such as the internal network, in order to progress towards their personal work goals in the following six months (Redondo et al., 2019). Further, they are more likely to be in an organization that fits their values and interest (Baruch et al., 2015). In line with this reasoning, empirical evidence shows that high-PCO individuals are more likely to display passion for work (Gulyani & Bhatnagar, 2017). In sum, according to protean career theory individuals high on PCO have three characteristics that are beneficial to their goal progress (i.e., agency, awareness, and adaptability). As such, we expect that individuals with high PCO are more likely to progress towards their personal work goals compared with their low-PCO peers. Taken together: Hypothesis 1. PCO is positively associated with personal work goal progress. 2.2. Personal work goal progress and changes in turnover intentions We expect personal work goal progress to predict changes in turnover intentions, defined as a conscious and premeditated willingness to abandon the organization (Tett & Meyer, 1993). Consistent with Direnzo and Greenhaus (2011), we argue that goal- oriented behaviors such as making progress towards personally meaningful work goals are linked to one's job search such that they should decrease turnover intentions. This is because individuals who progress towards their personal goals are likely satisfied with their current situation and feel no need to move to another company to search for a better job. Additionally, several career re- searchers have advocated that employees only stay with their organization when they advance towards their career goals and fulfill their career needs (Hall, 2002; Weng & McElroy, 2012). Accordingly: Hypothesis 2. Personal work goal progress predicts decreases in turnover intentions. 2.3. The mediating role of personal work goal progress Implicit to our previous arguments is that the link between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions is indirect rather than direct, which is in line with protean career theory. Specifically, protean careerists will experience a decrease in their turnover intentions over time because they progress towards their personal work goals. First, the self-driven dimension of PCO should enable high-PCO individuals to self-manage their goal-directed behavior and adapt to necessary changes in the environment in order to progress towards their personal work goals. In fact, empirical research has shown that adaptability is negatively related with turnover in- tentions since employees who are more adaptable develop a more positive view towards their careers (Zhu, Cai, Buchtel, & Guan, 2019). In this sense, due to their adaptability high-PCO employees are likely to view their goal progress in a more positive light, which should reduce their turnover intentions. Second, the values-driven dimension of PCO should prompt high-PCO individuals to choose work goals that are consistent with their values and remain attentive to situational information that help advance towards the valued goals (Hall et al., 2018). Ad- ditionally, high-PCO individuals will be able to follow their passions and values if they progress towards personal work goals. Making progress towards personally meaningful goals should in turn decrease their intentions to leave because staying with the organization should allow them to achieve their career goals in the future. By contrast, leaving the organization may be a risk to their long-term career development (Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Weng, McElroy, Morrow, & Liu, 2010). Hypothesis 3. Personal work goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions. 2.4. The moderating role of organizational career management Although we expect that, compared to their low-PCO counterparts, individuals with high levels of PCO experience decreases in turnover intentions over time by successfully managing their goal pursuit, we also expect that this indirect effect is contingent on the degree of career support they receive from their organizations. Specifically, we argue that the indirect effect is less pronounced when individuals perceive extensive career support from their companies. Social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) provides the underlying logic for why OCM may moderate the indirect relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress. According to social exchange theory, organizational practices that support the employee may signal to the employee that the company cares for and values its employees, which in turn creates feelings of obligation to reciprocate the benefits and opportunities provided by the organization by helping the organization (Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990; Gouldner, 1960). Previous research shows that OCM can improve employees' work attitudes through positive evaluations and expectancies of career development (Guan et al., 2014). When perceiving high levels of OCM, individuals are less likely to switch employers because this would imply to forfeit both symbolic and concrete benefits provided C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 4
  • 5. by their current employer. The symbolic resources are beyond objective worth, such as signals of self-worth and career satisfaction, whereas concrete resources refer to tangible resources related to instrumental needs, such as expected salary growth (Zhu et al., 2019). In this sense, individuals who perceive greater support from their companies are more likely to reciprocate via continued participation in organizational life (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). In line with social exchange theory, empirical research predominantly confirms that perceived organizational support leads to lower turnover intentions (Allen, Shore, & Griffeth, 2003; Dawley, Houghton, & Bucklew, 2010; Guan et al., 2015). Hence, irre- spective of their degree of goal progress, individuals who perceive high levels of OCM should develop fewer turnover intentions because they feel valued and have the opportunity to gain human and social capital, which can help them achieve their long-term career goals. Further, in the presence of objective benefits and external referents of career success as reflected by OCM, the impact of goal progress, which presents an internal reference of how individuals' careers are advancing, is likely to be less important for decreasing individuals' turnover intentions. In fact, while individuals' career self-management and organizational career support may work together in explaining individuals career outcomes (Guan et al., 2015), previous research has also shown that individuals' career self- management and organizational career support serve as compensatory mechanisms. Specifically, De Vos, De Clippeleer, and Dewilde (2009) show that high levels of OCM can compensate for low career self-management, such that OCM and career self-management might substitute each other in explaining subjective career success. OCM, with its focus on external benefits (e.g., salary growth opportunities, trainings), may thus present an alternative reason for remaining in the company. In other words, the prospect of obtaining the external benefits associated with OCM, which are both symbolic and tangible in nature, may compensate for low levels of current goal progress, which is an internal measure of advancement in one's career, in predicting changes in individuals' inclination to leave their employers. Hence, we expect that the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress will be weaker when individuals experience high OCM. Hypothesis 4. Organizational career management moderates the indirect relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions through personal work goal progress. Specifically, the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress will be weaker when individuals perceive high levels of organizational career management. 3. Methods 3.1. Sample and study design To test our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged study with three measurement waves. We administered the questionnaires each three months apart, following previous research on the relationship between individual differences, personal goals, and work attitudes, which has used time lapses between two and four months (e.g., Judge et al., 2005; Maier & Brunstein, 2001). We invited Alumni, who had previously completed a postgraduate degree at two Spanish business schools, via email to our longitudinal study, offering them in return an individual report, which explained their personal scores and compared them to those of the cohort means. We chose this sample because it represents an internationally diverse sample of millennials, who had prior work experience and were fluent in English. In total, 349 alumni accepted our invitation to participate. In the first measurement wave, we assessed individuals' level of PCO. Data were missing for seven participants, leaving 342 eligible respondents for the Time 2 and Time 3 questionnaires. In the second measurement wave, we asked individuals to write down their personal work goals for the next 3 months and assessed their baseline level of turnover intentions. In the final data collection, we asked for individuals' assessments of their goal progress and their level of turnover intentions. In total, 176 participants responded to all three surveys (follow-up response rate of 51%), of which 138 had no missing data on our study variables. Missing data ranged from a low of 0% for PCO to 9% for goal progress and 13% for organi- zational career management. Little's (1988) missing data analysis test suggests that data is missing completely at random (χ2 = 66.6, p = .07). In the following analyses, we deleted cases with missing data. We tested the robustness of our findings with full information maximum likelihood, as recommended by Schlomer, Bauman, and Card (2010). Results remained substantially the same. On average, the participants in our final sample were 31 years old, and 27% were female. Most of the study participants occupied a managerial position (85%) and worked full time (97%). Participants worked in a variety of industries, such as healthcare, consumer goods, consultancy, construction, IT, and banking. They also worked in a number of different occupations, including as consultant, strategy specialist, civil servant, HR professional, marketing professional and project manager. They had an average work experience of 7 years and an average organizational tenure of 2.5 years. As all Alumni in our study had completed their postgraduate degree in English and therefore were sufficiently proficient in English, we selected English as our survey language to reflect the language in which the original measurement scales we adopted were developed. 3.2. Measures 3.2.1. Protean career orientation In the first measurement wave, we assessed protean career orientation using the 14-item scale developed by Briscoe et al. (2006). The measure of protean career orientation includes two sub-dimensions: the self-directed scale (sample item: “In the past I have relied more on myself than others to find a new job when necessary”) and the value-driven scale (sample item: “What's most important to me is how I feel about my career success, not how other people feel about it”). Responses were made on a five-point Likert scale C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 5
  • 6. ranging from 1 (to little or no extent) to 5 (to a great extent) (α = 0.77 for the overall PCO scale; α = 0.65 for values-driven PCO; α = 72 for self-directed PCO). Given that previous research has reported some empirical inconsistencies of the PCO scale (Hall et al., 2018), we tested the construct validity with CFA. According to Hu and Bentler (1999), RMSEA values below 0.06, SRMR values below 0.08, and CFI values close to 0.95 are indicators of good model fit. The results of a CFA modelling the two sub-dimensions of PCO have an acceptable fit (χ (76) = 148.61, p = .00; CFI = 0.81; RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.08). All items load significantly on their respective factor with the exception of the last item of the value-driven PCO scale (“In the past I have sided with my own values when the company has asked me to do something I don't agree with”). Comparing this result to the original study (Briscoe et al., 2006), this item also did not significantly load on the values-driven dimension of PCO in the principal component analysis of Briscoe et al. (2006), although it had significant factor loadings in the CFA. This item seems to be a rather poor indicator of values-driven PCO, which might be due to the fact that the item captures the assumption that all respondents have experienced a situation in which the company has done something they don't agree with. To be consistent with Briscoe et al.'s study, we nevertheless kept this item in order to use the same validated scale. 3.2.2. Organizational career management practices In the first wave, we also measured the formal career management practices respondents received from their organizations using Sturges et al.'s (2002) six-item measure (sample item: “I have been given training to help develop my career”). Responses were made on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (α = 0.83). Performing a confirmatory factor analysis with the six OCM items shows that that all factor loadings are significant and that the model fit is good, although the RMSEA value is rather high (χ (9) = 21.85, p = .01; CFI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.10). 3.2.3. Personal work goal progress We assessed personal work goals following the procedure employed by Hülsheger and Maier (2010) and Brunstein, Schultheiss, and Grässman (1998). In the second measurement wave we asked respondents to think about the personal work goals they aimed to pursue in the next six months. Personal work goals were defined as “objectives, projects, and plans that are related to your job, career, and occupation” (Maier & Brunstein, 2001, p. 1036). We asked the participants to write down their three most important personal work goals for the following six months. In the third wave, we reminded respondents of the three personal work goals they generated at Time 2 and asked them to rate their progress towards achieving each of the three goals using four items (sample item: “I ac- complished what I set out to do with this goal”) (Greguras & Diefendorff, 2010). The goal progress items were rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In total, we thus had twelve items measuring goal progress. In line with previous studies on goal progress (e.g., Judge et al., 2005; Wiese & Freund, 2005) we aggregated the twelve items to build an overall goal progress scale (α = 0.90). 3.2.4. Turnover intentions In the second and third measurement waves, we used Colarelli's (1984) three-item scale of intention to quit the job to measure individuals' turnover intentions. A sample item is “I have my own way, I will be working for my company one year from now.” Responses were made on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), both with high internal reliabilities (T2: α = 0.84 and T3: α = 82). We tested whether the turnover intentions scale was invariant across time. Such measurement invariance is a prerequisite for assessing change over time. The good fit of the model and the results of the chi-square tests indicate that the scales provide full metric invariance and scalar invariance (see Table 2). Given that the conventional levels of measurement invariance are met (Lance, Dawson, Birkelbach, & Hoffman, 2010; Pitts, West, & Tein, 1996), we can conclude that the meaning of the underlying constructs is unlikely to have changed substantially over time. 3.2.5. Control variables We controlled for participants' business school (dummy variable), age (in years) and gender (0 = male; 1 = female) as these demographic variables might affect turnover intentions (Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000) or personal work goal progress. Further, to examine whether our hypothesized model holds over and above respondents' level of objective career success, we controlled for salary (measured in 22 steps from “no salary” to “more than €20,000 per month”). The control variables were assessed at Time 1 with the exception of salary, which was measured at Time 3. 3.3. Analyses We tested the hypothesized moderated mediation within a path analytic framework using Mplus. We used average scores to represent each study variable. In line with the recommendations of Cohen, Cohen, West, and Aiken (2003), we mean-centered the independent variables and moderator variables before creating interaction terms and plotted the interactions at two values of the moderator ( ± 1 SD). A 5000-replication bootstrapping was used to obtain bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals (CI) for our postulated indirect effects. We assessed changes in turnover intentions using residual scores. Following the suggestions of Smith and Beaton (2008), we obtained the change scores by regressing the Time 3 scores of turnover intentions on the corresponding Time 2 scores. The differences between the predicted and observed scores of turnover intentions at Time 3 are measured as the standardized residual scores, which means that positive (negative) residual scores indicate an increase (decrease) in turnover intentions. We performed three regression analyses for each turnover intention item as dependent variables. We used these change scores to compute the composite construct of C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 6
  • 7. change in turnover intentions. For hypothesis testing, we hence used the average score of change in turnover intentions. The method of using residual scores as indicators of change is superior to the use of difference scores because it does not inflate error (Cronbach & Furby, 1970). 4. Results The descriptive statistics of our study variables are presented in Table 1. As indicated in Table 2, the model fit indices suggest that the measurement model has a good model fit (χ (59) = 56.68, p = .56; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.00) and is superior to an alternative one-factor model in which all constructs load on the same factor. All items loaded significantly onto their respective factor, with the exception of one item of the values-driven PCO sub-dimension (“In the past I have sided with my own values when the company has asked me to do something I don't agree with”). This result is likely due to semantic reasons and is in line with previously known psychometric properties of the values-driven PCO scale (Hall et al., 2018). Following previous research, we used the full scale in our analyses. 4.1. Hypothesis testing In line with Hypotheses 1–3, we tested whether personal work goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions. The results of the path analysis show that PCO was positively associated with goal progress (B = 0.29, p = .03, Table 3a), thus providing support for Hypothesis 1. An examination at the sub-dimension level revealed that the self-directed subscale of PCO is positively associated with goal progress (B = 0.27, p = .05, Table 3b), whereas the values-driven scale is not significantly related with goal progress (B = 0.16, p = .16, Table 3c). Further, in line with Hypothesis 2 goal progress was significantly related with decreases in turnover intentions (B = −0.45, p < .001, Table 3a). To test Hypotheses 3, which predicts that goal progress mediates the relationship between PCO and decreases in turnover intentions, we used a 5000-replication bootstrapping to obtain bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals. Consistent with Hypothesis 3, PCO leads to decreases in turnover intentions through goal progress (B = −0.13; p = .04, 95% CI [−0.28; −0.02]). The postulated mediation model had a good fit: χ (1) = 0.11, p = .74, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA < 0.01. To test for partial mediation, we included a path from PCO to changes in turnover intentions. The additional path was not statistically significant (Δ turnover intentions on PCO: B = −0.04; p = .73), suggesting that the relationship between PCO and turnover intentions is fully mediated by personal work goal progress. At a subscale level, goal progress also mediates the relationship between the self-directed dimension of PCO and decreases in turnover intentions as the bootstrap CIs excluding zero indicate (B = −0.12; p = .07, 95% CI [−0.27; −0.01], Table 3b). As expected, given the non-significant relationship between the values- driven dimension of PCO and goal progress, goal progress does not mediate the relationship between values-driven PCO and changes Table 1 Descriptive statistics of study variables. Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 Age 31.34 3.71 2 Gender 0.29 0.46 −0.18⁎ 3 Group 0.48 0.50 −0.35⁎ 0.19⁎ 4 Salary 6.39 3.83 0.30⁎ −0.14 −0.14 5 PCO 3.89 0.45 0.12 −0.05 0.03 0.09 6 PCO (VD) 3.66 0.60 0.15 −0.05 −0.02 0.02 0.85⁎⁎ 7 PCO (SD) 4.06 0.46 0.06 −0.04 0.07 0.13 0.86⁎⁎ 0.46⁎⁎ 8 OCM 3.53 0.80 −0.20 0.01 0.13 0.12 −0.13 −0.14 −0.08 9 Goal progress 3.50 0.80 −0.02 0.15 0.26 −0.02 0.17⁎ 0.12 0.17⁎ 0.15 10 TI (T2) 2.61 1.16 0.18⁎ −0.07 0.05 0.05 −0.04 −0.01 −0.08 −0.18⁎ −0.24⁎⁎ 11 TI (T3) 2.77 1.16 0.14 −0.20⁎ 0.03 0.08 −0.09 −0.02 −0.14 −0.21⁎ −0.48⁎⁎ 0.67⁎⁎ 12 Δ TI 0.01 0.78 0.03 −0.23⁎ 0.02 0.07 −0.08 −0.03 −0.11 −0.13 −0.44⁎⁎ 0.07 0.78⁎⁎ Note: TI = turnover intentions; PCO (VD) = values-driven PCO; PCO (SD) = self-driven PCO; N = 138. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎ p < .05. Table 2 Confirmatory factor analyses. Model χ2 df Δ χ2 CFI RMSEA Measurement invariance Invariance 3.06 5 1.00 0.00 Metric invariance 4.34 7 1.28 1.00 0.00 Scalar invariance 9.48 10 5.14 1.00 0.00 Note. N = 138. df = degrees of freedom; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; CFI = comparative fit index. C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 7
  • 8. in turnover intentions (B = −0.07; p = .17, 95% CI [−0.18; 0.02], Table 3c). Hypothesis 4 predicts that organizational career management moderates the indirect effects from PCO to decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress. We first simultaneously tested for the possibility of first-stage and second-stage moderation of OCM (Edwards & Lambert, 2007). Results show that OCM does not significantly moderate the first stage of the indirect effect (i.e., PCO predicting goal progress), even though the interaction term is negative (B = −0.18; p = .19, Table 3a). The second stage (i.e., goal Table 3a Results of moderated mediation with overall PCO scale. Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model B SE β T B SE β T B SE β T Mediator Goal progress University 0.42 0.14 0.26 3.07⁎⁎ 0.40 0.14 0.25 3.07⁎⁎ 0.42 0.14 0.26 3.02⁎⁎ Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 0.21 0.14 0.12 1.41 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 Age 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.99 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.99 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.99 Salary 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.03 −0.01 0.02 −0.04 −0.44 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.44 PCO 0.29 0.13 0.16 2.19⁎ 0.94 0.48 0.52 1.96⁎ 0.29 0.15 0.16 1.99⁎ OCM 0.88 0.53 0.89 0.09 PCO ∗ OCM −0.18 0.14 −0.76 −1.35 R2 0.11 0.15⁎ 0.11⁎ DV Δ TI University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎ −0.35 0.13 −0.20 −2.71⁎⁎ −0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎ Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.20 Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.12 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.12 Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎ −1.21 0.35 −1.23 −3.52⁎⁎ −1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎ OCM −0.85 0.34 −0.86 −2.49⁎ −0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎ Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.22 0.09 1.19 2.27⁎ 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎ R2 0.26⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ N = 138. Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎ p < .05 Table 3b Results of moderated mediation with self-directed PCO subscale. Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model B SE β T B SE β T B SE Β T Mediator Goal progress University 0.41 0.14 0.26 3.01⁎⁎ 0.39 0.14 0.25 2.88⁎ 0.41 0.14 0.26 2.97⁎ Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 0.19 0.14 0.12 1.34 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.45 Age 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.17 0.03 0.02 0.11 1.50 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02 Salary −0.01 0.01 −0.12 −0.13 −0.01 0.02 −0.04 −0.57 0.00 0.02 0.00 −0.15 PCO_SD 0.29 0.13 0.16 2.00⁎ 1.05 0.51 0.52 2.04⁎ 0.27 0.14 0.16 1.92⁎ OCM 1.05 0.59 0.89 1.77 PCO_SD ∗ OCM −0.22 0.14 −0.76 −1.51 R2 0.11 0.15⁎ 0.11⁎ DV Δ turnover intentions University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎ −0.35 0.13 −0.2 −2.71⁎⁎ −0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎ Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.21 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21 Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.09 1.03 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02 Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎ −1.14 0.34 −1.23 −3.34⁎⁎ −1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎ OCM −0.78 0.34 −0.86 −2.31⁎ −0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎ Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎ 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎ R2 0.26⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ N = 138. Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎ p < .05. C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 8
  • 9. progress predicting changes in turnover intentions) was moderated, however, by OCM (B = 0.21; p = .03). Thus, we ran a final model, which only includes the mediation and the moderation of the second stage. The postulated moderated mediation model had a good fit: χ (1) = 0.01, p = .90, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA < 0.01. In order to ascertain the nature of the moderated relation, we plotted the interactions at two values of the moderator ( ± 1 SD). As Fig. 2 indicates, the relationship between personal work goal progress and decreases in turnover intentions is stronger when OCM is low. We further calculated the region of significance in order to assess for which values of OCM goal progress leads to decreases in turnover intentions. As the region of significance points out, personal work goal progress only leads to decreases in turnover intentions if OCM is low to moderate (< 0.90 of mean-centered OCM). Accordingly, the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress is more pronounced when individuals perceive less Table 3c Results of moderated mediation with values-driven PCO subscale. Indirect effect model Moderated mediation model Final model B SE β T B SE β T B SE β T Mediator Goal progress University 0.43 0.14 0.27 3.21⁎⁎ 0.42 0.14 0.26 3.06⁎⁎ 0.43 0.14 0.27 3.12⁎⁎ Gender 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.38 0.22 0.14 0.12 1.52 0.21 0.15 0.12 1.41 Age 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.98 0.03 0.02 0.11 1.24 0.02 0.02 0.08 0.89 Salary 0.00 0.02 0.01 −0.09 −0.01 0.02 −0.02 −0.25 0.00 0.02 0.01 −0.10 PCO_VD 0.16 0.11 0.12 1.40 0.55 0.38 0.42 1.48 0.16 0.11 0.12 1.45 OCM 0.56 0.39 0.56 1.43 PCO_VD ∗ OCM −0.11 0.10 −0.46 −1.04 R2 0.10 0.13⁎ 0.10⁎ DV Δ turnover intentions University 0.31 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ 0.29 0.13 0.19 2.36⁎ Gender −0.32 0.13 −0.19 −2.48⁎ −0.33 0.13 −0.20 −2.57⁎ −0.33 0.13 −0.19 −2.57⁎ Age 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.62 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.21 Salary 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.74 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.03 0.02 0.02 0.08 1.02 Goal progress −0.45 0.08 −0.46 −5.66⁎⁎ −1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.39⁎⁎ −1.14 0.34 −1.17 −3.34⁎⁎ OCM −0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎ −0.78 0.34 −0.80 −2.31⁎ Goal progress ∗ OCM 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎ 0.20 0.09 1.09 2.11⁎ R2 0.26⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ N = 138. Statistics appearing in bold represent tests of our hypotheses. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎ p < .05. Fig. 2. Interaction of goal progress and OCM in explaining changes in turnover intentions. C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 9
  • 10. organizational career management (see Tables 3a and 4). The results at the sub-dimension level also show that the indirect effect of self-driven PCO is more pronounced when OCM is low (see Table 5). 4.2. Additional analyses To test the longitudinal implications of our hypothesized model, we examined the association of our study variables with par- ticipants' number of employer changes 6.5 years after having finished data collection for our time-lagged study (M = 1.2, SD = 1.08). To that end, we assessed via their LinkedIn accounts how often the study participants had changed their employers and were able to access data for 81 individuals. Correlation results show that employer change is positively associated with PCO (r = 0.28, p = .04), turnover intentions (T2: r = 0.18, ns; T3: r = 0.36, p < .01), increases in turnover intentions (r = 0.34, p = .01), and negatively with goal progress (r = −0.29, p = .01). Correlations at the sub-dimension level reveal that number of employer changes is marginally positively associated with values-driven PCO (r = 0.09, p = .06), but unrelated with self-directed PCO (r = 0.04, p = .29). We subsequently tested the hypothesized moderated mediation model and additionally allowed for a serial mediation from PCO to number of employer changes through goal progress and changes in turnover intentions. The results indicate that the number of employer changes is predicted by an increase in turnover intentions (B = 0.32; p = .01). This means that increases in turnover intentions during the period of data collection explain subsequent inter-organizational career mobility. As the results from the mediation analysis suggest, high-PCO individuals are indirectly less likely to change employers because they progress towards their personal work goals and hence decreased their turnover intentions (B = −0.14; 95% CI [−0.39; −0.02]). Simultaneously, the results indicate that PCO positively predicts number of employer changes (B = 0.46; p = .02), which suggests that there might be several parallel mediating mechanisms that can shed light on the mobility behavior of protean careerists. The total effect, i.e. the sum of the indirect and direct effect, of PCO on number of employer changes is non-significant (B = 0.32; p = .14). These results reflect an inconsistent mediation, which describes a model in which a mediated effect has a different sign than other mediated or direct effects in the model (MacKinnon, Fairchild, & Fritz, 2006). Running the mediation model with the sub-dimensions of PCO reveals that only the values-driven dimension of PCO predicts the number of employer changes (B = 0.31; p = .02), but—as previously shown—does not display an indirect effect through goal pro- gress and turnover intentions (B = −0.07; 95% CI [−0.25; 0.01]). The total effect of values-driven PCO is positive, but only marginally significant (B = 0.24; p = .09). The self-directed dimension of PCO marginally significantly predicts number of employer changes (B = 36; p = .07), but displays a negative indirect effect through goal progress and changes in turnover intentions (B = −0.13; 95% CI [−0.39; −0.01]). The total effect is non-significant (B = 0.22; p = .29). 5. Discussion Our study demonstrates that protean career theory and social exchange theory work together to explain when and how mil- lennials' protean career attitudes relate to changes in turnover intentions. Two major findings emerged from this study. First, in- dividuals high in PCO were more likely to experience a decrease in their turnover intentions over a time span of three months. This relationship was indirect rather than direct. Consistent with protean career theory, the indirect relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions can be explained by personal work goal progress such that high-PCO individuals are more likely to progress towards their work goals, which in turn explains decreases in their turnover intentions. Second, and in line with social exchange theory, the indirect effect from PCO to decreases in turnover intentions through goal progress was weaker when individuals perceived high levels of organizational career support. Specifically, the relationship between goal progress and decreases in turnover intentions became weaker when organizations were perceived to offer a high degree of formal career practices. 5.1. Theoretical implications Taken together, we believe our findings contribute to the career literature in several aspects. First, this study extends the no- mological network of PCO by showing that PCO relates to changes in turnover intention via personal work goal progress. Our findings Table 4 Conditional indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions at values of organizational career management. Mediator Organizational career management Effect E Bootstrap CI Goal progress Low −0.38 0.24 [−1.01; −0.04] Goal progress High −0.28 0.17 [−0.72; −0.04] Table 5 conditional indirect effect of self-directed PCO on changes in turnover intentions at values of organizational career management. Mediator Organizational career management Effect E Bootstrap CI Goal progress Low −0.35 0.24 [−1.03; −0.01] Goal progress High −0.29 0.17 [−0.76; −0.03] C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 10
  • 11. point to a complex relationship between PCO and mobility behavior and may thus shed some light on why previous research has found mixed results concerning the mobility preferences of high-PCO individuals (Baruch et al., 2015; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2014; Supeli & Creed, 2015). Specifically, our results suggest an indirect relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions. Millennials high on PCO are thus not per se inclined to job hop—as both research on millennials and protean career theory would imply—but their turnover intentions can instead be explained by how successful they manage their personal work goal pursuit. In this sense, our research also indicates that millennial employees, even those with a pronounced self-driven career attitude, do not ne- cessarily display lower loyalty to their employers. Analyses on the sub-dimension level show that only the self-directed dimension of PCO is related to goal progress. Although value- driven individuals could also more likely progress towards their work goals due to their internal awareness and propensity to pursue self-concordant goals (Judge et al., 2005), our study did not find support for potential benefits of value-driven protean careerists in terms of goal progress. Interestingly, using a follow-up of participants' inter-organizational career movements 6.5 years after finishing this research study, additional analyses point to an inconsistent mediation (MacKinnon et al., 2006) and suggest that the protean career orientation is positively related to number of employer changes, while at the same time displaying an indirect negative effect on number of employer changes via goal progress and changes in turnover intentions. This highlights that contemporary career concepts such as PCO may not be directly associated with reduced employee loyalty (Spell & Blum, 2000) and frequent inter-organizational career moves (Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). Instead, there likely are different and potentially opposing mechanisms that explain when and why millennials high on PCO are more prone to switch organizations. We thus advance protean career theory by identifying explanatory mechanisms for the relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions. Our results indicate that PCO was positively related with personal work goal progress. In this respect, our finding suggests that high-PCO individuals are better able to manage their goal pursuits compared with their low-PCO counterparts. Relatedly, our results at the sub-dimension level show that the proposed mediation of personal work goal progress only holds for the self-directed—but not the values-driven—dimension of PCO. As such, the processes of adaptability and, in particular, agency seem to be more clearly linked to goal-setting and goal pursuit whereas awareness in and of itself appears insufficient for driving goal progress, and in turn decreases in turnover intentions. This finding contributes to protean career theory by refining our understanding regarding the relative weight of the three protean career mechanisms for explaining relevant work and career outcomes (Hall et al., 2018). It specifically underlines that a differentiated view on the sub-dimensions of PCO is important for understanding mobility behavior. As of now, most research studying PCO and turnover intentions used an overall scale of PCO (Baruch et al., 2015) or the self-driven scale (Redondo et al., 2019). Second, this study responds to earlier calls (e.g., Hall, 2004; McElroy & Weng, 2015; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009) to examine the interplay between PCO and career situations when predicting career outcomes. When the organization is seen to provide high career management practices, the indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress diminishes. On the contrary, in situations of low organizational career management, goal progress is a more important internal referent for un- derstanding changes in turnover intentions. This suggests that the work advantages typically associated with high-PCO individuals are especially strong in career environments in which individuals predominantly need to rely on their own resources to guide their careers, instead of relying on external referents, such as organizational career support, for making turnover decisions. Considering that low-PCO individuals, who prefer the company to take care of their careers, have increasingly been found to be at risk (Baruch, 2004; Sullivan & Baruch, 2009), our findings suggest that low PCO does not necessarily need to be associated with disadvantages at work. Specifically, high degrees of OCM can partly compensate for the lack of goal progress that is associated with low PCO, such that individuals low on PCO could also experience a variety of positive job attitudes related with goal progress, including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and engagement (Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Masuda, Holtschlag, & Nicklin, 2017), when they perceive obtaining high OCM. Third, our study integrates protean career theory and social exchange theory arguments to explain high-PCO individuals' changes in intentions to leave, and show that they imply alternative and interacting mechanisms through which these job attitudes evolve. Our finding that individuals' personal work goal progress is less likely to decrease turnover intentions, and that the indirect effect of PCO on decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress is less pronounced at high levels of OCM, points to boundary conditions of self-directed behavior and hence career agency. Our results thus contribute to the discussion of the bounded nature of careers by hinting at an interactive effect of individual agency and situational variables, such that a high degree of external support can compensate for self-directed behavior, specifically goal progress. In this sense, OCM provides a career boundary that alters the importance of individuals' goal pursuit, showing that career agency is not equally important across career contexts. Our study shows that personal work goal progress only decreases turnover intentions as long as OCM is not very high. The finding also points to a relative importance of social exchange theory explanations and hence perceived organizational career support for influencing individuals' turnover intentions. It suggests that organizations may only need to actively reduce turnover intentions if employees perceive that they currently do not progress towards their personal work goals. The interplay of PCO, goal progress, and organizational career management further adds to recent research on the contingencies of social exchange theory, which shows that organizational career support only leads to lower voluntary turnover when employees perceive high career growth opportunities (Kraimer et al., 2011). 5.2. Practical implications Our findings have several practical implications. First, our results show the importance of personal work goal progress for C. Holtschlag, et al. Journal of Vocational Behavior 118 (2020) 103366 11
  • 12. reducing employees' conscious desire to leave their organizations. The findings suggest that millennials are not necessarily more inclined to switch employers. An important factor to tie them to the organization might be to allow them to advance towards their individually valued goals. This seems particularly important given how much millennial employees are attracted towards meaningful work goals more broadly. Based on our research, companies can create interventions to help employees set effective goals and support them in their goal pursuit. These practices could consist of formal career management practices, development and training opportunities or coaching and mentoring. The pursuit and progress towards effective goals does not only lead to performance, as goal-setting research has shown (Locke & Latham, 1990), but can also improve their proclivity to stay with their employer. Second, our findings point to the importance of providing career management practices especially for individuals low on PCO. These individuals will particularly benefit from having a structured career management environment in their organizations. Although our findings suggest that low-PCO individuals were still less likely to advance towards their personal work goals even if they received extensive OCM, our results indicate that OCM can at least compensate for the lack of goal progress. This is potentially because OCM already signals recognition and helps individuals fulfill their need of achievement. Our study also suggests that it might not ne- cessarily be important for companies to recruit employees that are high on PCO, if the organization provides practices that support employees' career development. 5.3. Limitations and conclusions The limitations of this study should be acknowledged. First, although the time-lagged nature of our research allows us to overcome the shortcomings of most studies examining protean career orientations, namely the use of cross-sectional data (Gubler et al., 2014), the nature of our data does not allow us to draw causal inferences. Future studies could further build on our findings and either manipulate goal appraisals or use cross-lagged designs, measuring protean career orientation, goal appraisals, and work attitudes multiple times. We also note that our sample size is somewhat limited, thereby restricting our statistical power. We en- courage future studies with larger time-lagged samples to replicate and further establish these findings. Second, we used self-reported measures in this study, which raises questions of common-method bias. To reduce problems as- sociated with common-method bias we temporally separated the measurement of the independent, mediator and dependent variable (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). Considering that employees themselves have the clearest idea about their career or- ientation, personal work goal progress, and intentions to leave, it would have been difficult to obtain accurate information with a different method other than self-report (Spector, 2006). However, future research could obtain multi-source data by asking collea- gues or significant others to assess individuals' protean career orientation. Further, future studies would contribute to the literature by testing the indirect effect of PCO on actual turnover via goal progress. By examining goal progress as a potential mediator between these relationships we could better understand the contradictory findings in this literature. Further, while it would have been va- luable to have an additional external measure of managerial career practices, researchers have argued that individual perceptions of the situation (the so-called “functional” view of situations, Block & Block, 1981) are more appropriate for understanding the impact of situational variables than objective characteristics of situations (i.e., the “psycho-biological view of situations”) (e.g., Meyer et al., 2014). Third, we argued that high-PCO individuals are better able to manage goal pursuit than low-PCO individuals. However, we did not test why protean careerists make more progress towards their personal work goals. Future studies could look at other measures of goal pursuit such as goal appraisals, goal congruency, and goal content (i.e. difficult versus specific goals) as potential mediators of the relationship between PCO, goal progress, and changes in job attitudes. For example, the indirect relationship between PCO and changes in turnover intentions could also be explained by the fact that high-PCO individuals are more likely to network, seek career guidance, and actively cope with change (Briscoe, Henagan, Burton, & Murphy, 2012; De Vos & Segers, 2013; De Vos & Soens, 2008). The purpose of this paper was, first, to examine the indirect effect of PCO on changes in turnover intentions via personal work goal progress and, second, to analyze how organizational career management moderates this effect. We showed that high PCO predicted decreases in turnover intentions via goal progress particularly when organizations did not provide a high extent of formal career management practices. We hope that future studies can build on these findings to further examine the explanatory mechanisms and contingencies under which PCO leads to job attitudes. 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