Narrowing ideal self-discrepancy: the roles of organizational career management and protean career orientation
Career Development International
ISSN: 1362-0436
Article publication date: 4 February 2022
Issue publication date: 5 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the joint impact of organizational and individual career management on employees' ideal self-discrepancy. Drawing on the identity literature, the authors aimed to uncover the mechanism and boundary condition of this impact, focusing on how organizations influence ideal and actual selves of employees with different protean career orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a four-wave time-lagged study over eight months, with a sample of 331 employees from various organizations.
Findings
Perceived organizational career management negatively influenced ideal self-discrepancy via organizational identification, and such relationship was strengthened by protean career orientation. Employees with stronger protean career orientation saw a stronger moderating effect of individual career management on the relationship between organizational identification and ideal self-discrepancy, whereas their counterparts saw an opposite effect.
Practical implications
This study highlighted the essential role of organization in narrowing employees' ideal self-discrepancy in the protean career era. It suggested that organizations should set differentiated career practices depending on employees' protean career orientation levels.
Originality/value
By integrating vocational psychology and organizational scholarship, this study extended the ideal self-discrepancy literature by offering a nuanced understanding of the mechanism and boundary condition of the role of organizational career management in narrowing ideal self-discrepancy in the protean career era. It identified the joint efforts of organization and employee as a fascinating avenue for future studies.
Keywords
Citation
Zhu, L. and Wang, L. (2022), "Narrowing ideal self-discrepancy: the roles of organizational career management and protean career orientation", Career Development International, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 222-244. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-06-2021-0148
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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