SUCCESSFUL PURSUIT OF A BOUNDARYLESS CAREER: CAREER

COMPETENCIES PERSPECTIVE

SIDIKA NIHAL COLAKOGLU

School of Business
Norfolk State University
Norfolk, VA 23505

ABSTRACT

This study examined the mechanism by which career boundarylessness affected

subjective career success through its effect on three career competencies—knowing-why,
knowing-how, and knowing-whom— and career autonomy. The results provided support for the
importance of career autonomy and the development of career competencies in the successful
pursuit of boundaryless careers.

INTRODUCTION

Over the last two decades, the careers landscape has been drastically altered by major
social, economic, technological, and organizational changes. Traditional careers characterized by
rapid, upward mobility in a single hierarchy have increasingly been replaced by boundaryless
careers that are relatively unpredictable and disorderly, and frequently involve horizontal
mobility across organizational boundaries (Arthur, Inkson, & Pringle, 1999; Arthur & Rousseau,
1996; DeFillippi & Arthur, 1996). With the emergence of boundaryless careers, subjective career
success has become particularly important because it is believed that in the pursuit of highly
heterogeneous, mobile, and unique career paths, only individuals themselves can meaningfully
define and assess their career success with reference to their own self-defined standards, needs,
values, career stages, and aspirations (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996; Betz & Fitzgerald, 1987;
Gattiker & Larwood, 1986).
The current careers literature suggests that the pursuit of a boundaryless career can
support one’s attainment of subjective career success. The career enactment perspective provides
the theoretical frameworks for this assertion that experiencing a boundaryless career enhances
one’s subjective career success. According to this perspective, characterized as a weak situation,
a boundaryless career can provide individuals with extensive autonomy (Arthur et al., 1999;
Mirvis & Hall, 1996; Weick, 1996). No longer constrained by hierarchical advancement
principles and thinking, individuals are free to pursue autonomous careers in which they can
attain subjective career success.
Although the positive effects of a boundaryless career on achieving subjective career
success have been conceptualized by career researchers, the literature still lacks both an
empirical assessment of the consequences of having a boundaryless career and an understanding
of why the boundarylessness of a career might affect individuals’ subjective assessment of career
success. In an attempt to fill these gaps, the current study develops and tests a process model
that specifies an important factor—career autonomy—that explains the relationship between
career boundarylessness and subjective career success.
The boundaryless careers literature has also conceptually advocated that because lifetime
employment is being replaced by the goal of employability, individuals need to acquire a
different set of competencies to successfully navigate their boundaryless careers. Arthur et al.
(1999) and DeFillippi and Arthur (1996) identified three career competencies—knowing why,
knowing how and knowing whom—required to self-design individuals’ personal and career
development. In order to cope with complexity and change in today’s environment, individuals
need to understand themselves and their underlying motives, interests, and values for pursuing a
career (“knowing why” competencies); accumulate portable skills and knowledge (“knowing-
how” competencies); and develop and sustain their social capital through a broad array of
networks inside and outside of the organization (“knowing-whom” competencies). In other
words, a boundaryless career can provide full benefits only to individuals who are able to acquire
and develop desirable competencies and skill sets.
However, even though the literature has paid a considerable amount of attention to
identifying and conceptually explaining these competencies, no empirical studies have been
conducted to test the relationships between these competencies and the consequences of
experiencing a boundaryless career. Thus, this study’s proposed model includes career
competencies as intermediary variables explaining the relationship between career
boundarylessness and career autonomy that in turn leads to subjective career success.
In sum, the current study contributes to the careers literature by developing a process
model that specifically focuses on studying possible positive consequences of experiencing a
boundaryless career. Within the framework of the career enactment perspective, the study
identifies and examines the intermediary role of both career autonomy and career competencies
in explaining the relationship between career boundarylessness and subjective career success.

THE MODEL

Careers literature mainly associates boundaryless careers with positive outcomes (Arthur
et al., 1999). It has been advocated that career boundarylessness depicted by extensive
interorganizational mobility and non-linearity positively influences career autonomy. Career
autonomy, in turn, is expected to enhance subjective career success. In the present research,
career autonomy is defined as the extent to which individuals perceive the freedom and
discretion to determine and influence the pacing, shape, and direction of their careers.
It is further expected that the three career competencies—knowing-why, knowing-how,
and knowing-whom—contribute to enhanced subjective career success by mediating the
relationship between career boundarylessness and career autonomy. Figure 1 shows the model of
the study with its proposed linkages.
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Figure # 1 about here
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METHODOLOGY

Sample, Data Collection, and Measures

Data for the current study were collected from a university’s MBA and Executive MBA
(EMBA) alumni and current EMBA students. The data collection procedure involved the use of
a self-administered electronic survey over the World Wide Web. The sample of the study
included 201 currently working professional. Detailed information about the construct
definitions, measures, and Cronbach’s alphas can be found in Table 1.

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Table # 1 about here
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Data Analysis and Results

The hypothesized model was tested by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using
AMOS 4.01. Please see Table 2 for further details regarding hypotheses, data analyses and the
study’s results.
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Table # 2 about here
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DISCUSSION

The findings of the current study provided empirical support for the positive relationship
between career boundarylessness and the two career competencies—the knowing-why and
knowing-how. Consistent with the findings and conceptualizations of previous research (Arthur
et al., 1999; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1996) the current study indicated that experiencing a
boundaryless career enhances career actors’ opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of
their self-identity and accumulate skills and knowledge that are transferable to other employment
setting. The lack of a significant relationship between career boundarylessness and external
knowing-whom competencies was surprising as previous research supported the notion that
career mobility across different organizations, occupations, and industries becomes instrumental
for career actors to build social capital through which they gain continuous employability (Jones,
1996; Saxenian, 1996).
As expected, the three career competencies—knowing-why, knowing-whom, and
external knowing-whom—were positively related to career autonomy. These findings support
prior research in that having a strong self-awareness with regard to career related values, needs,
and preferences, developing a wide network of personal and professional relationships outside of
individuals’ current organization, and developing transferable skills and knowledge are essential
for individuals to construct self-directed, autonomous careers (Eby et. al., 2003; Greenhaus et al.,
2000; Jones, 1996; Mirvis & Hall, 1996; Saxenian, 1996).
Furthermore, as hypothesized in the research model, career autonomy was found to be
instrumental in attaining subjective career success (i.e., career satisfaction). The positive
relationship between career autonomy and career satisfaction supported the notion that
individuals equipped with career autonomy are able to construct their careers in such ways that
they can achieve a desirable level of person-career fit, which is possibly a major contributor to
individuals’ career satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., 2000). This result also provided empirical
support to Roskin’s (1990) qualitative finding that career autonomy was a major determinant of
career satisfaction among dual career men.
 TABLE 1 - VARIABLE DEFINITIONS, MEASUREMENT AND RELIABILITIES
VARIABLES DEFINITION MEASUREMENT α
Subjective A person’s positive 5-item Career satisfaction scale with 0.85
Career Success emotional state resulting a 5-point scale from 1 = strongly
(Career from a personal evaluation disagree to 5 = strongly agree.
Satisfaction) of his or her career or career
Adapted from Callanan (1989) and
experiences Greenhaus, Allen, & Folley (2004).
Career The extent to which 8-item scale with a 5-point scale 0.92
Autonomy individuals perceive freedomfrom 1 = strongly disagree to 5 =
and discretion to determine strongly agree. 8 new items and
and influence the pacing, adapted items from Ito and
shape, and direction of their
Brotheridge (2001), Tetrick and
careers. Larocco (1987), and Ashforth
(1989).
Knowing-why The extent to which an 4-item scale with a 5-point scale 0.76
Competencies individual understands his or from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 =
her motives, needs, abilities, strongly agree. 2 new items and 8
interests, aspirations, and modified/adapted items from self-
values as they relate to work information scale of Callanan
and life experiences. (1989).
Knowing-how The extent to which one 6-item scale with a 5-point scale 0.87
Competencies develops a portfolio of work- from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 =
related skills, knowledge, strongly agree. 1 new item and 5
and understanding that are adapted items from Eby, Butts, &
transferable to other Lockwood (2003).
employment settings (e.g.,
companies, occupations, or
industries).
Knowing-whom The extent to which one 8-item scale with a 5-point scale 0.89
Competencies develops a wide network of from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 =
relationships that can strongly agree. 4 new items and 4
provide information, modified/adapted items from Eby,
influence, guidance, and Butts, & Lockwood (2003).
support to the individual.
Career The extent to which a CB = [Frequency of IOM*+ Type of
Boundarylessness person’s work-related IOM + Direction of IOM]
experiences cross multiple
boundaries in a non-linear *Inter-organizational Mobility
manner. Details regarding the formula and
explanations of its components can
be provided upon request.
 TABLE 2 – HYPOTHESES, METHODS, AND RESULTS

HYPOTHESES METHOD OF TESTING RESULTS

H1a: There is a positive SEM* Significant Path β = 0.23; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between career Coefficient H1a Supported
boundarylessness and
knowing-why competencies.
H1b: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.18; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between career Coefficient H1b Supported
boundarylessness and
knowing-how competencies.
H1c: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.11
relationship between career Coefficient H1c Not Supported
boundarylessness and external
knowing-whom competencies.
H2a: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.37; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between Coefficient H2a Supported
knowing-why competencies
and career autonomy.
H2b: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.31; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between Coefficient H2b Supported
knowing-how competencies
and career autonomy.
H2c: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.23; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between external Coefficient H2c Supported
knowing-whom competencies
and career autonomy.
H3: There is a positive SEM Significant Path β = 0.59; p ≤ 0.01
relationship between career Coefficient H3 Supported
autonomy and subjective
career success.

The current study conducted nested comparisons between different partially mediated models
and non-mediated models to access the significance of meditational linkages following
Kelloway’s (1998) procedures. The description of the procedure and more detailed findings of
these comparisons can be provided upon request.

* Structural Equation Modeling

 FIGURE 1 – HYPOTHESIZED MODEL

Career Competencies
Knowing-why
Knowing-how
Knowing-whom

Career Career Subjective

Boundarylessness Autonomy Career
Success

REFERENCES CAN BE PROVIDED UPON REQUEST.

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