Navigating sustainable careers: the role of subjective career success, career crafting, and social capital

Subjective career success is a fundamental aspect of sustainable careers, influencing how individuals navigate their careers over time. Leveraging the Conservation of Resource theory, this study differentiated between internally and externally directed career crafting behaviours and examined their relationships with subjective career success and turnover intention. It also examined how social capital (internal and external) moderates these relationships, reflecting the influence of proximal and distal contexts. This study employed a three-wave research design to address common method variance and collected data from a total of 353 participants. The findings revealed that internally directed career crafting behaviours mediate the relationship between subjective career success and turnover intention, whereas externally directed career crafting behaviours did not exhibit a significant mediating effect. However, when external social capital is high, individuals with low subjective career success tend to engage in externally directed career crafting behaviours. Overall, the results suggest that subjective career success triggers distinct career crafting pathways towards turnover intention and emphasize the differentiated influence of contextual resources on career development paths. The study concludes by highlighting both theoretical and practical implications, offering valuable insights for future research and career development practices aimed at fostering sustainable careers.