Protean career orientation, intrapreneurial self-capital and perceived employability: A moderated mediation model

This research paper has explored the relationship between protean career orientation (PCO), intrapreneurial self-capital (ISC), and perceived employability. A model is proposed based on the findings, whereby intrapreneurial self-capital appears to have played a mediating role between protean career orientation and perceived employability, with emotional literacy moderating this mediation relationship. Using a cross-sectional design, the data collected from 516 final-year MBA students studying in Hyderabad, India, suggest positive relationships between protean career orientation, perceived employability, and intrapreneurial self-capital. A full mediation effect was found between protean career orientation, intrapreneurial self-capital, and perceived employability. Further, moderation analysis revealed that emotional literacy seems to have moderated the influence of protean career orientation on intrapreneurial self-capital. The findings are sufficiently significant in contributing to the existing literature on employability and career development, proposing a new model that is embedded in the social cognitive model of career self-management and the conceptual model of self-perceived employability, combining salient individual attributes that impact one’s perception of employability. In light of certain limitations, future research directions are proposed.