Developmental I-Deals, Boundaryless Career Beliefs, and Career Capital Construction Behavior

Abstract

Developmental idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are learning-oriented employment arrangements tailored to employees’ preferences and needs. This study examined a new pathway by which developmental i-deals affect employees’ career capital construction behavior. Guided by boundaryless career theory, we proposed that developmental i-deals enhance employees’ boundaryless career beliefs, which facilitate their human, social, and innovation capital construction behavior. To extend boundaryless career theory and show that control beliefs are salient in establishing a boundaryless career, we examined three different roles that internal locus of control plays in the proposed process: (a) internals are more likely than externals to seek developmental i-deals, (b) internals are more likely than externals to experience the positive effects of developmental i-deals on boundaryless career beliefs, and (c) internal locus of control promotes perceived job alternatives, which further strengthen the first-order moderating effect of internal locus of control. Data collected from 209 college-graduate employees at three points over eight months supported the proposed moderated mediation effects. The findings advance the current i-deal research by showing how developmental i-deals facilitate an employee’s career capital construction behavior (via strengthened boundaryless career beliefs), especially for those with stronger control beliefs, such as internals.