Shifting patterns: How satisfaction alters career change intentions

Abstract

Advancing a nascent stream of research linking career attitudes and paths to future professional mobility, this paper investigated how the career satisfaction interacted with both a protean career orientation and career variety to predict the career change intentions of hotel managers. Based on two studies this paper found that, protean career orientation and career variety had effects on career change intentions that were moderated by career satisfaction. Specifically, when hotel managers were less satisfied with their careers they reported as being less likely to continue following their established career path. However, when career satisfaction increased hotel managers were more likely to intend follow their previously established career paths and reported behavioral intentions consistent with their career orientations.