The Influence of Proactive Personality and Entrepreneurial Alertness on Boundaryless Mindset and Self-directed Protean Orientation among Highly Educated Workers

Abstract

Nowadays, professional advancement is no longer guaranteed by the organization and the employee has to count on his personal efforts and abilities to develop his career. Moreover, labor market realities put workers under various economic stressors such as underemployment and employment mismatch. Such situations result in weakened attitudes, beliefs and behaviors towards one's job (Feldman, 1996). This paper questions the interaction between psychological and cognitive resources resulting in helping employees manage their careers. Namely, we explored the potential effects of proactive personality and entrepreneurial alertness on boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean orientation. Our study involved 217 highly educated workers from Tunisia. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed. Results show that proactive personality influences entrepreneurial alertness and boundaryless mindset. Moreover, it has an indirect and positive effect on self-directed protean orientation. Finally, entrepreneurial alertness partially influences both boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean attitude. Findings are discussed in the light of the realities of the local labor market.