The Impact of Career Competence on Career Sustainability Among Chinese Expatriate Managers Amid Digital Transformation in Vietnam: The Role of Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Digitalization and advanced technologies are replacing human jobs. Around the world, many people have lost their jobs due to increasing digitalization. Similarly, Chinese expatriates associated with the manufacturing sector in emerging countries such as Vietnam face similar challenges. Therefore, Chinese expatriates need to bring competitiveness in their competencies. This competitiveness brings sustainability to their career. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of career competencies on career sustainability. Moreover, we test the mediating effect of lifelong learning in the relationship between career competencies and career sustainability. A questionnaire survey approach was used in this study. The target population was the Chinese expatriate managers working at China-invested manufacturing multinational organizations in Vietnam. To estimate the proposed relationships, we use structural equation modeling. The results are confirmed that in the direct relationship career competence has a positive impact on career sustainability. The findings of this study also indicate that career competencies have a positive impact on lifelong learning. Furthermore, outcomes confirmed that lifelong learning has a positive impact on career sustainability. Similarly, results are also confirmed that lifelong learning is positively mediating between career competencies and career sustainability. Therefore, the empirical results of this article identify that lifelong learning has a critical impact on sustainable careers. Specifically, this study is useful for mid-level managers who are associated with multinational organizations. At the end of this article, we also explained the practical implications, limitations, and future research directions.

Self-goal setting as a way to career sustainability: exploring the roles of career crafting and perceived organizational goal clarity

“…Some scholars have tested the antecedents at the organizational level, such as organizational human resource practice (Tordera et al ., 2020), leader behaviors (Luo et al ., 2022) and continuous training programs (Bozionelos et al ., 2020) to enhance career sustainability. Individual factors, such as proactive personality (Talluri et al ., 2022), career competence (Zhang et al ., 2022) and psychological capital (Luo et al ., 2022) also exert a positive impact on career sustainability. Above all, existing research has examined the importance of career sustainability from a resource perspective (such as from the perspective of competence or that of psychological capital) and individual traits (i.e.…”

The Moderating Effect of Occupational Burn-Out on the Link of Career Competencies to Career Sustainability Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study

“…As well documented in the literature, CCs refers to the varying parameters of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for CS relative to the career demands and the personnel involvement ( Akkermans et al, 2013 , Zhang et al, 2022 ). Although many existing studies regard CCs as an agglomerate variable ( Blokker et al, 2019 ; Cheng et al, 2022 ), recent research points out that it is more appropriate to see CCs as a composite measure that includes several dimensions; it is thus of great importance to test the individual dimensions of CCs on employee outcomes as this can provide a more comprehensive understanding of relevant issues ( Chin et al, 2021 ).…”

“…With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, distorting global supply chains, people’s lives are largely affected around the world, particularly those working in multinational corporations (MNCs) ( Chin et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). In such a difficult time, an increasing number of burnout cases have occurred in MNCs as employees may have a great risk of losing their jobs.…”

“…Previous studies have examined the strong associations between career competencies (CCs) and career sustainability (CS) ( Akkermans and Tims, 2017 ; Chin et al, 2021 ). Pieces of evidence indicated that CCs are positively related to CS ( Chin et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). Referring to Akkermans et al (2013) , the framework of CCs is actually composed of three individual dimensions, i.e., reflective competency (RC), communicative competency (CC), and behavioral career competency (BC) ( Akkermans et al, 2013 ).…”

Psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the career competencies questionnaire for nurses: a cross-sectional study

“…The Career Competencies Questionnaire (CCQ), developed by Akkermans et al [3], has been evaluated for validity and reliability in Dutch [3,8], German [12], Lithuanian [9], and English [13]. In addition, it has been used in empirical studies globally [7,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Hence, it would be useful to develop a Japanese version of this tool, which is widely used in other countries, for the purpose of comparison.…”