behavioral

sciences
Review
A New Construct in Career Research: Career Crafting
Xiaolin Ge , Lei Gao and Haibo Yu *

School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Career crafting is a new concept in the field of career research in recent years.
However, the research on career crafting is still in its infancy, and there are few systematic and
integrated studies. In this study, we have collected the existing research and extracted the 12 most
related articles from 10 databases (Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and EBSCO Host, etc.)
by the end of 2022 to discuss the concepts of discrimination, theoretical basis, research methods,
and measurement tools and variables of career crafting. As a reference for the follow-up in-depth
study, future research should progress forward, such as by deepening and expanding the theoretical
basis, testing and developing mature scales, building multilevel influencing factors and testing their
interaction, and furthering the research on the mechanism of multi-field effects.

Keywords: career crafting; job crafting; career self-management; proactive behaviors

1. Introduction
Crafting is not a new term in the field of career studies, and previous research
can be found in the literature explaining career development [1–3]. In recent years, job
crafting [4–6], which aims to enhance person–job fit through bottom-up job redesign, has
become a hot research topic. In addition, career crafting takes the issue of how to better
manage career development to a new level. Specifically, with the development of society,
the original stable and idealized career development path has been impacted, resulting
in a shift of individual perceptions from choosing a career to a wider and more fluid
career planning process. At the same time, due to changes in individual needs, values,
and abilities, the preferred job chosen at one time may not be the ideal job at another
time. The abilities, skills, and knowledge required for a job may also change over time.
Citation: Ge, X.; Gao, L.; Yu, H. A
New Construct in Career Research:
Based on this reality, career crafting is gaining attention.
Career Crafting. Behav. Sci. 2023, 13,
Initially, the concept most closely related to this review is Valcour’s [7] article in Har-
49. https://doi.org/10.3390/
vard Business Review, which proposed “craft a sustainable career”. Next, Vidwans [8]
bs13010049 proposed a new paradigm of career crafting based on qualitative research. Tims and
Akkermans [6] and Lee et al. [9] further clarified the concept and developed measurement
Received: 17 December 2022
tools in their subsequent studies. To date, studies of career crafting are still relatively
Revised: 31 December 2022
limited, and there is a lack of reviews. Research on career crafting is mainly focused
Accepted: 3 January 2023
on conceptualization and scale development, and the empirical research literature is scarce.
Published: 6 January 2023
Based on the frontier research on career crafting, we compose the relevant literature, dis-
cusses the conceptual analysis, theoretical foundation, research methods, and measurement
tools and variables of career crafting, and provide an outlook on the future research direc-
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. tion of career crafting to provide a reference for subsequent research.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
2. Concept and Identification
distributed under the terms and 2.1. The Concept of Career Crafting
conditions of the Creative Commons There are five main perspectives on the concept of career crafting. First, Valcour [7]
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// proposes “craft a sustainable career”, arguing that the key is to understand oneself and
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ adapt sharply to one’s field of interest and company and that crafting a sustainable career
4.0/).

Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13010049 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/behavsci

Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 2 of 13

includes performing meaningful work, making full use of one’s skills, working with dy-
namic people, and being able to combine work with other important things, such as family,
friends, and leisure life. Second, Vidwans [8] builds on the theory of job crafting with
principles such as cognitive, task, and relationship crafting, further expanding on the exter-
nal influences of family, organization, and environment while incorporating a gendered
career development model and identifying a broader understanding of career success
(personal cognitive and professional domains). Third, De Vos et al. [10] examines a new
perspective on career choice, considering the changes that occur in the broader career
context, emphasizing the dynamic and iterative nature of career choice, the central role
of the individual in career behavior, and the importance of balancing personal and situa-
tional needs, and considering career crafting as “the new career choice”. They define career
crafting as “the proactive behavior of individuals to optimize career outcomes by improv-
ing the personal-career fit” and to actively build their careers over time by reflecting on and
focusing on their career aspirations and motivations to make choices that affect short- and
long-term career success. Fourth, Tims and Akkermans [6] integrates the concepts of job
crafting, career competencies, and career self-management, defining career crafting as
“the proactive behavior of individuals to self-manage their careers, aiming to achieve
the best personal-career fit”. Fifth, Lee et al. [9] emphasizes the integration of individual
employee proactivity and congruence in a career environment, where proactivity is the abil-
ity of an individual to optimize resources outside oneself to achieve the desired job, while
congruence refers to the alignment of an individual’s career with one’s internal interests,
strengths, values, and needs. Career crafting is the proactive pursuit of congruence by in-
dividual employees who create or expand career-related resources based on the evolving
nature of the job and explore career options that better align with their changing needs,
values, and interests.
By comparison, Valcour [7] and De Vos et al. [10] proposes a definition based on reality
in order to pursue career sustainability. This perspective on career crafting recognizes that
individual needs and contextual demands are dynamic and that they can affect person–career fit
at any given time [10]. Moreover, “crafting” in the field of careers has been utilized in the specif-
ically related manner as used in job crafting theoretically [8]. Scholars expand the concept of job
crafting to career crafting (e.g., [6,8,9]). Vidwans [8] validated career crafting paradigm expanded
to family, organization, and environment. Different from this, Tims and Akkermans [6] and
Lee et al. [9] pay more attention to other individuals’ behaviors, resources, and abilities, thus
integrating other constructs, such as career self-management, career competencies, and career
orientation.

2.2. Identification of Career Crafting and Related Concepts

To better understand the concept of career crafting and distinguish it from other similar
concepts, this section selects the concepts borrowed and absorbed in the process of career
crafting and compares career crafting with job crafting and career self-management.

2.2.1. Career Crafting versus Job Crafting

Both career crafting and job crafting are the proactive behaviors of individual em-
ployees who aspire and strive to change their environment or themselves and are able
to actively participate in crafting their future through the choices they make [9,11,12].
The differences between the two can be developed in the following ways.
In terms of the temporal dimension, job crafting examines how employees can change
their current jobs and focuses on the short term. On the other hand, career crafting
indicates that better adaptation to the present job and finding a new job based on changing
needs, values, and interests should not be separated [9]. Career crafting is a long-term
and cumulative process that encompasses the entire career path and involves the overall
development of the career, not just the current job [8,13].
In terms of role behavior, job-level task crafting describes changing the type, scope,
and number of job tasks; job-level relationship crafting refers to changing the quantity and
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 3 of 13

quality of interactions with others at work [9]; and job-level cognitive crafting involves
changing individuals’ perceptions of work, such as interpreting their work as part of their
life story rather than a means of survival [5]. Career crafting also includes these three
dimensions and is closely linked between them [9]. Career-level task crafting is defined
as the extent to which individuals develop skills to achieve their best selves during their
careers; career-level relational crafting is defined as the extent to which individuals actively
seek out and connect with a group of people with whom they can share genuine interests
and values; and career-level cognitive crafting is defined as the extent to which individuals
actively reflect on the meaning of their careers and consider them to be an important and
meaningful part of their lives [9].
In terms of research scenarios, job crafting focuses on events that occur in the work-
place, with job-level variables selected to explore the impact of the work environment
and job outcomes [8,14]. Career crafting also considers other important aspects, namely
the long-term aspects of an individual’s career and life, such as family, organization, and
external environment [8].

2.2.2. Career Crafting versus Career Self-Management

Both career crafting and career self-management are important variables in the field
of career development, and they have conceptual similarities as well as significant differ-
ences. Both of them are active career self-initiated and self-regulatory processes of indi-
viduals. However, career self-management refers to a problem-solving process by which
individuals gather relevant information through career exploration and develop a greater
awareness of themselves and their environment in order to develop career strategies [15].
Career crafting refers to the proactive behavior of individuals to self-manage their careers,
aiming to achieve the best personal-career fit [6]. Career self-management emphasizes
the development of a specific, predictable, and rational career goal through active efforts,
while career crafting emphasizes the integration of the “proactivity” of seeking external
resources and the “consistency” of internal interests, strengths, values, and needs [9]
to pursue the dynamic matching process of personal will and career path rather than only
pursuing rationalized career development goals. In addition, career self-management may
be stimulated by both intrinsic motivation (e.g., pursuing personal interests and values)
and extrinsic motivation (e.g., needing more income to survive) [16], so it pays attention
to both. However, career crafting pays more attention to personal-career fit, emphasiz-
ing individual self-reflection and self-construction of a career, so it pays more attention
to intrinsic motivation.

3. Theoretical Perspectives Adopted in Career Crafting

The current theoretical perspectives of career crafting research include the conservation
of resources theory [17], career construction theory [18,19], and job crafting theory [4–6].
The first two are the theoretical foundations for empirical research on career crafting.
The conservation of resources theory explores how individuals manage their resources
to achieve their career goals through career crafting from a resource perspective; career
construction theory explores individuals’ adaptive responses in career exploration through
career crafting from a dynamic perspective; and job crafting theory is applied to the
formulation of the concept of career crafting based on a role perspective.

3.1. Conservation of Resources Theory

Career crafting is viewed from a resource-based perspective as a proactive resource
management behavior aimed at using, maintaining, and acquiring career resources to achieve
career goals [20–22]. The conservation of resources theory explains the relationship be-
tween career success and career crafting as two competing motivations (i.e., resource
conservation and resource acquisition), where both objective and subjective career suc-
cess are resources for conducting career crafting. First, when individuals perceive low
or high levels of available career resources, they are most strongly motivated to engage
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 4 of 13

in resource acquisition and engage in active career reflection. The above theory explains
the U-shaped relationship between subjective career success and active career reflection [23].
However, the cognitive element (i.e., active career reflection) generally precedes the behav-
ior element (i.e., active career construction), and for those who lack career resources (i.e.,
low levels of subjective career success), engaging in active career reflection may deplete
the resources needed to initiate subsequent autonomous goal-achieving actions, so only
individuals with high levels of subjective career success are associated with active career
construction behaviors [23]. Second, the conservation of resources theory suggests that
individuals who lack resources are more vulnerable to resource loss, whereas individu-
als with more resources are more likely to gain further resources [24]. Therefore, more
successful individuals are more willing to invest resources in career crafting, explaining
the linear relationship between objective career success (number of promotions) and career
crafting. Third, according to the complementarity problem in the conservation of resources
theory [25], the importance individuals place on resources depends on the degree to which
individuals perceive resources to help achieve their goals. Therefore, individuals who
perceive a large number of learning opportunities at work are more likely to combine them
with available resources (career success) for career crafting [23].

3.2. Career Construction Theory

The career construction theory [18,19] integrates the relationships of structural de-
mands, adaptability resources, and adapting responses into a model. To begin with,
according to career construction theory, the newly operationalized concept of career craft-
ing [6] captures the aspects of career planning and career exploration, which can be seen
as an adapting response of individuals [26]. Thus, the antecedents of career crafting could
be researched based on CCT, such as how to transform career adaptability and competen-
cies into this career adaptation response. Equally important, CCT suggests that differences
in individual motivation for adaptation and adaptive behavior will lead to different adap-
tive outcomes in career development. It is also worthwhile to continue to understand
the mechanism of the role of career crafting in career adaptation outcomes, as well as the
influence of contextual factors. A present study investigating the impact of career adapt-
ability on career crafting [26] found that career crafting can be predicted by an increase
in one’s perceived structural needs, combined with the increased availability of adaptive
resources, contributing to an understanding of the role of resources.

3.3. Job Crafting Theory

Job crafting theory has played an important role in the formulation and development
of this concept. Career crafting and job crafting are similar, utilizing career-level task, cog-
nitive, and relational crafting [8,9] to balance resources and demands in a career in an effort
to achieve a personal career match. When the concept of career crafting was introduced,
Vidwans [8] built on the theory of job crafting principles, such as cognitive, task, and
relationship crafting, expanding it and incorporating elements of family, organization, and
environment. In later studies, Tims and Akkermans [27] and Lee et al. [9] also developed
the construct by replacing the word “job” with “career” based on the literature and scales
related to job crafting. The measure of this construct was developed.

4. Research Methods of Career Crafting

Through a literature overview, we have determined that there are three main research
methods used in career crafting. First, the questionnaire method, as a typical empirical
research method, was used by Janssen et al. [23] and Nalis et al. [26], who distributed
and collected questionnaires with a sample of 702 teachers and 2000 people working
at Gelman, respectively, and tested the proposed hypotheses through structural equation
modeling (SEM).
The second method is experimental intervention. The career crafting study used
an intervention mapping program in a systematic way, such as identifying needs, develop-
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 5 of 13

ing the program, pilot testing, implementing, and evaluating [28]. Specifically, the study
participants were divided into experimental and control groups, and the experimental
group underwent a four-hour training session on career crafting and was asked to work
on self-imposed goals afterward, during which coaching calls were conducted, and post-
intervention outcome variables were assessed by questionnaire after 8 weeks.
The third method for career crafting research is qualitative research. Career craft-
ing was conceptually developed when one study conducted semi-structured in-depth
interviews with 36 accounting professionals in New Zealand and compiled a total of ap-
proximately 170,000 words of recorded text. The data were subjected to NVivo, extraction
of key events, and coding [8]. The follow-up study continued to focus on outstanding
female accountants of different nationalities, using methods such as interviews and cod-
ing to address how gender factors combined with family and organizational contextual
circumstances are reflected in the concept of career crafting [29,30].
To sum up, the questionnaire method has the advantages of high efficiency, good
objectivity, and easy promotion. However, the development of career crafting scales is
limited at present, and the effectiveness and application situation of the existing scales need
to be further tested. In addition, the questionnaire method is a cross-sectional study, which
cannot test the cause and effect. The experimental intervention can test the causality, but
it is greatly affected by the experimental operator, and it is difficult to completely exclude
the influence of interference variables. Qualitative research is more flexible, can deeply
explore the real ideas of the interviewees, and is suitable for the exploration of antecedents
and mechanisms. However, it requires a high level of data induction and a theoretical level
of the researchers. Future research should choose appropriate research methods according
to research situations and research purposes. Considering the dynamics and complexity
of career crafting, future research on career crafting can adopt longitudinal research design
to track individuals for a long time, and cross-level research to explore the more complex
antecedents and outcomes of career crafting.

5. Measurement of Career Crafting

There are two main career crafting scales currently being developed. Tims and Akker-
mans [27] originally developed the career crafting scale and tested it in a Western context.
Based on a review of the literature on job crafting, career competence, and career self-
management, they developed a six-point career crafting scale with two dimensions and
eight questions based on existing questions. The scale consists of two dimensions: proac-
tive career reflection and proactive career construction. First, proactive career reflection
refers to proactive behaviors that focus on exploring and assessing career-related moti-
vations, values, and goals. This dimension is related to concepts such as cognitive job
crafting [5], cognitive career self-management [31], and reflective career competence [32].
Second, positive career construction includes career-related interpersonal relationships,
self-description (self-profiling), and goal-striving proactive behaviors. This dimension
builds on the concepts of structural and social job crafting [33], career self-management [31],
and communication and career competence [32]. The scale has good reliability and validity,
with an internal consistency coefficient of 0.80 for the active career reflection dimension
and 0.85 for the active career construct dimension.
Using a deductive approach, Lee et al. [9] combined the Job Crafting Scale [34], the Job
Crafting Scale based on the Job Demands–Resources Model [33], the Career Planning
Scale [35], the Career Self-Management Scale [36], the Focus on Internal Career Charac-
teristics Scale [37], the Authenticity, Balance, and Challenge Scale [38], and the Changing
Career Attitudes Scale [39] to develop a 4-dimensional, 15-question scale with 7 different
scales. The reliability and validity of the scale was good, with internal consistency co-
efficients of 0.93 for the changing relational boundaries dimension, 0.86 for the utilizing
relational resources dimension, 0.91 for the reflecting positive career meaning dimension,
and 0.90 for the expanding task boundaries dimension. The internal consistency coefficient
of the overall questionnaire was 0.93.
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 6 of 13

Both of these scales were developed based on job crafting and existing career-related re-
search, but there were significant differences between the two scales. Specifically, (1) the two
dimensions of the scale developed by Tims and Akkermans [27] are more relevant to the
conceptual context of career crafting, and both dimensions point to the self. The process
of individuals actively adjusting their career development by continuously examining
their inner selves is precisely the process of active career reflection and active career
construction, and contextual mining from the original concept eventually leads to the
measurement instrument. (2) The dimensions of the career crafting scale developed
by Lee et al. [9] are more specific, and the instrument is developed based on existing
scales related to the concepts defined by the authors. All four dimensions point to the
external world (tasks, jobs, etc.).

6. Review of Variables Related to Career Crafting

The following section maps the nomological network of variables to which career
crafting is related. Specifically, it unpacks the antecedents (individual and contextual) and
outcomes (Work-related, Career-related, and Life-related) of career crafting (see Figure 1).
We classified the antecedents and consequences in the following sections according to the
perspectives adopted in each manuscript, regardless of whether the measurement was
cross-sectional, correlational, or longitudinal.

Figure 1. Diagram of the theoretical framework of career crafting (summary of this study, * represents
empirical tests in the future).

6.1. Antecedents
6.1.1. Individual Antecedents
Empirical studies of individual factors have demonstrated the relationship between
intensified career planning and decision-making demands, subjective/objective career
success, and career crafting; in addition, factors such as adaptability, career competencies,
and gender have been proposed based on the concept of career crafting.
Intensified career planning and decision-making demands. Individuals are the strate-
gists and implementers of their own careers, which means that they face the need to plan
their careers and make career decisions [40]. As this individual need increases, it stimulates
a career-adapting response (e.g., career crafting). An empirical study verified the above
hypothesis that individuals with highly intensified career planning and decision-making
demands show a positive relationship with the dimensions of career crafting (i.e., active
career reflection and positive career construction) [26].
Subjective/objective career success. Janssen et al. [23] demonstrated that subjective
career success predicting the two dimensions of career crafting was not all linearly related.
For example, subjective career success had only a U-shaped relationship with active ca-
reer reflection, and only higher levels of subjective career success were associated with
higher levels of active career construction (i.e., strengthening the secondary relationship).
In contrast, objective career success (i.e., the number of career promotions as a whole) is
positively and linearly related to both dimensions of career crafting.
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 7 of 13

Adaptability and career competencies. Theoretical analysis suggests that adaptability

and career competencies, as individual resources and competencies, are two important
factors in career crafting [10]. Career adaptability is an important foundation for career
agency and employability. Career-competent employees who meet the needs of the present
and the future are expected to better protect and promote career sustainability through
career crafting [27]. Researchers have also examined the interaction of adaptability with
individual career planning and career decision-making needs on career crafting [26]. Akker-
mans and Tims’ [41] findings show that career competencies may act as a personal resource
that can trigger a motivational process associated with establishing a healthy work–home
balance via expansive job crafting when crafting your career.
Gender. It is generally believed that women are more likely than men to make employ-
ment concessions for family responsibilities and women more often explain success from
a family perspective. Vidwans [8,29,30] has emphasized the influence of gender factors
on individuals’ career crafting in qualitative studies. Through the analysis of interview
data and the reports of female accountants, it was found that women can achieve a balance
of multiple selves, such as the career self, the possible self, the spouse self, and the mother
self, through cognitive crafting, relationship crafting, and task crafting and break the exclu-
sive gender barriers to achieve success in combination with the contextual environment
of the family and the organization.

6.1.2. Contextual Antecedents

Contextual factors include the learning value of the job and the influence of organiza-
tional characteristics, family characteristics, and the external environment.
Learning value of the job. Janssen et al. [23] used perceived learning value in the job
context as a moderating variable and found that this variable reinforced the relationship
between subjective career success and the dimensions of career crafting. This is because
when individuals perceive that the job has high levels of learning value (e.g., learning and
development opportunities, etc.), combined with psychological resources, such as perceived
career success, individuals will feel a sense of progress and growth, which promotes career
crafting as a resource acquisition behavior.
Organizational characteristics. The dynamic interaction between individuals and
organizations can affect the person-career fit at any time [10]. Organizations influence indi-
viduals’ careers by providing learning opportunities, supporting employees in developing
career competencies, helping employees maintain employability, and engaging in career
conversations about employees’ current positions and future perspectives, all of which
facilitate career choices that help craft sustainable careers [42–44]. In addition, supervisors
may have an influence as they support individuals in achieving career goals or may be seen
as role models of how to manage a career [27].
Family characteristics. Theoretical analysis suggests that two aspects of family life may
have an impact on career decisions. One is family of orientation, which refers to a person’s
birth family, such as parental emotional and financial support and family environmental
factors that influence the early career development of children and adolescents; the other
is family of procreation, which refers to the family an individual establishes with a life
partner [45]. Research has shown that spousal support can provide resources for effectively
managing one’s career and that family responsibility and support have a significant impact
on an individual’s career crafting [8].
External environment. Vidwans [8] suggested that external factors such as social,
cultural, political, legal, technological, natural, and global factors can influence individual
career crafting. Although these factors are beyond the control of the individual, career
crafting focuses on the individual’s response to environmental changes. Furthermore, Tims
and Akkermans [27] also indicated that studying how the social environment influences
(facilitates or inhibits) career crafting and its outcomes would be the way forward.
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 8 of 13

6.2. Outcomes
6.2.1. Work-Related Outcomes
Prior work on the outcomes of career crafting has focused on a broad range of out-
comes, including job crafting, meaning of work, work engagement, and performance,
which are empirically drawn.
Job crafting, career self-management. The results of an intervention study [28] showed
that the career crafting intervention enhanced individuals’ perceptions of career self-
management and job crafting and reduced barriers to work demands.
Meaning of work, work engagement, and performance. Some theoretical analyses
suggest that career crafting is an active behavior of individuals and involves choices that
affect both short-term (e.g., work engagement and performance) and long-term success
(e.g., objective and subjective career success) through reflection on career ambitions and
motivations [10]. Lee et al. [9] suggest that career crafting predicts the meaning of work
and work engagement while also explaining the unique differences outside of job crafting.
In turn, work engagement predicts higher job performance [46], implying a strong relation-
ship between career crafting and work engagement.

6.2.2. Career-Related Outcomes

The main outcome variables at the career level, such as career success, employabil-
ity, and career clarity, were also validated in the qualitative study. They are developed
as follows.
Employability. Regression results from a study [27] concluded that while controlling
for organizational career management, both dimensions of career crafting were positively
associated with internal employability (i.e., current employer), while only active career
reflection was positively associated with external employability (i.e., other employers).
However, there was no evidence of an impact of the career crafting intervention on employ-
ability. Leeuwen et al. [28] explained that since employability refers to the future, this fact
is affected by the so-called “sleeper effect”, which may make it difficult for the participants
to perceive changes in their employability within 8 weeks after the intervention.
Career success. Researchers [9] concluded that career crafting predicts career success,
while further regression showed that career crafting explained more variance than job
crafting in terms of work meaningfulness and work engagement but not in terms of sub-
jective career success. This result suggests that even if career crafters are satisfied with
their current jobs, they may still want to find more engaging and meaningful work in their
careers. De Vos et al. [10] also suggest that career crafting is a proactive behavior that
affects subjective and objective career success.
Career clarity. Career crafting (including cognitive, task, and relationship crafting)
plays a central role in gaining career clarity. Analysis of interview data found that career
crafters who received support from their family and school performed exceptionally well
in terms of their clarity of purpose and career path progression and that career crafting can
transform individuals who initially had low levels of career clarity into individuals who
currently have high levels of career clarity [8].

6.2.3. Life-Related Outcomes

The impact of career crafting on life aspects is currently mainly based on theoretical
analysis. Vidwans [8] established that career crafting leads to success in personal domains,
such as maintaining physical health, spending time with children, fulfilling family respon-
sibilities, participating in community activities, spending time with friends, achieving
financial stability, and pursuing personal interests, among other markers. There are also
studies [29] in which the analysis of the career crafting process of female accountants
demonstrated that individual commitment to career and family is not irreconcilable but
can be skillfully combined.
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 9 of 13

7. Agenda for Future Research on Career Crafting

Based on previous studies, it is clear that more work needs to be performed to under-
stand career crafting, which is a new construct of career research. Our review highlighted
significant gaps in our knowledge and weaknesses in the approaches adopted in previous
work. Below, we outline a detailed agenda for future research on career crafting that targets
opportunities for theoretical and empirical advancement of the field. We attempt to propose
an integration framework for future research, as shown in Figure 2.

Contextual factors：
Job characteristics Contextual factors：
Leadership Family support
Organizational culture Family role overload
Internal factors：
Social environment Social support
Personality Performance：
Personal needs career success
motivation Turnover
Personal resource Job conflict
Career orientation
Health：
Career Crafting
Burnout
External factors： Life satisfaction
Career shocks
Labor market Well being：
Career stage Calling
Type of contract Meaningfulness
Individual factors
Demographic factors
Career stage

Hierarchy of Needs
Self-determination theory Job resources demands model
The theory of purposeful work behavior Self-determination theory Conservation of resources theory
Conservation of resources theory Regulatory focus theory Career construction theory
Career construction theory Job crafting theory Social cognitive theory
Person-environment fit theory Person-environment fit theory
Event system theory

Figure 2. A model of career crafting with a testable proposition.

7.1. Expanding the Theoretical Basis of Career Crafting

The existing theoretical bases have their own focus and shortcomings in relation
to the concept of career crafting, which is currently in the development stage. First, re-
source conservation theory views career crafting as a process of gaining/losing resources
and explains career crafting from a motivational perspective. The shortcomings are that
the study selected only the perceived learning value of work as a moderating variable
and did not consider the influence of other external environments, such as family, lead-
ership, and social factors; the cross-sectional research design inhibits the ability to draw
causal conclusions that resources may also influence the achievement of career success
because acquired and mobilized career resources may contribute to further career success
(i.e., reverse causality) [23]. Second, career construction theory, which explains career craft-
ing as career-adaptive behavior focusing on active adjustment and choice behavior during
the career and has been tested in empirical studies but ignores the cognitive crafting of indi-
viduals, is better suited to explain the process and nature of career crafting in the temporal
dimension. Third, job crafting theory provides a framework integration of tasks, relation-
ships, cognitive crafting, and the external environment based on job roles [8,9], which is
the conceptual basis of career crafting but does not sufficiently consider the endogenous
motivation of individuals to engage in career crafting.
Based on the above theoretical bases, the theoretical bases of career crafting research
can be further deepened and expanded in the future. First, we can provide explanations
for more situations from multiple theoretical perspectives, such as interpreting the concept
using the process of individual self-determination based on self-determination theory
and studying the connotation of career crafting from two kinds of motivations, namely,
promotion-orientation and prevention-orientation, based on regulatory focus theory. Sec-
ond, we expand the theoretical research of the concept of career crafting, combine many
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 10 of 13

different situations, provide theoretical guidance for the current practice of individual
employees and organizations, and explore the connotation and extension of career crafting
in different groups, industries, and situations to make sufficient theoretical accumulation
for practical application.

7.2. Testing and Developing the Measurement of Career Crafting

The development of career crafting scales is still at an initial stage. Only Tims and
Akkermans [27] and Lee et al. [9] have developed relevant measurement tools, but these
scales have been developed for a short period of time, and their reliability and applicability
contexts need further validation and analysis. Future research can be conducted in several
ways. First, the two scales differ significantly in terms of dimensions and specific questions,
and the rationale and process of scale development also differ significantly. In the future,
the two scales with different characteristics can be further integrated to obtain a measure-
ment tool with better reliability and validity. Second, the development of both scales is
based on Western management contexts and lacks analysis and consideration of differ-
ent countries. Third, we can further investigate the influencing factors and mechanisms
of career crafting through qualitative research methods and develop a new measurement
combined with the questionnaire method and other methods.

7.3. Improving Empirical Studies of Career Crafting

7.3.1. Constructing Multilevel Antecedents and Examining Their Interactions
The current research mainly proposes hypotheses based on job crafting, and less empir-
ical research has been carried out. The influencing factors of career crafting can be explored
from multiple perspectives based on different theoretical foundations. First, from the per-
spective of personality, empirical studies can be conducted to examine whether a proactive
personality, core self-evaluation, and the big five personalities influence this behavior.
From a motivational perspective, based on the hierarchy of needs theory, the self-determination
theory, and the purposeful work behavior theory, what kinds of individual needs and high-
order goals promote employees’ career crafting? Personal resources such as self-efficacy, career
resilience, and adaptability are more likely to craft one’s career and to trigger individuals
to adopt career crafting based on the conservation of resource theory and career construc-
tion theory. Secondly, event system theory (EST) [47] emphasizes the important role played
by events in triggering organizational action and changes in organizational character-
istics [47]. Akkermans et al. [48] think it provides an elaborate theoretical framework
for studying the individual responses given to career-related events. Therefore, career
shocks may be considered to understand career crafting [27]. The labor market, career stage,
and type of contract may also be external antecedents. As van den Groenendaal et al. [16]
mentioned, the characteristics of the contemporary labor market are the rapid growth
of the number of solo self-employed who lack valuable career resources. They must find
other ways to take full responsibility for their own work and establish a sustainable career.
Therefore, future research may focus on how the solo self-employed can craft their career.
A longitudinal research design can be used to incorporate time into the research framework
considering the dynamic and complex nature of career development [10,23] and to track
the influencing factors of individuals’ career-crafting behaviors over a longer period of time.
Thirdly, from the organizational characteristics in terms of person-environment fit theory,
individuals belong to different teams or organizations, so leaders will be an important
contextual factor for employee crafting. Future research should combine leadership and
career crafting, focusing on the direct impact of different leadership styles on career crafting
and how to motivate employees’ career crafting. The exploration of the influencing factors
of variables such as job characteristics and organizational culture also needs to be further
expanded to study the influence of different factors of the organization on career crafting
using cross-level studies. Additionally, whether the social environment and major social
events such as the COVID-19 epidemic have an impact on individuals’ career crafting can
be explored causally by tracking.
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13, 49 11 of 13

7.3.2. Deepening Research on the Effects of Career Crafting in Multiple Domains

More empirical studies are still needed to explore the outcomes of career crafting.
First, the outcome variables of existing work domains are mostly focused on the positive
effects, such as career success, and future research can expand the negative effects of ca-
reer crafting and explore the relationship between career crafting and turnover and job
conflict. Second, the outcomes are studied from different theoretical perspectives. Com-
bining different theories, such as job resources demands model, conservation of resources
theory, and career construction theory, more research should be conducted to explore
the relationship between career crafting behavior and more non-career domain variables,
for instance, health, such as burnout and life satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being, such
as calling and meaningfulness. Third, different moderator variables are sought to explore
the mechanisms of career crafting. Demographic factors such as gender, career stage,
income, age, and socioeconomic status and career stage can be used to influence the mecha-
nism of career crafting to different degrees, and some family-level factors, such as family
support, family role overload, and social support from supervisors and colleagues, can be
considered to be introduced in relation to career crafting based on social cognitive theory
and person-environment fit theory.

8. Conclusions
The purpose of this review was six-fold. First, we discussed how career crafting has
been conceptualized in previous research and elaborated on the evolution and the concep-
tually difference from related constructs such as job crafting and career self- management.
Second, we reviewed the theoretical perspectives that have been used in prior research.
Third, we listed the research methods used in the present studies. Fourth, we laid out
the measurement tools and differences between the two scales. Fifth, we mapped the theo-
retical framework of variables to which career crafting is related by reviewing work on its
antecedents and outcomes. Finally, we proposed a future research agenda for career craft-
ing that targets opportunities for empirical and theoretical advancement of the literature.
We hope this review provides a basis from which future research can be developed.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, X.G., L.G. and H.Y.; methodology, X.G., L.G. and H.Y.;
software, X.G. and L.G.; validation, X.G. and L.G.; formal analysis, X.G. and L.G.; investigation, X.G.
and L.G.; resources, X.G. and L.G.; data curation, X.G.; writing—original draft preparation, X.G.
and L.G.; writing—review and editing, X.G. and H.Y.; visualization, X.G.; supervision, H.Y.; project
administration, H.Y.; funding acquisition, H.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(71871025).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: All of the data for this study will be made available upon reasonable request.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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