Career optimism: The roles of contextual support and career decision-making self-efficacy ☆ Patrick Raymund James M. Garcia a, ⁎, Simon Lloyd D. Restubog b , Prashant Bordia b , Sarbari Bordia b , Rachel Edita O. Roxas c a School of Business Administration, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA b Research School of Management, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia c National University, Manila, Philippines article info abstract Article history: Received 23 October 2014 Available online 8 February 2015 Drawing from the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), we examined the role of parental support, teacher support, and career decision-making self-efficacy as sources of career optimism. We tested our proposed model using 235 computer science majors from a large university in the Philippines. Surveys were conducted over two measurement periods (1 year apart). Results revealed that Time 1 parental and teacher support were positively associated with Time 2 career optimism. Furthermore, we found that these direct relationships were fully mediated by Time 1 career decision-making self-efficacy. These results remained significant even after controlling for neuroticism and past performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Career optimism Parental support Teacher support Career decision-making self-efficacy Social cognitive theory 1. Introduction “The organizational career is dead, while the protean career is alive and flourishing” (Hall, 1996, p. 8). This quotation accurately captures the importance of career self-management in today's turbulent career landscape. Technological advancements, job restructuring, and an increasing globalized workforce are just some of the reasons why careers have become less structured and predictable, increasing the need for individuals to be more flexible and adaptable (Greenhaus, Callanan, & Godshalk, 2009). As a response, career development research has shifted its focus from aligning individual's interests, needs, and values with organizational demands, towards advocating the development of career competencies essential for career and work adjustment (Savickas, 2005). These competencies comprise more than just the acquisition of technical and conceptual skills necessary for successful performance in one's chosen career. They also include transferable non-intellective capabilities (e.g., self-efficacy, conscientiousness, resilience) that help individuals persevere in the face of uncertainty (Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012). One important resource that has been found to be influential in successful career adaptation is career optimism (Rottinghaus, Day, & Borgen, 2005). Career optimism is defined as the tendency for individuals to “expect the best possible outcome or to emphasize the most positive aspects of one's future career development” (Rottinghaus et al., 2005, p. 11). While career optimism is positively related to work hope (i.e., a positive motivational state that enables individuals to derive a sense of successful agency, pathway, and goals in work situations, Juntunen & Wettersten, 2006), it is established that they are conceptually and empirically distinct from each other (Juntunen & Wettersten, 2006). As a component of career adaptability, career optimism has been found to positively influence various career Journal of Vocational Behavior 88 (2015) 10–18 ☆ We are grateful to Lemuel Toledano, Jennifer Lajom, Rajiv Amarnani, and Laramie Tolentino for their assistance in data collection. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council grant (DP130104138) awarded to the second, third, and fourth authors. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Room 318 Kalkin Hall, School of Business Administration, University of Vermont, 55 Colchester Ave., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. E-mail address: pgarcia@bsad.uvm.edu (P.R.J.M. Garcia). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.02.004 0001-8791/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Vocational Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb