Driving Innovative Work Behavior: The Roles of Cultural Intelligence, Learning Goal Orientation, and Protean Career Orientation in Self-Initiated Expatriates

Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) represent an increasingly important group in global talent mobility and contribute to organizational knowledge creation in culturally diverse work environments. This study examines how cultural intelligence (CQ) and learning goal orientation relate to innovative work behavior among SIEs and investigates the mediating role of protean career orientation. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory and protean career theory, we conceptualize CQ as a capability-based resource and learning goal orientation as a motivational resource that drives individuals’ resource investment in learning and adaptation. Protean career orientation is positioned as a higher-order resource management mechanism that guides the conversion of personal resources into career-related actions. Data were collected from 312 self-initiated expatriates working in Taiwan, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for analysis. The results show that protean career orientation partially mediates the relationships between CQ, learning goal orientation, and innovative work behavior, suggesting that personal resources are more effectively translated into innovative behavior through self-directed career management processes.