The tremendous changes occurring in the work environment encourage new studies to update our knowledge about what determines ones’ career growth within and across organizations. Seven papers from a pool of submissions are presented in this special issue. We summarize how the seven papers included in this special issue contribute to our understanding beyond previous research and identify directions for future research. As a result of this special issue, we urge researchers to (a) identify other determinants of career growth, (b) enrich the theoretical framework connecting career growth with individuals’ attitudes and behaviors, (c) distinguish the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic career growth, (d) incorporate work context and career stage in future research, and (e) further explore the benefits of organizations’ investment on employees’ career growth in the new career era.

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This study explores the role of organizational career growth on employees’ organizational identification and turnover intentions in the contemporary career era. We compare the impact of organizational career growth and perceived external prestige of organization on employees’ organizational identification and turnover intentions and probe whether perceived alternative job opportunities moderate the relations between perceived external prestige–organizational identification and organizational career growth–organizational identification. Using a sample of 644 Chinese employees, findings indicated perceived external prestige and organizational career growth negatively influenced turnover intentions via organizational identification. Perceived alternative job opportunities buffered the relation between perceived external prestige and organizational identification but not the relation between organizational career growth and organizational identification. Finally, organizational career growth contributed more to organizational identification and turnover intentions than perceived external prestige. Our results suggest future research should consider the role of individual career states in improving employees’ organizational identification and retaining them within an organization.

Interest incongruence, or the mismatch between employees’ vocational interests and their work environments, tends to induce negative work attitudes and behaviors among employees. Combining conservation of resources theory and person–environment fit research, we propose a mediated moderation model explaining how autonomy support and job crafting mitigate the detrimental effects of interest incongruence on job satisfaction and absenteeism. Using data collected across two time periods from a sample of 428 Chinese employees from diverse occupations, we found that autonomy support buffered the relationships between interest incongruence and job satisfaction and interest incongruence and absenteeism. Moreover, job crafting also had a buffering effect on these relationships and further mediated the moderating effect of autonomy support. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for employees coping with interest incongruence in organizations.