Protean Career Orientation and Industry 5.0: A Bibliometric Mapping of an Emerging Research Interface

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-894-3_14How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Protean career orientation; Industry 5.0; career adaptability; bibliometric analysis; thematic mapping; human-machine alliance

Abstract

This study aims to map the intellectual structure and thematic evolution linking protean career orientation (PCO) with the human-centric vision of Industry 5.0, highlighting intersections between career adaptability, self-directed career models, and human–machine collaboration. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar as the primary databases. The study applied performance analysis and science mapping techniques through RSstudio and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, trending topics, influential authors, thematic analysis, and co-citation analysis of secondary documents. The search strategy combined targeted keywords for PCO, career adaptability, and Industry 5.0 to capture relevant literature from 2012 to 2025. The observed trajectory suggests the protean career research concerning Industry 5.0 is both consolidating and diversifying. It results in four different themes in the last two decades that include Boundaryless career and Career theory foundations; Protean career orientation and Measurement; Self-efficacy and Social Cognitive Career Theory; and Career Competencies and Employability, concerning Industry 5.0. The steep rise in articles after 2020 may be linked to the pandemic’s impact on career paths, remote work, and self-management trends. Study signals that the field has evolved from the challenges of defining and measuring basic conceptual constructs into addressing the timely issues of fast and dynamic labour markets, which can provide fertile grounds for interdisciplinary collaboration and future theory-building. While PCO has been extensively studied in relation to career self-management and adaptability, its integration with Industry 5.0 remains underexplored. This study is the first to employ bibliometric mapping to systematically bridge these domains, offering a comprehensive overview of their conceptual convergence. The results are expected to identify under examined themes, inform theoretical development, and guide future research toward embedding protean career principles in human-centred industrial transformations.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Anshu Lochab
AU  - Shikha Shokeen
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/10
TI  - Protean Career Orientation and Industry 5.0: A Bibliometric Mapping of an Emerging Research Interface
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Policies, Processes and Practices for transforming Underdeveloped Economies into Developed Economies (PPP-UD 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 192
EP  - 210
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-894-3_14
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-894-3_14
ID  - Lochab2025
ER  -