Brand managers’ mindful self-management of their professional experience: Consequences for pay, self-efficacy and job performance

Abstract

This article examines the role of ‘mindfulness’ in a brand manager's self-direction of his or her professional experience, and assesses the impacts of experience of brand management, general marketing, general management and financial analysis on the person's self-perceived mastery of the brand management role. It explores the effects of a high level of ‘self-efficacy’ as a brand manager on an individual's pay, status within the brand management hierarchy and operational performance. A questionnaire covering relevant issues and constructs was emailed to a rented list of brand managers across a wide range of industry sectors. It emerged that ‘mindful’ self-management of a brand manager's previous work experience significantly moderated the effects of all kinds of past experience on an individual's feelings of self-efficacy as a brand manager. Self-efficacy was significantly associated with professional status, pay and self-evaluated performance. The duration of a person's experience of brand management had a significant direct influence on pay, but not on professional status or self-assessed on-job performance. Thus, professional experience was not of itself sufficient to secure career advancement. The outcomes to the study imply the need for brand managers to fashion and learn from their work experience in particular ways. Training concerning and exposure to the management of the finance function greatly improved the sample members’ career prospects. A number of antecedents of self-efficacy vis-a-vis brand management and general management roles were identified in the course of the research. Measures designed to enhance the stimulating impact of these antecedent variables should help brand managers to progress their careers. The results of the investigation contribute to past and current debates regarding the roles of mindfulness and self-efficacy in career development. Specifically, the outcomes shed light on the previously unexplored question of how professional experience of general managerial and marketing work can translate into successful career advancement for brand managers.