The effect of match or mismatch between the career anchors and the job set tings of CPAs: An empirical analysis

Abstract

An individual's “career anchor,” as defined by Schein (1978, 1985, 1990, 1993) and Igbaria et al. (1991), comprises a cluster of self-perceived needs, values, and talents that, in the long-term, invariably bear upon an individual's career decisions. Using a research instrument developed by Schein, this study identifies the primary career anchors of a sample of U.S. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and relates those anchors to the CPAs' job settings. Although CPAs were found to hold a variety of primary career anchors, 47% of the subjects in this study held a primary lifestyle career anchor. Further, lifestyle was the primary career anchor for CPAs in public accounting, in private industry accounting, and in governmental accounting. In addition, the study measures level of organizational commitment, degree of job satisfaction, and likelihood of turnover among the sample subjects. The study suggests that matching career anchor and job setting achieves greater organizational commitment, stronger job satisfaction, and lower turnover intentions among CPAs.