The role of agency and national context in shaping the career behavior of consultancy contractors

Abstract

This paper examines management consultants’ transitions into and experiences of independent contracting in the UK and the USA through the collection and analysis of in-depth qualitative interview data. These workers reputedly pursue protean career trajectories, enriching their choices with respect to how they interact with the labor market. This has stimulated increasing interest into the commitment and motivation of these workers. However, contractors’ interpretations of the arrangements under which they operate and the pressures and dilemmas that they face remain opaque. The findings from this study contribute to the refinement of the protean career concept by shedding light on the variable balance between market agency and national institutional context in shaping contractors’ career behavior and experiences in the UK and USA, which generate implications for the prevalence of this form of work and employment in each of these two countries.