What Got You Here Won't Get You There: Peripheral Knowledge Workers and Their Strategies for Success

Abstract

This study examines the knowledge and skills that marginal actors prioritize in service of their professional development and advancement. I analyze over 1,000 stories from a rich dataset of 105 semi-structured interviews with senior leaders of a global investment bank. Through inductive analysis of stories, I build on a nascent literature about peripherality, which refers to individuals’ perceptions of being outsiders at work. I find that those who perceive themselves to be peripheral disproportionately value technical knowledge. I argue that peripherality is associated with the pursuit of technical knowledge for two reasons. First, technical knowledge is accessible, relatively independent from interactions and relationships with others. Second, technical knowledge is legitimate, perceived as rational and meritocratic. These findings may expose knowledge-seeking behaviors as a mechanism behind stratification within internal labor markets. As peripheral actors pursue technical knowledge, they may actually neglect knowledge about interactions and relationships that is necessary for the upper echelons of organizations and management. That different knowledge-seeking behaviors may have negative consequences for career outcomes of peripheral members demonstrates the importance of attending to the micro-foundations of human capital.