Career Literature Research Articles

Career transitions from work-to-entrepreneurship

Moving from a traditional career to entrepreneurship is a significant shift. It means taking on new responsibilities and dealing with uncertainties. Our research examined what motivates people and the skills they need to make this change. We used career identity theory to understand how people match their motivations, interests, and abilities with their chosen careers. By thematically analyzing 21 in-depth interviews conducted with military veterans and career transition organizations, we find that transition barriers and challenges embedded in career contexts can be overcome by leveraging career capital and social capital through a series of adjustments. The value of career transitions to entrepreneurship was linked to improved well-being, increased autonomy, and satisfaction. We contribute to the entrepreneurship and career literature by proposing an integrative model of work-to-entrepreneurship career pathways, which aids in explaining how occupation contexts shape career aspirations, highlighting the importance of career and social capital and identifying career transition pathways. We propose direction for future research and offer practical implications for employers’ talent management practitioners, individuals considering work-to-entrepreneurship career transitions and interorganizational talent management practices in entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Competency development opportunities and organizational citizenship behaviors: the mediating role of subjective career success

PurposeBuilding upon Social Exchange Theory, this study explores the relationship between perceived opportunities for competency development (POCD), subjective career success (SCS), and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Given the importance of SCS in providing mutual benefits for both the employee and the organization, this study examines how SCS plays a mediating role in the relationship between POCD and OCBs.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from 353 full-time working professionals in Malaysian organizations through a two-wave hardcopy questionnaire survey. The data was then analyzed using structural equation modeling and the bootstrapping method.FindingsThe study found no significant direct relationship between POCD and OCBs. However, the bootstrapping analysis uncovered that SCS mediated this relationship, indicating a significant full mediation effect.Research limitations/implicationsTo increase the external validity of findings, future studies should include samples from various industries in both the public and private sectors.Originality/valueIn contrast to the findings from previous studies, this study adds value to the career literature by demonstrating that without a sense of SCS, even with competency development opportunities, employees are less likely to engage in OCBs. It highlights the importance of SCS in fostering mutual benefits for both the employee and the organization.

Be a boundaryless good guy! How job embeddedness mediates and organizational identification moderates the associations of boundaryless career attitude with extra-role behaviours

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the mediating role of job embeddedness and the moderating role of organizational identification on the relationships between boundaryless career attitude and extra-role behaviours (i.e. organizational citizenship behaviours and counterproductive work behaviours).Design/methodology/approachA two-wave study was carried out on 296 employees from public and private organizations in Italy. Boundaryless career attitude, organizational identification and demographics were measured at Time 1. Four months later (Time 2), job embeddedness, organizational citizenship behaviours and counterproductive work behaviours were assessed. Responses were analysed by means of multigroup structural equation modelling.FindingsJob embeddedness mediated the positive relationship between boundaryless career attitude and counterproductive work behaviours, as well as its negative association with organizational citizenship behaviours; organizational identification buffered this latter indirect effect.Practical implicationsOrganizations can promote stronger organizational identification and job embeddedness to retain boundaryless-oriented talent and foster positive extra-role behaviours.Originality/valueThis study integrated the protean/boundaryless careers literature with organizational behaviour theories to examine contextual factors influencing the effects of these contemporary career attitudes.

A grasp of police research: characteristics of empirical research on police careers based on multiple scoping reviews

PurposeThis article provides an overview of the literature characteristics of empirical research on topics related to police careers from 2000 to 2021. Methodology, distribution in time and space and types of publication are presented. Recommendations for new research avenues are given.Design/methodology/approachEight scoping reviews on specific topics were carried out by criminology students under the close guidance and supervision of the first author, an academic researcher. The reviews followed the same procedure, enabling an overarching reflection.FindingsThe scoping reviews resulted in 179 unique publications for analysis. It appears that the topic of police professional competencies is studied more often in the field of police careers (n = 55), in contrast to informal learning in police training (n = 4) which was studied the least frequently. Since 2012, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of publications. Publications in scientific journals are by far the most common (n = 153), as is a quantitative research design (n = 123). All topics have been studied in Europe and North America.Research limitations/implicationsMore qualitative research and international dissemination of empirical results are recommended to gain a deeper understanding of police careers. As for the limitations, specific topics were selected, which limits the scope of the findings. Working with students for data collection has its benefits in terms of workload, but comes with potential limitations in terms of quality. It is recommended to conduct a screening using the four-eyed principle, as was done here by the first and second authors. Additionally, the review protocol (e.g. keywords and databases) has an influence on the outcome. Different choices may lead to different results.Originality/valueA comprehensive analysis of police career literature is made based on eight scoping reviews that followed the same procedure. It allows to study the literature in a broad sense rather than studying one topic in depth.

Why moving there? Spanish SIEs: factors and motivations involved in the choice of the host destination

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the Spanish Self-Initiated Expats’ (SIEs) motivations and factors involved in the choice of the host destination.Design/methodology/approachThrough an exploratory and qualitative study, drawing upon SIE literature on motivations and careers, 22 Spanish SIEs were interviewed in a semi-structured way.FindingsMost SIEs clearly detailed the line of reasoning behind the host destination choice (specific destination); a second group considered a limited number of potential countries to relocate to (alternative destinations), and the smallest one did not choose a specific location. Career motivations were the most mentioned ones and different degrees of career planning were found: those with a very defined career planning process relied upon one potential destination, while those with a less defined one considered several alternative host destinations. The European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students experience was one of the most mentioned factors influencing the choice of the host destination, which may be common to other European Union (EU) nationals. As to the limiting ones, the visa requirements outside the EU were identified. Other factors were particular to Spain, such as the perceived need for English proficiency for a successful global career and the degrees of career planning.Practical implicationsThese findings may assist Talent Management Managers to align organizational strategies with SIEs motivations. They may also help future Spanish and European SIEs in their individual career management process.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a better understanding of the expatriation motivations and factors influencing the destination location of Spanish SIEs, adding to the SIE and global career literature.

Strategic, episodic and truncated orientations to planning in post-redundancy career transitions

This article examines different orientations to planning in the context of the post-redundancy transition of workers in the Swedish steel industry. The aim of the article is to extend our understanding of the role of planning in careers transitions. Drawing on careers transitions theories, the article explores the qualitative experience of the journey between a redundancy event and the employment situation several years later. Within the careers literature planning is regarded as important to transitions, yet there is a tendency to present planning as an ongoing and lifelong process. By going beyond the prevalent focus within the career literature on managerial, professional or creative industries workers, the article raises the question of whether highly agential, ongoing, lifelong approaches to planning apply to everyone. Data are based on working-life biographical interviews conducted several years after redundancy. The findings show that although some participants resembled assumptions within the careers literature, there are key variations relating to ongoing planning, reflecting differences in the expectations of agency and perceptions of structural constraint. The analysis identifies three orientations to planning – strategic, episodic and truncated – and explores these in relation to both post-redundancy transition outcomes and, crucially, the experience of the transition journey.

Gendered Constructions of Luck at Work: The Case of Career Narratives of Female and Male Managers

There is a ubiquitous assumption that luck is a gender-neutral and equally distributed phenomenon. Drawing on 50 interviews with female and male managers, we examine their constructions of luck at work and demonstrate the gendered construction of luck in career narratives. Despite the dearth of attention to luck in the career literature, luck often features in the career narratives of professional workers. In line with the literature, we define the construct of luck as something outside the locus of control of individuals. Yet, we identify that luck is a gendered construct in career narratives. We demonstrate that while female managers define luck as receiving equality of opportunity in the process of their careers, male managers define luck as structures of support that offer them opportunities above and beyond their merit at work, which is a privilege that men appear to enjoy. The perception and interpretation of luck have far-reaching effects on addressing and comprehending gender disparities in career advancement, decision-making, negotiation and organisational leadership. Recognising the gender-specific impact of luck is vital in promoting gender equality and offering equitable chances for the career progression of women and non-privileged employees. It offers a persuasive option to challenge the dominant meritocratic assumptions on equality of chances, structures and the distribution of resources.

Gender and cross‐boundary mobility preferences: the moderating effects of organisational and occupational contexts

The role of gender in career mobility is a major practical and scholarly concern. Drawing on boundaryless career literature and social role theory, we examined whether gender influences employees' psychological mobility, whether this influence varies depending on the nature of career boundaries (the boundaries of job, organisation and industry) and whether it is contingent on organisational or occupational characteristics. We conducted cross‐classified multilevel analyses on 3,527 Australian employees nested within 725 organisations and 43 occupations. The results suggest that females show higher mobility preferences than males when it comes to crossing industries but not changing organisations or jobs. However, their preference for crossing career boundaries is significantly reduced when their organisation has a strong presence of female leadership. We also find that in female‐dominated occupations, females show a higher cross‐organisational mobility preference than males, while in male‐dominated occupations, females show a lower cross‐organisational mobility preference.

Pay Premiums and Peer Spillovers: Unpacking the Value Proposition of Employing Stars as They Age

An open question among scholars and practitioners is whether and when the employment of star employees is likely to pay off. Addressing this query, we integrate insights related to star performers’ experiences of cumulative advantage and disproportionate bargaining power with insights from the careers literature to develop theory related to stars’ direct and indirect value creation and value capture as they age. Specifically, we first develop arguments that stars, as a function of their disproportionate status and bargaining power, will enjoy higher pay relative to individual performance (PRIP) in comparison to their non-star peers. Second, we argue that this difference in PRIP will be greater among older employees, as stars’ cumulative advantage is a progressive phenomenon that continues to widen the initial gaps in their PRIP relative to others over their careers. Next, countering the apparent implication that the value proposition associated with employing stars deteriorates as stars age, we find that the magnitude of stars’ indirect contributions through positive spillovers to their peers’ performance increases with age. Lastly, we account for some of the mechanisms through which older stars have a more positive impact on their peers. General support for predictions is found in a financial services organization.

Curiosity saved the cat: socio-emotional skills mediate the relationship between parental support and career exploration.

According to career literature, greater parental support seems to be associated with higher levels of career exploration. This relationship may be mediated by self-regulatory processes, such as social-emotional skills, as curiosity. However, despite the large number of empirical studies that analyze the antecedents of career exploration, there are no references, to our knowledge, to the role of socio-emotional skills. Following this gap, the present study aims to examine the extent to which perceived parental support is associated with career exploration through the mediating effect of curiosity (socio-emotional skill), among a group of 8th and 9th grade students from public schools in southern Portugal (N = 540). An integrated model was conducted using AMOS 20.0 and the results revealed that curiosity is a partial mediator of the relationship between perceived parental support and career exploration. These results highlight the importance of considering socio-emotional skills (such as curiosity) when designing interventions to foster adaptive career behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed to open the opportunity to progressively extend the participation of proximal contexts (e.g., families) to career and socio-emotional skills development processes.

Workplace-Related Negative Career Shocks on Perceived Employability: The Role of Networking Behaviors and Perceived Career Opportunities

While there is a growing interest in career shocks in the careers literature, little is known about how and when they trigger employees’ proactive behavioral responses leading to sustainable career outcomes. The research aims to extend previous knowledge about the effects of such career shocks and uncover their potential benefits. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the study proposes that workplace-related negative career shocks indirectly impact employees’ perceived employability by mobilizing their networking behaviors, especially when perceived career opportunities are present. To investigate this, a three-wave survey was conducted among 269 employees over four months in three companies in China. The results show that workplace-related negative career shocks indirectly contribute to employees’ perceived employability by motivating them to engage in networking behaviors. Furthermore, this positive indirect relationship is stronger for employees with high perceived career opportunities. This study is the first to provide a positive perspective on the outcomes of workplace-related negative career shocks and sheds light on employees’ proactive behavioral responses as a mechanism to explain the impact of such shocks on career sustainability.

Career commitment and subjective career success: Considering the role of career resilience and self-efficacy

Understanding the qualities that are most important for employees’ career success has been fundamental in advancing career literature. Researchers, employers, and employees have shown an increased interest in the dynamics and factors involved in the relationship between career commitment and subjective career success. This study examined career commitment and subjective career success among South African veterinary professionals ( N = 331), whilst exploring the possible moderating role of career resilience and self-efficacy. Empirical results showed significant positive relationships between career commitment, career resilience, self-efficacy, and subjective career success. Furthermore, results indicated that self-efficacy moderated the relationship between career commitment and subjective career success, although no evidence for the moderating role of career resilience in this regard, was found. These findings carry implications for organisations and training institutions on the qualities most important for the career success of veterinary professionals. Implementing career commitment initiatives and considering self-efficacy in the training of veterinary professionals are recommended.

Predictors of Protean Career for Millennial Workers: The Impact on Career Resilience and Career Satisfaction

A contemporary career model, the protean career has offered an alternative for career development in the workplace, especially for the millennials. This study aims to analyze the core self-evaluation and emotional intelligence as the predictors of protean career and the impacts on career resilience and career satisfaction. Online survey from 260 millennials who work in various industries were analyzed to develop an integrative career model, by using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results of the study indicated core self-evaluation and emotional intelligence as predictors that have a significant effect on protean careers. In addition, the research found the significant effect of protean career on career resilience, also the significant effect of career resilience on career satisfaction. This study contributes to the development of career literature through a contemporary approach that emphasizes the individual role in career development. This study also provides managerial implications, where managers need to consider emotional intelligence in the recruitment process and encourage employees’ ability to evaluate themselves for career success. Keywords: Core self-evaluation, emotional intelligence, protean career, career resilience, career satisfaction

Self-initiated expatriation: a career perspective through a social chronology lens

PurposeThis is a conceptual paper, intended to link the constructs self-initiated expatriation (SIE) and career. The author suggests that regarding SIE as an episode in a career allows one to use ideas from the careers literature to suggest novel areas for research on SIE, thereby contributing to the SIE literature. The author employs a particular perspective on career – the social chronology framework (SCF) – to show how the framework can suggest these novel areas of research on self-initiated expatriation. The SCF views careers through three perspectives related to the space within which the career takes place, the career actor who “has” the career, and the time over which the career plays out. By looking at SIEs through each of these perspectives in turn a number of research questions are suggested that have the potential to enrich the SIE literature.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first considers the construct of career and shows how self-initiated expatriation fits with it. Next, it introduces the SCF, and finally shows how it can be used to derive ideas for research on self-initiated expatriation.FindingsThere are none, given that this is a conceptual paper.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper suggests future directions for research on SIEs.Originality/valueThe author believes that the application of the SCF to the study of self-initiated expatriation is novel.

Role-play of employees' protean career and career success in affective organizational commitment

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the role-play of Protean Career Attitude (PCA) and Career Success (CS) in Affective Organizational Commitment (AOC).Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study on 376 employees from 55 hotels in Malaysia were conducted. The co-variance-based structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data to test the direct and indirect relationships of PCA and CS with AOC.FindingsThe findings reveal that self-directed career attitude (SDCA) has a positive direct influence on AOC as well as indirect influence through the mediation of OCS and SCS. However, the value-driven career attitude (VDCA) neither influences AOC nor the OCS.Originality/valueThis is a first paper to body of knowledge in Asian context which identify mediating role of career success (SCA and OCS) to PCA and AOC. The findings of this research are the workplace learning in hospitality management. The authors argue that hotels should not assume spontaneously PCA with diminishing AOC, but rather hotels' attention is required to identify the most important preferences of these butterfly career attitudes such as OCS and SCS. Most importantly the research negates many negative labels of PCA and adds new perception to the contemporary career literature. Higher education institutions, government, and primary, secondary, and post-secondary education departments can play a significant role in developing PCA dispositions like SDCA and VDCA toward career success. Therefore, further study should examine PCA and their relevance to career outcome like job searching and employability of students in Malaysia. The paper is the first, to one's knowledge, to assess organizational commitment with specific measures of PCA. While the results are simple, they refute many stereotypes of the new career and, in that sense, add an important perspective to the career literature.

Chamados ocupacionais em um contexto de restrições estruturais

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the moderating effect of structural constraints on the relationship between the perception of a calling, living a calling, and life satisfaction. Originality/value: This is the first attempt to discuss the role of structural restrictions on the consequences of perceiving a calling in the context of a developing country. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted quantitative research with 165 Brazilian professionals (structural equation modeling). Findings: The results showed that perceiving a calling is positively associated with living a calling and satisfaction with life, in general. However, both relationships were moderated by structural constraints, so that the stronger the constraints, the weaker the relationships described above. This result indicates that seeing a job as an occupational calling does not always lead to desirable outcomes, as it is often advocated by the vocational and career literature and career guidance professionals. Thus, it is suggested that the limitations on access to resources should be taken into account in career guidance processes so that individuals are more aware that, in cases of resource constraints, occupational calling may not provide the much-acclaimed positive career outcomes. Implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are presented.

How do individual factors affect career sustainability? An investigation of cascading effects through the career construction model of adaptation

PurposeThough the recent conceptualization of career sustainability, defining its indicators and dimensions prompted an important field of careers research, empirical research is still in its infancy. The current study empirically investigates how proactive personality, career adaptability and proactive career behaviors promote career sustainability based on the career construction model of adaptation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a two-wave survey design to collect data from 414 full-time working professionals representing different organizations located in India. The authors tested the proposed hypotheses using structural equation modeling in IBM SPSS AMOS.FindingsResults supported a serial indirect effect model with career adaptability and proactive career behaviors carrying the effect of proactive personality on career sustainability.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the emerging sustainable careers literature by unveiling the role of individual factors in career sustainability. Furthermore, the authors investigated these relationships through the complete career construction model of adaptation. By doing so, the current study contributes to careers literature by revealing the linkage between the career construction model of adaptation and career sustainability.

Quid pro quo? The future for graduate development programmes through the lens of talent management

The value of graduate development programmes (GDPs) from a talent management (TM) perspective is unknown. The contemporary TM literature focuses primarily on talent programmes for existing employees whereas less attention has been placed on externally recruited talent pools, in particular graduates. Attracting graduate talent is a priority for many organisations, as evidenced by the amount of investment contributed to this activity, but research on the employer’s intended outcomes and expectations of participants in GDPs seems to lack coherence. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to develop a conceptual model to explicate the nature and process of GDP, using TM and the wider career literature. The model helps in our understanding of what contextual factors are important and how these factors influence policy and practice to GDPs. We also explore the value of GDPs based on the psychological contract perspective in a contemporary career system. To achieve these aims, the paper investigates how the design and agenda of GDPs may be reframed by analysing several literatures including talent pool segmentation, identity, psychological contract theory and career management. We also expand the existing TM literature by exploring the factors that directly impact the outcomes of GDPs and set future research agenda.

The Combined Effects of Career Plateau and Career Competencies on Marketability and Career Outcomes

Utilizing the assumptions of social cognitive career theory, the current study unveils the harmful effects of career plateau on other career-related variables (i.e., organizational mobility preference, career goal disengagement, and career insecurity) via perceived marketability types. Moreover, we also examine how these indirect effects are conditional on employees’ career competencies in a moderated mediation model. Employing a multi-wave research design, we collected temporally segregated data from a sample of employees (n = 292) in Pakistan’s service sector. The results support the indirect effects of career plateau on career outcomes through perceived marketability types. In addition, our findings support the view that the indirect effects of career plateau on career outcomes are more potent for employees with low career competencies. By untangling the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which career plateau affects employees’ career outcomes, our study provides unique insights into the vocational and careers literature.

Generations in the Tourism Workforce: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analytic Insights

The existence of substantive and meaningful generational differences in the workforce remains a matter of some debate in the career literature. Drawn on social identity theory we engage in this debate by providing the first systematic review of the literature on generational differences in the tourism workforce using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The review includes 61 records published from 2002 to 2020 providing the first evidence base of effect sizes from generational differences in the tourism workforce. The meta-analytic insights include 407 pairwise comparisons among five generations – Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z. The results reveal that the differences with the highest effect sizes (Cohen’s d >.50) stem from the Millennials and the Baby Boomers.