Psychological success and the boundaryless career

The boundaryless career could be a bane or boon to people's experience of psychological success. This paper describes the contours of the boundaryless career and then looks at how workers will have to deal with aging over several career cycles, integrate diverse experiences into their identities, and come to terms with new types of employer-employee relationships. This introduces the idea of finding psychological success in one's life work, encompassing not only a job and an organization, but also work as a spouse, parent, community member, and as a self-developer.     

The boundaryless career: A competency-based perspective

This paper proposes a competency-based view of careers, derived from competency-based models of employer firms. The implications for boundaryless careers are explored by reference to changing organizational, occupational and industry community contexts. All of these contexts are seen as likely to promote boundaryless career behaviors. Future research possibilities for each of three career competencies, and for interdependence among the competencies, are briefly examined.     

Drivers of freelance career success

Recent evidence shows that the frequently proclaimed collapse of the traditional career model is actually not supported by job tenure data. This paper argues that the observed stability of job tenure might be explained by an increasing number of shamrock organizations. This organizational form has three types of workers: core employees, professional freelancers, and routine workers. In such an organization, two very different career models coexist. The organization largely determines the career of the core employee, whereas the individual essentially shapes that of the professional freelancer. This paper studies extensively the career of this second group: the professional freelancer, a growing phenomenon in many developed countries but not yet the focus of many career studies. We develop a freelance career success model on basis of the intelligent career framework augmented by insights from literature on entrepreneurship. Data are from a web survey with responses from about 1600 independent professionals in the Netherlands, in combination with 51 in‐depth interviews. We provide two main contributions. First, we report findings from the first large‐scale quantitative study into freelance career success. Second, this study enhances our understanding of the success of the modern career by building bridges between career and entrepreneurship literatures. We conclude that the external environment in which an individual freelancer operates is the most important factor determining career success. The study therefore suggests that more work needs to be performed on the relationship between the environment and individual career success. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proactive career behaviors and subjective career success: The moderating role of national culture

Although career proactivity has positive consequences for an individual's career success, studies mostly examine objective measures of success within single countries. This raises important questions about whether proactivity is equally beneficial for different aspects of subjective career success, and the extent to which these benefits extend across cultures. Drawing on Social Information Processing theory, we examined the relationship between proactive career behaviors and two aspects of subjective career success—financial success and work‐life balance—and the moderating role of national culture. We tested our hypotheses using multilevel analyses on a large‐scale sample of 11,892 employees from 22 countries covering nine of GLOBE's 10 cultural clusters. Although we found that proactive career behaviors were positively related to subjective financial success, this relationship was not significant for work‐life balance. Furthermore, career proactivity was relatively more important for subjective financial success in cultures with high in‐group collectivism, high power distance, and low uncertainty avoidance. For work‐life balance, career proactivity was relatively more important in cultures characterized by high in‐group collectivism and humane orientation. Our findings underline the need to treat subjective career success as a multidimensional construct and highlight the complex role of national culture in shaping the outcomes of career proactivity.     

Potential moderating influence of career growth opportunities on careerist orientation and work attitudes: evidence of the protean career era in Singapore

The emerging transactional or protean employment contract appears to have precipitated the development of a careerist orientation on the part of employees. This study examined the generalizability of the construct in a collectivist culture and the potential moderating influence of career growth opportunities on the careerist orientation–work attitude relationships. The results tend to support the generalizability of careerist orientation across cultures and, importantly, showed an absence of a moderating influence for career growth opportunities, suggesting that organizations cannot effectively counter the negative effects of careerist orientation on work attitudes. Limitations of the study, directions for future research, and implication of the findings for organizational dependence on employees as a competitive resource are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender and career success: A typology and analysis of dual paradigms

Despite women's advancements in the workplace, gender inequality persists. We classify and test two frameworks used to explain gender differences in career success: unequal attributes and unequal effects. The unequal attributes framework suggests that gender is related to other attributes, which result in unequal career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a mediated effect). The unequal effects framework suggests that even when men and women share the same attribute or circumstances, they are rewarded differently, such that individual attributes have unequal effects on career outcomes for men and women (i.e., a moderated effect). We collected survey data from a gender‐balanced sample of 394 business school alumni. Using structural equation modeling to test the unequal attributes framework, we found that work hours, career orientation, having a nonemployed spouse, and working in a predominantly female job were unequal attributes that explained gender differences in career success. Using multigroup path analysis to examine unequal effects, we found that being agentic, married, having children at home, and working in a predominantly female workplace had unequal effects in relation to career success for men and women. We find support for both models across three categories of career success antecedents (i.e., personal, family, and job attributes).     

The role of human capital,motivation and supervisor sponsorship in predicting career success

Based on Turner's (1960) contest‐ and sponsored‐mobility systems, a comprehensive model of the determinants of career success was examined. Human capital and motivational variables represented the contest‐mobility system whereas leader–member exchange and supervisor career mentoring represented the sponsored‐mobility system. Results based on data from 245 supervisor–subordinate dyads indicated limited support for the contest‐mobility system and strong support for the sponsored‐mobility system. Interestingly, the two forms of sponsorship were differentially related to career outcomes. Specifically, leader–member exchange was positively related to salary progression, promotability, and career satisfaction. Career mentoring, however, was only related to promotability. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding organizational embeddedness and career success: Who and what you know

Integrating job embeddedness theory with the sponsored and contest mobility perspectives, we developed and tested a model linking organizational embeddedness with two indicators of career success within the organization (promotion and career satisfaction), via the mediating roles of employees' organizational sponsorship network and job-related human capital development. Data from 188 employees and their supervisors over a 1-year period showed that, after controlling for employees' initial levels of career satisfaction and job performance, only job-related human capital development transmitted the positive effects of organizational embeddedness on promotion and career satisfaction. Supplemental analyses revealed that organizational sponsorship network's positive effects on promotion and career satisfaction were transmitted indirectly, via job-related human capital development. Our findings illustrate the importance of integrating sponsored and contest mobility perspectives and contribute to research on organizational embeddedness by extending its outcomes to include career success within the organization and specifying the process through which organizational embeddedness is related to career success within the organization.     

Reality check on career success and weak paradigms: chance still favors the hearty soul

In an earlier article, we discussed the effects of dissensus and low paradigm development on the lives and scholarly successes of junior scholars. Our analysis painted a somewhat bleak picture, but our advice for moving forward was simple, actionable, and therefore hopeful. Based on the bleak picture that was painted, one particular aspect of our work, career‐level evaluation reliability, was recently critiqued. We respond to that critique here. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of an objective intra‐organizational career success measure for managers

This study aimed to develop and validate a new objective measure of intra‐organizational career success, that is the Managerial Career Success Measure (MCSM). Although there has been a recent emphasis in the careers literature on the subjective career, there is still a need for a valid operationalization of ‘traditional’, objective career success as this construct is still considered relevant by many occupational and national groups; furthermore, many studies continue to use objective career success as a (dependent) variable. With regard to content validity, it appears that the measure that was developed incorporates some elements of the commonly used measures of objective career success (i.e. managerial level, number of promotions, salary and salary progression) while steering clear of some of the issues with each of them separately. Concurrent and discriminant validity were explored by analysing data from three empirical studies that were carried out in a large heterogeneous managerial population (N = 1101). Results indicate that the MCSM displays higher levels of content and construct validity than do other, commonly used measures of objective career success. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Careers as repositories of knowledge: A new perspective on boundaryless careers

This paper argues for a reconceptualization of careers as repositories of knowledge. Careers are visualized as accumulation of information and knowledge rather than simply progressions of work experiences. This definition is considered in light of theories which characterize organizations as knowledge creators. The paper then applies this perspective to the emerging phenomenon of boundaryless careers and concludes that a knowledge perspective provides significant insight into the implications of such careers for individuals and organizations.     

Development of a new scale to measure subjective career success: A mixed‐methods study

Career success is a main focus of career scholars as well as organizational stakeholders. Historically, career success has been conceptualized and measured in an objective manner, mainly as salary, rank, or number of promotions. However, the changing nature of work has also necessitated a change in the way many employees view success, adding a more subjective component. Although there has been theoretical discussion and calls to develop a comprehensive measure of subjective career success, no contemporary comprehensive quantitative measure exists. The goal of this study was to create and validate a measure of subjective career success, titled the Subjective Career Success Inventory (SCSI). The SCSI includes 24 items that address subjective career success via eight dimensions. The scale was developed and validated through four phases of data collection, beginning with interviews and focus groups, followed by item sorting tasks, then item refinement through confirmatory factor analysis, and finally convergent and discriminant validity quantitative analysis. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational career development is not dead: a case study on managing the new career during organizational change

New forms of careers have received increased attention in contemporary organizational research. A prominent focus in this research has been whether and how, in an increasingly unpredictable career environment, individuals are taking responsibility for their own career development. The implication is that career is becoming less central to organizational management practices. At the same time there is evidence that organizational changes typically described in this literature (such as delayering the organization in a quest for flexibility) have had a negative impact on career progress, resulting in resistance to change. The implication here is that career concerns are more central to organizational management practices. This in‐depth qualitative case study examines whether individuals do in fact take more responsibility for their career development during times of organizational change. We also examine whether this does indeed mean that the organization takes less responsibility for career management. Our data indicate that individuals are, in fact, taking more responsibility for their own careers. At the same time we found that the organization in our case study also became more actively involved in career development and management. However, this active approach did not resemble traditional top‐down career management and development. To us, the pattern of organizational and individual career development actions appear to constitute a kind of ‘organizational dance,’ a highly interactive mutual influence process, in which both parties are at once the agent and the target of career influence. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, as are directions for future research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing the career deal: the psychological contract as a framework for understanding career management,organizational commitment and work behavior

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated the relationship between different kinds of career management activities, the psychological contract, and outcomes of psychological contract fulfillment. The study tested a series of linked hypotheses which propose that individual career management behavior is associated with the experience of organizational career management help, which is related to fulfillment of the psychological contract. Fulfillment of the psychological contract in turn is linked to organizational commitment and is associated with behaviors at work, including absenteeism, turnover, and independent ratings of job performance. The findings provide some support for these proposed links. As a result, the paper makes four contributions to the psychological contract and careers literature: first, it shows that both individual and organizational career management behaviors are linked to psychological contract fulfillment; second, organizational career management help is associated with affective commitment and job performance; third, psychological contract fulfillment plays a key role in mediating the relationship between career management help and such attitudes and behaviors; and fourth, organizational commitment may mediate between psychological contract fulfillment and individual career management behavior aimed at furthering the career outside the organization. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The changing pictures of the relationship between career and family

This paper discusses how male managers perceive the relationship between their careers and family lives. The authors suggest that a typology of perceptions is necessary to describe this relationship. The way individuals perceive the relationship is influenced by the emotional outcomes of work and the relative importance of work in the life of the person. While the former is mostly the consequence of the job-person fit, the latter is closely linked to the individual's life stage. Thus, work appears to be the more significant environment in an individual's early adult stages, while family and private life become the more salient environment later in life.     

Predicting early career research productivity: the case of management faculty

We used a longitudinal design to examine the predictors of early career research productivity for 152 management professors over the first six years of their career. Results revealed early career research productivity to be a function of dissertation advisor research productivity, pre‐appointment research productivity, and the research output of a faculty member's academic origin and academic placement. However, the effects of these predictors varied over time in terms of strength. The findings are discussed in terms of guiding the evaluation and hiring of new researchers in knowledge‐based industries. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of career stage on the meaning of key organizational events

This study addresses the question of how career stage affects the meaning managers attribute to key organizational events. Propositions were developed suggesting that career stage provides a frame of reference when interpreting events and that the frequency with which this frame of reference is used differs in each career stage. In depth interviews with 40 managers across three career stages supported these propositions.     

A cross-cultural application of a career planning model

Data obtained from a sample of technical, professional and administrative/managerial employees (N = 214) in Singapore were used to examine the cross-cultural generalizability of a version of Gould's career planning model. The recursive model depicts the mechanisms through which career planning affects career behavior (career strategy) and attitudes (career satisfaction, self-esteem at work and career commitment) and thereby reinforce the career planning function. Path analysis results of the four structural equations provided modest support for the hypothesized relations. In addition to the hypothesized relations, the results revealed some significant direct paths that were not hypothesized. Limitations of the study, implications of the findings and a direction for future studies are discussed.