Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld

The Maturation of Career Theory

Career theory, like the phenomena it describes, has grown and developed over the past century. During that time, four main types of theory have emerged. This paper examines the contributions and limitations of each type, starting with the oldest, and identifies the most fundamental trends in the evolution of this theory. The key trend identified is a continuous shift from a relatively static to a relatively dynamic theory. The paper offers a synthesis of this literature, and concludes by suggesting what types of research and theoretical development are now needed if career theory is to continue to mature.

The Parting Patriarch of a Family Firm

Chief executive succession presents special challenges for family businesses. This article proposes a typology of retirement styles and recommends strategies for planning and managing the succession process.

Organization Structure and Corporate Social Performance: A Field Study in Two Contrasting Industries

The relationship between public-affairs management structure and social performance was studied. We explored three dimensions of public-affairs management structure—receptivity to public affairs in...

EXECUTIVE APOLOGIES FOR PRICE FIXING: ROLE BIASED PERCEPTIONS OF CAUSALITY1

The article discusses the results of a research which demonstrated how discrepant but systematic executive perceptions blur the clarity of organizational learning. In the study, executives in several companies were asked to explain the involvement of their companies in a price fixing conspiracy. The author notes that the role bias examined was the difference in perceptions between senior level executives and divisional executives formed six months after conspiracy convictions had been made and court sentencing had been handed down. The results showed that the corporate executives believed the blame was because of dispositional factors, while divisional executives believed it was attributable to situational factors.

The changing role of education on managerial career attainment.

Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of formal education in managerial career attainment and how this role has changed over time.Design/methodology/approach – The personnel records of two cohorts of managers who entered the firm at different times in a large internal labor market company were examined. The study encompassed years of education, subject of degree, timing of degree conferral, and quality of educational institution. Career attainment was regressed on the control variables and the hypothesized predictor variables using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.Findings – The research suggests that the importance of having an undergraduate degree seems to be increasing, while the importance of the selectivity of the university seems to be decreasing with respect to career attainment. Also, majoring in business continues to be an important factor related to career attainment.Research limitations/implications – Future research focusing specifically on the differences in managerial career...

An examination of the effects of early and late entry on career attainment : The clean slate effect?

Literature on tournament mobility in internal labor markets (ILMs) is reviewed revealing a paucity of studies examining the promotion patterns of late entrants into internal promotion systems. An investigation of 502 managers in a large corporation indicated that late entry into the ILM organization was significantly and positively related to career attainment, supporting the “clean slate effect”. In addition, experience in the corporate office was positively related to managerial career attainment, while being female was negatively related to career attainment. In contrast to the tournament model theory, the number of years to reach middle management was positively related to career success. While no effect for race was found, this may be due to the relatively low representation of minorities in the firm studied. Moderating effects of late entry on gender, race or corporate experience were also not found.

A study of the tournament model with female managers

Reports the findings of the first study to test the tournament model of careers with female managers. Follows the careers of 3,800 women in a large internal labour market firm. Investigates the signals of early promotions, career velocity, education, tenure and entering position. Examines the relationships between these signals and career attainment. The results do not show the strong support of the tournament model that research with men has found. Using the variables previously found in the literature to be related to career attainment for men does not explain a major proportion of the variance for women. Suggests that the tournament model may not apply to women in organizations or women may be placed in different tournaments from men. Purports that women may have certain career paths on entering an organization regardless of the tournament rounds they win or that other signals affect women’s career attainment.

Public affairs execs: Orators or communicators?

In response to a steady increase in societal pressures on corporate institutional policies, there has been a substantial rise in the number of corporate officials with public affairs responsibilities. This empirical study of 10 such types of officers in the forest products industry suggests some major differences in the ways these officials learn about the public affairs environment. In this article, Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld gives the reader insights into the importance of the listening and fact-finding phases of public relations work.

A Study of the Cultural Effects of Industry and Career Systems on Top Executive Perceptions of Ethical Problems

While practitioner workshops and academic courses on ethics and values have traditionally focused on individual frameworks, discussion of business ethics and values as a field of study within social deviance and management often stresses the important interaction between organizational culture and ethical practices, or context rather than character. However, research on this interaction is limited. This paper reports on a study examining the effect that two antecedents of organizational culture, industry and career systems, have on top executive perceptions of various ethical issues. Two of the top officers in each of fifty-two leading firms covering four service industry sectors were surveyed concerning their firms career systems and their perceptions of the severity of several ethical problems. Results of the study provide descriptive information on the severity of ethical problems across industry sectors, and suggest that both industry and career systems affect the severity of ethical problems. Implications of this study can be applied to continued research on corporate deviance and managerial efforts to reinforce ethical conduct.

DOES CEO CHARISMA MATTER? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CEO CHARISMA, ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY.

This paper reports the results of a study examining the relationships among strategic charismatic leadership, organizational performance, and environmental uncertainty with primary data from a samp...