S.N. Khapova

Professional identity as the key to career change intention

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate career change intention and its predictors among career change seekers interested in a career opportunity in the information technology (IT) industry.Design/methodology/approach – Ajzens theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to predict career change intention in this group. In addition, we examined the role of professional identity in predicting career change intention. Data were collected in a sample of 225 aspiring IT professionals from four European countries: Austria, Greece, Italy and The Netherlands.Findings – The findings showed that among four variables assumed to predict career change intention, only professional identity appeared to be a significant predictor.Research limitations/implications – The study is limited by the use of career change seekers registered in one web‐based recruiting system.Originality/value – The paper suggests a higher importance of professional identity in prediction of career change intention compared to other f...

Interdisciplinary approaches in career studies

This is the opening article in a Human Relations special issue on ‘Interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary career studies’. After introducing a story of an ‘exceptional — but real’ career, we argue for an urgent shift toward greater interdisciplinary inquiry. We reflect on the story to describe differences in the way each of psychology, sociology, social psychology, and economics views the concept of career. We turn to explore what career researchers, representing each of the above social sciences, might not see on their own. In contrast, we highlight how social scientists can move toward a) appreciating the limitations of our separate approaches, b) introducing more appropriate research methods, c) maintaining a wider cross-disciplinary conversation, and d) better serving the client — the person — in our future research. We continue with a preview of the remaining five articles in this special issue, and propose that these can serve as stimuli for a wider conversation.

Dynamics of Western Career Attributes in the Russian Context.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of the dynamic character of career and its key attributes, and the embeddedness of their definitions and meanings in national social, political and economic contexts.Design/methodology/approach – Features of three recent distinct social, political and economic situations in Russia are used to explore the meanings of nine key career attributes introduced by the Western career literature.Findings – It was found that in Russia each of the nine key career attributes accommodates a different meaning compared with their original Western meaning, and that these meanings are continuously changing to reflect the current social, political and economic environment. In sum, this exploration revealed a dynamic character to career attributes, and their content changed depending on the underlying context.Research limitations/implications – Among key research implications are: a possibility of using Western career theories mainly as conceptual frameworks for stu...

Careers in cross-cultural perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce a collection of papers about careers in cross‐cultural perspective, which contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses careers from different locations around the world.Design/methodology/approach – Introduces the topic, providing some background and discussion of the main concepts.Findings – Briefly introduces the papers and their main findings – differences and similarities among careers and career attributes in different cultural and national contexts.Originality/value – Contextualizes the issue and extends the overall knowledge in the topic.

Effects of employees’ career competencies development on their organizations

Purpose – This paper examines the effects of the development of employees’ career competencies (knowing-why, knowing-how, and knowing-whom) on the employing organization and assesses the role of career satisfaction in this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to research on the consequences of employees’ boundaryless careers. Design/methodology/approach – The study involves a two-wave quantitative investigation of alumni of a large public university in the Netherlands. Findings – The results suggest that by investing in the development of their career competencies, employees contribute to organizational culture, capabilities, and connections. However, these contributions depend on employees’ level of perceived career satisfaction. If employees are satisfied with their careers, they contribute more to their organizations. Research limitations/implications – Further longitudinal research, strengthened by an additional, third wave of data collection, is needed to replicate the present fin...

Entrepreneurial Team Cognition: A Review

Entrepreneurial team scholars highlight the importance of studying entrepreneurial team cognition in gaining a better understanding of why some entrepreneurial teams are capable of developing teamwork leading to successful entrepreneurial outcomes while others are not. However, in the absence of a clear definition of entrepreneurial team cognition, researchers continue to employ a vast diversity of potentially related concepts. To bring clarity to this fragmented area of research, the authors performed a systematic literature review of papers concerned with entrepreneurial team cognition published in the leading management and entrepreneurship journals over the past 20 years. This review was guided by two main research questions: (a) what is entrepreneurial team cognition, and (b) how does entrepreneurial team cognition interact with inputs, processes and outcomes. Based on the published literature, key properties of the concept are identified, and an overarching definition of entrepreneurial team cognition composed of these properties is introduced. Next, the review outlines how entrepreneurial team cognition interacts with other variables within a comprehensive input-mediator-output framework. Finally, the review addresses how future research can build on the proposed definition and framework to advance the theoretical depth and empirical investigation of entrepreneurial team cognition.

Career competencies and job crafting: How proactive employees influence their well-being

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to bring together job design and career theory in the examination of how proactive employees optimize their well-being (i.e. job satisfaction and perceived health) through job crafting and career competencies. This study offers an integrated account of the pathway from proactive personality to well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected by a cross-sectional self-report survey study among 574 employees working in various organizations. Findings: The results of structural equation modeling analyses supported the proposed double mediation model: job crafting and career competencies both mediated the positive relationship between proactive personality and well-being. The findings suggest that proactive employees can enhance their well-being both through proactive job redesign and the development of career-related skills and abilities. Research limitations/implications: This study precludes causal explanations. Future research should further investigate the role of employee proactivity related to contemporary work topics, including temporary contracts and self-employment. Practical implications: Managers and HR practitioners can optimize employee well-being by focusing on HR policies related to job redesign, as well as investing in training and development of career competencies. Originality/value: This paper integrates two research domains by exploring how proactive employees take a proactive stance toward their job as well as their career, and investigates how this proactive approach contributes to their well-being. In addition, the authors demonstrated a link between the development of career competencies and employee health.

Change-supportive employee behavior: a career identity explanation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how career identity informs employees’ willingness to engage in organizational change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the findings of a qualitative case study exploring the experiences of 29 employees involved in a planned “bottom-up” organizational change initiative. At the time of the study, all interviewees were employed in a Dutch non-profit organization. Findings – Drawing on protean career theory and the literature on other-oriented work values, we show that career identity informs both how employees make sense of the respective organizational change and their willingness to engage in it. The authors found that proactive career behavior and a focus on other-oriented work values inform higher levels of employees’ engagement in the change, while passive career behavior and self-centered work values inform employees’ lower levels of involvement in the change initiative. Based on the findings, the authors conclude this paper...

Work identity: Clarifying the concept

This chapter provides the theoretical background and framework for the conceptualisation, the development and ultimately for the operationalisation of the work-based identity construct. The first section of the chapter introduces the reader to the identity phenomenon with the focus on the role-players and distinct process involved in identity formation. To explain the role of the individual as main role-player in the identity formation process, an onion model is presented that suggests that individuals by their own free will operate in different social spheres of life. This model provides an indication of which spheres (e.g. economic sphere) and roles (e.g. work role) are important and salient in a person’s life. These spheres and roles eventually influence individuals’ choice of which work facets are deemed important and salient in their life and consequently which work facets they would like to identify with.

Ambition at work and career satisfaction: The mediating role of taking charge behavior and the moderating role of pay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of pay in the relationship between employee ambition and taking charge behavior, and its subsequent effects on employee career satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A two-wave quantitative investigation was conducted among alumni of a large public university in the Netherlands. Findings The results show that taking charge behavior mediates the positive relationship between employee ambition and career satisfaction. They also show that pay positively moderates this mediation, such that the relationship between employee ambition and taking charge behavior is stronger when ambitious employees receive an increase in pay, leading to increased career satisfaction. Conversely, a decrease in pay does not moderate ambitious employees’ taking charge behavior and the impact on their career satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The study draws on self-report data collected in one country: the Netherlands. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of pay for higher job involvement, demonstrating its impact on taking charge behavior among employees with higher levels of ambition. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to examine the impact of pay on employees’ taking charge behavior and the subsequent implications for career satisfaction.