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1 – 10 of 174Julia Richardson, Uma Jogulu and Ruth Rentschler
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social capital for career success and sustainability among arts managers and the implication for human resource practice.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social capital for career success and sustainability among arts managers and the implication for human resource practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a qualitative study comprising interviews with 73 arts managers in Australia.
Findings
While answering an occupational calling and having a sense of passion for the arts is a key driver to embark upon a career in arts management, it is social capital that is essential for both objective and subjective career success and thus for career sustainability. The authors also identify the value of education, global experience and well-honed soft skills for building social capital.
Research limitations/implications
The study is located in Australia – arts management in other national contexts and industries may be different.
Practical implications
This paper identifies the need for arts managers to develop heterogeneous social capital to support both career success and sustainability. It also indicates that whereas passion for the arts may be an important driver, other skills and competencies are required. Both of these themes need to be incorporated into human resource practice in the arts industry.
Social implications
This paper demonstrates the growing need to acknowledge the impact of relational social capital in the arts in an increasingly volatile work environment.
Originality/value
This paper fills the gap in our understanding of careers that bridge both the arts and management as professional domains of activity and extends understanding on the role of social capital in management careers more generally.
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Galina Boiarintseva and Julia Richardson
The purpose of this paper is to theorize men’s experiences of work-life balance in male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to theorize men’s experiences of work-life balance in male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides an in-depth qualitative study comprising interviews and informal conversations with male lawyers in Canada.
Findings
This study highlights the socially constructed nature of male lawyers’ experiences of work-life balance and the recursive impact of industry, professional and societal expectations and norms.
Research limitations/implications
A relatively small sample size, suggesting the need for further study with a larger and more diverse sample. The study was conducted in Canada – other national contexts may furnish different results.
Practical implications
This study identifies the need for greater awareness of how institutional, professional and societal expectations and norms impact on men’s experiences of work-life balance in male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Social implications
This paper indicates that greater attention needs to be paid to work-life balance among men in male-dominated, high-performance industries.
Originality/value
This paper explores men’s experiences of work-life balance in a male-dominated industry within an interpretivist paradigm.
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Julia Richardson, Deborah Anne O'Neil and Kaye Thorn
In this paper, the authors investigate and celebrate the contributions that qualitative research has made to Career Development International (CDI) and careers scholarship over…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors investigate and celebrate the contributions that qualitative research has made to Career Development International (CDI) and careers scholarship over the past 25 years. The authors highlight the positive impact of understanding the “lived/emic experiences” of individual career actors using qualitative research designs and identify areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ multiple approaches in their investigation. The authors’ enquiry is part conceptual, part critical analysis and part bibliometric visualisation of qualitative papers published in CDI.
Findings
The authors identify the underlying ontological and epistemological assumptions of qualitative research, and the key tenets and contributions of qualitative research published in CDI. Their bibliometric analysis shows the interrelatedness and frequency of topics addressed by qualitative research and published in CDI, revealing areas for further research. While identifying some of the key criteria for rigor in qualitative research, the authors also engage with emerging calls to avoid rigid templates in how qualitative research is designed and implemented. In this regard, authors echo calls for “methodological bricolage” as an approach to qualitative research in the study of careers.
Originality/value
This is the first bibliographic and visual analysis of qualitative research published in a single journal. The authors offer this investigation as a way of looking back and as an invitation looking forward, encouraging further qualitative research in anticipation of future theoretical developments in career scholarship.
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Julia Richardson, Charlotte M. Karam and Fida Afiouni
The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue about the “Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis on the Career Ecosystem” and summarise the key contributions of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue about the “Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis on the Career Ecosystem” and summarise the key contributions of the included practitioner and scholarly papers which examine refugee business and labour market experiences. The paper also examines the impact of media reports to provide a broader understanding of the context within which the current refugee crisis is evolving.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors begin with a delineation of the concept of a career ecosystem in the context of refugee crises. The authors then employ this framing as a backdrop to engage in a basic analysis of business media coverage of the most recent Syrian refugee crisis, and a summary of the practitioner and scholarly papers.
Findings
The findings of the media analysis suggest major coverage differences between different groups of countries in the number of documents identified, the proposed aim of business engagement with refugees, and substance of the extracted statements generally.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis of business media coverage is rudimentary and intended only as a prompt for further conversations about how contemporary media commentary impacts on career opportunities for refugees and relevant stakeholder practices.
Practical implications
This paper demonstrates the importance of including broader considerations of refugee careers that explore the interaction and intersection with transnational and local ecosystem of labour markets while paying attention to the sociocultural and political refugee-host community dynamics.
Originality/value
This paper presents a more systems-oriented perspective and provides both practice and scholarly perspectives on the composite and dynamic nature of the refugee crisis on career ecosystems more broadly.
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Sabrine El Baroudi, Chen Fleisher, Svetlana N. Khapova, Paul Jansen and Julia Richardson
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…
Abstract
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.
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Steve McKenna and Julia Richardson
The purpose of this paper is to offer an ontological and methodological alternative to the functionalist paradigm which currently dominates study of the self-initiated expatriate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer an ontological and methodological alternative to the functionalist paradigm which currently dominates study of the self-initiated expatriate (SIE). It argues conceptually, and with a practical example, that actor-network theory (ANT) offers an alternative way forward. While the functionalist study of SIE seeks to generate knowledge of value to organizations, ANT seeks to produce practical knowledge from the viewpoint of the SIE(s).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper critiques the dominant functionalist approach to the study of SIE through ANT. A case history of a geographically mobile professional is offered to support the use of ANT as an ontological and methodological alternative in this field.
Findings
By following the actors through their own stories of mobility the authors argue that it is possible to offer alternative ways of investigating and understanding mobility. In particular, actors enact mobility in unique ways as they move and are, therefore, not easily categorized and in singular classifications, such as the “SIE.”
Originality/value
The study of SIE is an important emerging field of expatriate research. It is currently dominated by the functionalist paradigm. The paper offers an alternative ontological and methodological approach to the study of this field through the use of ANT. In this sense the authors challenge the developing dominant discourse of functionalism currently driving research on this topic.
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Julia Richardson and Stephen McKenna
Whilst globalisation has led to increasing international mobility, the contemporary expatriate management literature has focused on managers and corporate executives who are sent…
Abstract
Whilst globalisation has led to increasing international mobility, the contemporary expatriate management literature has focused on managers and corporate executives who are sent on an overseas appointment by their employers. By comparison, self‐selecting expatriates remain an under‐researched group. Specifically, at a time when internationalisation is a major trend in higher education very little is known about expatriate academics as an example of self‐selecting expatriates. Drawing on a qualitative study of British academics, this article suggests that metaphor may be a useful tool for developing our understanding of self‐selecting expatriates. It then discusses the four metaphors, which have emerged from the study. Finally it shows how those metaphors can be used to facilitate better management practices not only for the growing number of expatriate academics but also for self‐selecting expatriates more generally.
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Noeleen Doherty, Julia Richardson and Kaye Thorn
This paper aims to move towards clarification of the self‐initiated expatriate/expatriation construct with the aim of extending and deepening theory development in the field.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to move towards clarification of the self‐initiated expatriate/expatriation construct with the aim of extending and deepening theory development in the field.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Suddaby's think piece on construct clarity, this paper applies his proposed four elements; definitional clarity, scope conditions, relationships between constructs and coherence, in order to clarify the SIE construct.
Findings
The discussion examines the “problem of definition” and its impact on SIE scholarship. The spatial, temporal and value‐laden constraints that must be considered by SIE scholars are expounded, and the links between SIE research and career theory are developed. From this, potential research agendas are proposed.
Research limitations/implications
This is a conceptual piece which, rather than giving precise research data, encourages further thinking in the field.
Originality/value
Although the definitional difficulties of SIEs have been identified in previous literature, this is the first attempt to clarify the boundaries of SIE and its interconnectedness with other related constructs.
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Noeleen Doherty, Julia Richardson and Kaye Thorn
This special issue seeks to scope the past, present and future study of those individuals who independently journey abroad for work – the self‐initiated expatriate – a topic which…
Abstract
Purpose
This special issue seeks to scope the past, present and future study of those individuals who independently journey abroad for work – the self‐initiated expatriate – a topic which is now attracting increasing attention among management scholars and practitioners alike.
Design/methodology/approach
This introductory paper takes the form of a brief commentary of the development of the field and a synthesis of the papers in this special edition.
Findings
Beginning in the late 1990s with a slow trickle of papers exploring the experiences of individuals who had initiated their own expatriation, our understanding of self‐initiated expatriates (SIEs) and self‐initiated expatriation (SIE) has developed exponentially. This development has given rise to a growing awareness of this form of mobility as a potentially powerful force in the increasingly varied global labour market. Yet, as this special issue will argue, there is still a range of conceptual, theoretical and empirical challenges in the study of SIEs, not least of which is a lack of clarity in how the term is used and understood. Despite the expansion of the field, it has hitherto focused primarily on the experiences of professional SIEs moving from and between developed countries. The papers in this issue therefore, address the need for both greater conceptual clarity and for greater empirical diversity.
Originality/value
The papers included in this special issue each address fundamental issues in the study of the SIE population and offer perspectives that further our understanding of this group and their experiences.
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Julia Richardson and Jelena Zikic
This paper aims to examine the “darker side” of what it means to engage in an international academic career. Extending beyond well‐documented themes relating to the difficulties…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the “darker side” of what it means to engage in an international academic career. Extending beyond well‐documented themes relating to the difficulties of cross‐cultural adjustment and unfulfilled expectations/opportunities for promotion, this paper seeks to introduce “transience and risk” as two important dimensions of this very specific career choice. The paper draws especially on the contemporary “new” careers literature, including conceptions of career exploration as a framework to understand the research findings.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on semi‐structured interviews conducted in situ with 30 expatriate academics in four different countries.
Findings
Transience and risk were identified as two important dimensions of the “darker side” of pursuing an international academic career. However, these two dimensions also had further positive aspects, thus signalling the complex and often contradictory nature of this specific career form.
Research limitations/implications
Introduces a more cautionary note to the contemporary literature on international careers and career exploration more generally.
Practical implications
Careers that evolve across international boundaries require support that extends beyond cross‐cultural training.
Originality/value
The paper contends that in as much as an international academic career offers a broad range of opportunities for fulfilment it also presents significant challenges that should be acknowledged.
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