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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of internal and external networking behaviors of managers and professionals with their affective, continuance, and normative commitment.

Data were obtained from 335 managers and professionals of a health system who completed a survey on networking behavior and organizational commitment. Correlation analyses and multiple regressions were performed to test our hypotheses.

The results showed that networking behavior focussed within an individual's organization was positively related with affective commitment and normative commitment. Networking with individuals outside of an individual's organization showed a significant negative relationship with normative commitment. Contrary to expectations, networking externally was not related to affective commitment, and neither internal nor external networking behaviors were related to continuance commitment.

Because data were collected at a single point in time, no statements can be made about causality. Future research is needed assessing both internal and external networking behavior and the three types of organizational commitment across time to help determine direction of causality or whether reciprocal relationships exist.

Organizations that encourage internal networking behaviors may see individuals who are more connected with their colleagues and affectively committed to their organizations. However, encouraging external networking behavior may result in a drop in normative commitment as individuals might identify more with their profession than their employer.

Although previous research has shown that networking behavior is related to job performance and career success measures, the research extends the literature by investigating whether networking is related to attitudinal variables such as organizational commitment. The paper explores whether differential relationships exist between internal and external networking behavior with three types of organizational commitment.

The aim of this paper is to conduct an exploratory empirical examination to determine if factors (e.g. demographic, human capital, motivational, and organizational) associated with career success in Western countries are also related to the career outcomes of Chinese managers.

Survey data were obtained from 139 managers working in China. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship among common predictors of career success and the actual outcomes of Chinese managers.

Predictors of two career outcomes were explored: total compensation and career satisfaction. Although some of the findings were similar to the findings of studies on the career outcomes of managers in Western countries, there were some surprising differences. The results showed that women and top‐level decision makers had higher total compensation. Furthermore, holding a middle management (as opposed to a line management) position, and perceptions that one's organization was successful were associated with greater career satisfaction.

The difficulties of conducting research in another country, especially one under communist rule, resulted in a relatively small sample size, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Knowledge of the career processes of Chinese managers is important for the growing number of Western firms investing in and conducting business in China as well as for Chinese firms in their attempts to increase their efficiency and productivity.

Although there have been calls to expand research on careers outside the West, to date there are few published studies on the career experiences of those in Asian countries, especially in China. This research highlights the importance of country context in the study of careers in non‐western settings and tests the generalizability of Western findings on career success.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the under‐examined topic of career regrets. Although much of the careers literature has examined factors that contribute to success, little research has been completed on the regrets individuals may experience as they enact their careers.

A large internet sample of 1,480 professionals was used to examine whether individuals who had been laid off in their careers experienced greater career regrets.

Individuals who had been laid off experienced greater regrets with regard to their political behavior (e.g. lack of networking, not being more politically savvy) and their career choices (e.g. not spending more time with their family, failing to pursue more meaningful work) than individuals who had not been laid off.

The findings may have limited generalizability because of the use of a cross‐sectional, internet‐based survey design.

The regrets individuals have may influence their future career behaviors and choices, resulting in different approaches to their work and their lives. These findings may offer some insights to help individuals navigate their careers and make choices that they will be less likely to regret.

Although a great deal of research has focused on strategies for career success, relatively little research has examined career missteps or career regrets. It is hoped this exploratory research encourages further study as well as the development of a theory‐based model of career regrets.

This study sets out to examine whether protégés have more favorable perceptions of an organization's culture for balancing work and family than non‐protégés.

Data were obtained from 418 employees of a major public accounting firm who completed a survey on mentoring and work‐family issues. Correlation analyses, t‐tests, and regressions were performed to test the hypotheses.

The results strongly support the view that protégés had more favorable perceptions than non‐protégés of the organization's work‐family culture – the degree to which integration of employees' work and family lives is supported. Having a mentor was significantly related to each component of work‐family culture (managerial support, time demands, and career consequences) in the predicted direction.

By focusing on respondents in a single firm, it is impossible to determine whether the findings generalize to individuals in other industries or companies.

To attract and retain employees, organizations have become increasingly concerned about their cultures for balancing work and family. By encouraging mentoring, organizations can transmit the message to their employees of resources and support available to help achieve balance.

Despite strong interest in the fields of mentoring and work‐family balance, few research studies have attempted to link these two domains. This research integrates these areas and demonstrates the important role mentors play in developing perceptions of an organization's culture for work‐family balance.

The purpose of this investigation is to explore whether perceptions of organizational justice are related to coworker trust and morale. As jobs have become more broadly defined and collaboration with colleagues has become increasingly important for accomplishing work, coworker relationships are especially critical to manage effectively.

Survey packets were distributed to 364 non‐supervisory employees at six small companies in a large Midwestern city in the USA. Useable surveys were returned from 264 respondents for a response rate of 72 percent.

The results showed that distributive, procedural, and interactional justice perceptions are related to perceptions of coworkers. The distribution of rewards, organizational policies and procedures, and interpersonal treatment by supervisors are related to coworker trust and morale.

This study was a cross‐sectional field study with the data collected at one point in time, precluding statements regarding causality. In addition, common method variance is a concern given the use of a self‐report survey.

The results highlight the importance of fairness in rewards, procedures, and treatment for productive coworker relationships. Suggestions are provided for managers to enhance perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice in the workplace.

Prior research on justice has focused primarily on individual and organizational outcomes. The study adds to this research base by examining whether perceptions of justice are associated with the quality of coworker relationships.

Formal mentoring programmes are a recent innovation in organizations. Describes interviews with managers of five organizations who were involved in the development and implementation of their company’s mentoring programme. Provides examples of the types of issues that arose and how they were resolved.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, utilising the Kaleidoscope Career Model, whether members of the Baby Boom generation and Generation X differ in their needs for authenticity, balance, and challenge.

Survey data were obtained from 982 professionals located across the USA. Correlations, t‐tests, and multiple regressions were performed to test the hypotheses.

Members of Generation X have higher needs for authenticity and balance than Baby Boomers. There was no difference in needs for challenge between Baby Boomers and members of Generation X.

A limitation in the study, as well as in most of the research on generational differences, is the use of cross‐sectional designs that fail to capture the influence of the aging process. A longitudinal, multi‐survey design over the lives of individuals would enable scholars to capture within‐ and between‐person differences and to permit a better understanding of whether differences are in fact due to generational effects or to aging.

Knowledge of the differences and similarities among the various generations in the workforce can help organizational leaders make important decisions about human resource policies and practices.

Many studies in the popular press stress the prevalence and importance of generational differences in the workplace. However, the little academic research that has been conducted has shown mixed results. The study uses the theoretical framework of the Kaleidoscope Career Model to examine generational differences in work attitudes.

This special issue seeks to examine mentoring relationships and offer new perspectives and frameworks, suggesting exciting avenues for future research on mentoring and career development.

In the last two decades, the workplace has been dramatically transformed. Individuals traditionally had careers entrenched in organizations, relying on the paternalistic firm for career development. Increasingly now, individuals are enacting careers outside organizational boundaries, defining career success on their own terms rather than by the organizational measures of salary and rank. Rapid technological change and globalization have intensified the decoupling of individual careers from organizations, putting more emphasis on individuals for their own career development and creating an even greater need for mentoring.

Although much research has been done on the impact of mentoring on subjective and objective career success, there are still many unexamined and under‐explored aspects of mentoring. This collection of ten articles tackles some of these areas, providing new insights and offering new avenues for research and practice.

These articles are authored by individuals from a variety of disciplines (e.g. organizational behavior, psychology, health care), and countries (e.g. USA, UK, Nigeria), with each article bringing a unique lens to the study of mentoring and careers. Individually, each article makes a contribution to the better understanding of how mentoring has evolved and is enacted today. Together, this collection of articles provides important insights that it is hoped encourage even further research into the complexities of developmental relationships and their impact on career development.