Academic career development: A review and research agenda

Critical events at critical times? A gendered identity approach on the path to (sustainable) leadership

The early career phase is a key period of identity maintenance and change. But, it is also ripe with important, attention-grabbing occurrences (i.e., critical events) that may modify these processes, particularly influencing women's leadership pursuit. Because previous research has overlooked if or how such events might alter identifying or if these processes differ for people who identify as men and women, we integrate the identity and critical events literatures to elaborate on how positive and negative critical events may shape men and women's identifying in the work- and non-work domains over time. We propose that critical events' effects on identity salience will occur both within and across domains, but that these effects will be stronger within (vs. across) domains. While both positive and negative events can exert negative effects on subsequent identity salience, we propose that the effects of critical events on identity salience may be stronger for women (vs. men). Finally, we connect work identity salience with subsequent leadership status, including contextual moderators that enhance or undermine these effects (i.e., inclusive organizational climate and mega-threats, respectively). We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of this research, including for workforce efficiency and social sustainability. We also highlight calls for future research stemming from our review [e.g., sustainability critical events and gendered analyses for (more) accurate science] as well as fruitful research areas and innovative practices at the work-non-work interface for professionals on the path to leadership.

An exploration of the professional identity of clinical academics using repertory grid technique

BACKGROUND

Clinicians who divide their time between clinical work and research have contributed to some of the most fundamental breakthroughs in medicine in recent history, yet their role is not always well-understood or valued. Understanding the factors which contribute to career success for clinical academics is critical for supporting this workforce. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) provides a conceptual framework for career success, incorporating personal and environmental factors.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to explore clinical academics' construal of successful clinical academic practice and to contribute to a holistic view of the professional identity of the clinical academic.

METHODOLOGY

Using a constructivist technique, repertory grid, the authors interviewed ten clinical academics at different career stages in one-to-one structured interviews conducted virtually between November 2020 and April 2021. Data from the interviews were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Common themes were identified, analysed, and ranked according to importance with respect to successful clinical academic practice. Using SCCT as a framework, constructs were categorised as personal factors, organisational factors, competencies and person-environment fit. A differential analysis between established/trainee and female/male participants was carried out.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

One hundred and thirty-three constructs were elicited and categorised into 20 themes (constructs). There was consensus among participants that 6 were of high importance with respect to successful clinical academic practice, 8 of intermediate and 4 of low importance, with no consensus on 2 constructs. Personal factors of high importance include innovation and integrity. Competencies including research and teaching skills are highly important, and ability to collaborate is also considered central to successful clinical academic practice. Female participants expressed greater concerns about the impact of familial responsibilities on career progression.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the importance of interactions between the person and environment, and characterises the important attributes of successful clinical academics including personal factors such as integrity and innovation.

Forming mentoring relationships in graduate education: The role of personality

This study investigated mentoring relationships between doctoral students and faculty members. We examined initiation of mentoring as a mediator between key personality facets and mentoring received among 162 doctoral students (females = 77%, 77% psychology programs). Results confirmed that initiation of mentoring relationships by doctoral students significantly predicted mentoring received. Furthermore, mentoring initiation also mediated relationships between several personality facets (friendliness, assertiveness, achievement-striving, self-efficacy, and self-consciousness) and mentoring received. By demonstrating the significance of student-initiated mentoring and the influence of specific personality facets on this proactive behavior, our study underscores the importance of providing an environment supportive of mentoring and setting expectations for students early on in their doctoral studies if they are to benefit from mentoring. Future research on the impact of age could also help advance understanding of mentoring among older students as the career landscape continues to change.

Interpersonal Factors Affecting Adolescents’ Career Exploration in PAKISTAN

This study examined the effects of social support on the career exploration of university students in Pakistan. Nine hundred and seventy-three university students from Pakistan completed the measures of social support and career exploration. Regression analysis was applied to examine the impact of social support by family, friends, and significant others. The results revealed that career exploration is significantly predicted by family support (β = 0.063; p = 0.010), friend support (β = 0.081; p = 0.001), and teacher support (β = 0.065; p = 0.010). Moreover, total social support significantly predicts career exploration (β = 0.027; p = 0.003) of university students in Pakistan. These findings enhance our understanding of the factors influencing career exploration in university students. Further development of the research is discussed as well as possible educational implications.

School EFL Teachers’ Research Identity Construction in the Chinese University–School Community

Despite a relatively large number of studies on teachers’ identity development in the University-School community, few studies have explicitly focused on school EFL teachers’ research identity construction. This study adopts the Activity Theory and examines three English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from three middle schools in a University–School community in China. It investigates how three teachers constructed their research identity and what factors influenced the construction of their identities within the University–School activity system from the dual perspectives of the school and university teachers. Data are collected through semi-structured narrative interviews, triangulated by documents such as meeting minutes, and then analyzed by NVivo 12. The findings of this study show that (1) the University–School collaborative program helps form a University–School community of both teaching and research; (2) in this community, school EFL teachers continuously construct their identities in a spiral process of “practitioner” and “researcher”; (3) it highlights the internal factors containing the research experience and the stage of career and the external factors including the curriculum reform context and the communication in the community. The findings carry important implications for school EFL teachers’ research identity construction and professional development in the University–School cooperation.

The role of perceived employability in the relationship between protean career attitude and career success

This research sought to investigate how academics with a protean career attitude perceived success in their academic career. The role of perceived employability was examined by distinguishing between external and internal employability perceptions. Data from 288 academics working in Malaysian universities were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that a protean career attitude had no significant direct relationship with career success; rather, it had an indirect effect on success via perceived employability. Both external and internal perceived employability fully mediated the relationship between protean career attitude and career success, with perceived external employability having a stronger direct and mediating effect on academic career success. This study suggests that academic staff depend upon external employment opportunities to pursue success in academia. The implications of study findings are discussed, along with limitations and future research directions.

Determinants of Major Choice and Academic Expectations: Testing a Prediction Model Across Gender

With this study, we aim to test the predictive relationships between determinants of major choice (DMC) and academic expectations (AEs) and to analyze gender differences, using six items of the Determinants of Major Choice Scale and the Academic Perceptions Questionnaire to assess AEs. A convenience sample of Portuguese (n = 839) and Spanish (n = 1,001) first-year students (age-range = 17–23 years), mostly composed of women (56.9%, n = 1,047), was selected from two public universities. The invariance of the multivariate regression model with latent variables of the effect of DMC on AEs, with determinants linked to Personal Characteristics (PCs; e.g., capacities) and Mediating Agents (MAs; e.g., parents) as AE predictors, was tested across gender with LISREL. The invariance test of the multivariate regression model across gender fit the data well and revealed an equivalence of slopes between women and men, which allows a unique interpretation of the model’s predictive relationships for both genders. We also found statistically significant predictive relationships of PCs for six AE factors and MAs for five AE factors. The results showed theoretical relationships with the self-determination theory. At a practical level, they indicated the importance of PCs and MAs to design AE intervention programs in Higher Education (HE) institutions.

HRD interventions, learning agility and organizational innovation: a PLS-SEM modelling approach

Purpose

This study aims to focus on assessing the influence of human resource development (HRD) interventions and learning agility (LA) on organizational innovation (OI).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the social exchange theory, the theoretical research model was developed in this study. This study used cross-sectional data to test the research hypotheses. In addition, partial least square structured equation modelling was used to analyse 413 sample responses from Indian managerial professionals.

Findings

The findings suggest that HRD interventions and LA have an effect on OI. Additionally, age as a control factor also influences OI.

Practical implications

The study’s findings show that an organization must use HRD interventions effectively to improve innovation. Additionally, learning agile employees also helps in bringing innovation to an organization.

Originality/value

This study is one of its kind in exploring LA for OI by using the existing LA scale. Further, this study is a significant contribution to the existing literature by using HRD interventions, LA and OI in an extensive research model.

Seek for Success: A Visualization Approach for Understanding the Dynamics of Academic Careers

How to achieve academic career success has been a long-standing research question in social science research. With the growing availability of large-scale well-documented academic profiles and career trajectories, scholarly interest in career success has been reinvigorated, which has emerged to be an active research domain called the Science of Science (i.e., SciSci). In this study, we adopt an innovative dynamic perspective to examine how individual and social factors will influence career success over time. We propose ACSeeker, an interactive visual analytics approach to explore the potential factors of success and how the influence of multiple factors changes at different stages of academic careers. We first applied a Multi-factor Impact Analysis framework to estimate the effect of different factors on academic career success over time. We then developed a visual analytics system to understand the dynamic effects interactively. A novel timeline is designed to reveal and compare the factor impacts based on the whole population. A customized career line showing the individual career development is provided to allow a detailed inspection. To validate the effectiveness and usability of ACSeeker, we report two case studies and interviews with a social scientist and general researchers.

Why Does Psychological Capital Foster Subjective and Objective Career Success? The Mediating Role of Career-Specific Resources

The present study investigates the relationship of PsyCap with objective and subjective career success. Based on conservation of resources theory (COR Theory) and psychological capital theory (PsyCap Theory), we assume that career-specific resources, in particular protean career attitude, career planning, and internal and external networking, are important mechanisms that mediate the relationship between PsyCap and both outcomes. We tested our assumptions by means of time-lagged path analysis with R and the lavaan package in a sample of 1110 German academic scientists. Our results indicate a positive relationship between PsyCap and career success. However, we found differential effects regarding the assumed mediation for subjective and objective career success. The effect of PsyCap on subjective career success is mediated by protean career attitude and career planning. The effect of PsyCap on objective career success is mediated by external networking. Our results strengthen the research of PsyCap as a predictor of career success. However, the results also imply that the relationship between PsyCap, career-specific resources, and both aspects of career success is more complex than expected.

Research productivity of management faculty: job demands-resources approach

Purpose

The main purpose of this study was to examine which job resources are most valuable for research productivity, depending on varying teaching demands.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 324 management faculty at research, balanced and teaching (i.e. respectively low-, moderate- and high-teaching demands) public universities in the United States.

Findings

Results showed that no single job resource predicted research productivity across all three types of schools. At research schools (i.e. low-teaching demands), productivity was positively associated with job resources including summer compensation, level of protection for untenured faculty and number of research assistant hours, while negatively associated with travel funding. At balanced schools (i.e. moderate-teaching demands), research output was positively associated with time allocated to research, grant money, travel funding and conference attendance, while negatively associated with amount of consulting hours. At teaching schools (i.e. high-teaching demands), the only significant resource was time allocated to research.

Practical implications

This paper can help management faculty and business school leaders understand what resources are most appropriate given the teaching demands associated with the specific institution, and by further helping these institutions attract and retain the best possible faculty.

Originality/value

This study extends prior work on academic research performance by identifying resources that can help faculty publish given different levels of teaching demands. This is important as teaching demands tend to be relatively stable within an institution, while they can vary greatly across types of institutions.

Institutional culture and academic career progression: Perceptions and experiences of academic staff

Orientation: The South African higher education system is highly dependent on institutional cultures to enable the progression of academics with the aim to unlock the research potential of the country. Institutional cultures are directed by the values, practices and behaviours of its members.Research purpose: Establish and present, from the academics’ point of view, the values, practices and behaviours that facilitate an enabling institutional culture, which supports the career progression of academic staff.Motivation for the study: A comprehensive and deeper understanding of any higher education institutional culture requires analysis beyond the structural elements and established procedures of the institution. An understanding of how individuals interpret their environment, to support their career progression, is equally important.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was followed, through individual, semi-structured interviews with 17 academics, across all career phases.Main findings: An institutional culture in support of academic career progression includes three major values of: equity and inclusion, an ethic of care and collaboration, that are interconnected to practices such as performance management, a career management system, a comprehensive induction and orientation, a collaborative structure, remuneration, as well as resources and support, together with behaviours, comprising the articulation of team values, alignment of individual and institutional values, as well as a systemic approach.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding the values, practices and behaviours within the context of higher education offers leaders and talent management practitioners the necessary factors to consider as they grapple to understand a culture that enables the career progression of academic staff.Contribution/value-add: Deeper understanding, from the academics’ point of view, the values, practices and behaviours that facilitate an enabling institutional culture, which supports the career progression of academic staff.

The impact of preferences for clinical and managerial leadership roles on the willingness to apply for a medical leadership position: Analysis of gender differences among a sample of German senior physicians

BACKGROUND

The hybrid role (clinical and managerial leadership tasks) of physicians in medical leadership positions (MLPs) is a driver of the attractiveness of these positions. The increasing feminization of the medical profession makes gender-related preferences for hybrid roles relevant.

PURPOSE

The current study uses the (EPL) career aspirations framework to analyze the (gender-related) effects that efficacy beliefs, motivations, and preferences for clinical leadership and managerial leadership have on the willingness of chief physicians to apply for an MLP.Methodology: A survey of senior physicians in German university hospitals yielded a sample size of N = 496. The resulting data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach.

FINDINGS

The results confirm the low preference for MLPs among senior physicians, which is mainly affected by preferences for managerial leadership tasks. Female senior physicians perceive the position of an MLP to be less attractive than their male counterparts do, and female physicians' willingness to apply for an MLP is concurrently driven by their preferences for clinical leadership and managerial leadership tasks.Practical implications: Mentoring programs could boost female senior physicians' preparedness for MLPs. Further, flexibility in fulfilling managerial leadership tasks could be promoted to make MLPs more attractive to women.

What Got You Here, Won't Help You There: Changing Requirements in the Pre- Versus the Post-tenure Career Stage in Academia

Despite efforts to foster gender equality in academia, women are vastly under-represented in tenured professorships, specifically in STEM disciplines. While previous research investigated structural and organizational barriers for women in academia, we explored professors’ subjective view on attributes required before and after reaching tenure. The perspective of professors is needed as they are gatekeepers when it comes to the career advancement of junior researchers. Hence, we interviewed 25 tenured STEM professors in Germany about which attributes they personally consider to be required pre- versus post-tenure and analyzed whether these attributes are associated with gender stereotypes. We found that different attributes are mentioned in the pre- versus the post-tenure career stage and that the required attributes can be associated with gender stereotypes: While agentic–stereotypically male–attributes were mentioned more frequently than communal attributes in the pre-tenure career stage, communal–stereotypically female–attributes were reported slightly more often than agentic attributes after reaching tenure. Based on these novel findings, we discuss important implications for gender research and practice to contribute to more diversity and transparency in academic career advancement.

The impact of high-performance human resource practices on the research performance and career success of academics in Saudi Arabia

Purpose

This paper explores the impact of high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) on the research performance and career success of academics.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data was collected from 586 faculty members in the five largest public universities in Saudi Arabia.

Findings

The findings suggest that the HPHRPs of internal mobility and recognition had a strong impact on faculty members' career success and that these relationships were mediated by research performance. In addition, the study also found that the HPHRPs of training and recognition positively influenced research performance, while, surprisingly, the HPHRPs of participation in decision-making were found to have a negative effect on faculty members' research performance.

Originality/value

This study is original in combining research in human resource management (HRM) and career studies to develop a model that explains academic research performance and career success from the lens of HR practices. The results also provide leaders in Saudi Arabia's public higher education sector with empirical data on the impact of HPHRPs on academic research performance and career success.

Mapping career patterns in research: A sequence analysis of career histories of ERC applicants

Despite the need to map research careers, the empirical evidence on career patterns of researchers is limited. We also do not know whether career patterns of researchers can be considered conventional in terms of steady progress or international mobility, nor do we know if career patterns differ between men and women in research as is commonly assumed. We use sequence analysis to identify career patterns of researchers across positions and institutions, based on full career histories of applicants to the European Research Council frontier research grant schemes. We distinguish five career patterns for early and established men and women researchers. With multinomial logit analyses, we estimate the relative likelihood of researchers with certain characteristics in each pattern. We find grantees among all patterns, and limited evidence of gender differences. Our findings on career patterns in research inform further studies and policy making on career development, research funding, and gender equality.

Impact of career shocks on Indian MBA careers: an exploratory study

Purpose

The study explores career shocks in the Indian context and examines their impact on the career development of people with MBAs.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 41 Indian MBA graduates were thematically analysed to identify career shocks that resulted in different types of transitions. Eight themes were identified based on ongoing and iterative comparison of these instances.

Findings

Outcomes relating to competitive examinations that determined entry into various occupations were the first career shock experienced by participants. Geographical considerations were salient in the deliberations involving events relating to marriage, eldercare and spouse relocation. Events at the workplace that signalled uncertainty, a fall-out with one's boss or a request to relocate, prompted participants to switch employers. Some of the observed differences were gender based. While female MBA graduates adapted to handle both spousal and parental responsibilities, male MBA graduates did the same to shoulder eldercare responsibilities.

Research limitations/implications

The study's retrospective design could have led to concerns regarding memory recall. The use of open-ended questions partially mitigated this, by giving participants the freedom to recount their experiences, to the extent that they could remember.

Practical implications

Organisations in India could customise and strengthen policies to support employees who have maternity and eldercare responsibilities. Managers should make greater efforts to have open communication with their subordinates to overcome the challenges of operating in a culture with high power distance and indirect communication styles.

Originality/value

This study explored different types of career shocks and associated transitions. The Indian context, with its growing economy, large population, collectivistic culture and strong influence of family on careers, enabled a deeper examination of novel career shocks. The study also highlighted the dissimilar impact of career shocks for men and women and people at different career stages.

Faculty development: From rubies to oak

Introduction: Faculty development has played a significant role in health professions education over the last 40 years. The goal of this perspective is to present a portrait of faculty development in Medical Teacher since its inception and to highlight emerging trends moving forward.Method: All issues of Medical Teacher were reviewed, using the search terms faculty development, staff development, professional development, or in-service training for faculty. The search yielded 286 results of which 145 focused specifically on faculty development initiatives, reviews, or frameworks.Findings: This review demonstrated a significant growth in publications related to faculty development in Medical Teacher over the last 40 years, with a primary focus on teaching improvement and traditional approaches to faculty development, including workshops, short courses and other structured, group activities. The international nature of faculty development was also highlighted.Recommendations: Moving forward, it is suggested that we: broaden the scope of faculty development from teaching to academic development; expand our approaches to faculty development, to include peer coaching, workplace learning and communities of practice; utilize a competency-based framework to guide the development of faculty development curricula; support teachers' professional identities through faculty development; focus on organizational development and change; and rigorously promote research and scholarship in faculty development.