Emerald | Career Development International | Table of Contents

Work Values as Predictors of Entrepreneurial Career Intentions: A Longitudinal Analysis of Gender Effects

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Andreas Hirschi, Sebastian Fischer) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - Work values are an important characteristic to understand gender differences in career intentions, but how gender affects the relationship between values and career intentions is not well established. We investigated whether gender moderates the effects of work values on level and change of entrepreneurial intentions (EI).Design/methodology/approach - We sampled 218 German university students regarding work values and with EI assessed three times over the course of 12 months. Data were analysed with Latent Growth Modelling.Findings - Self-enhancement and openness to change values predicted higher levels and conservation values lower levels of EI. Gender moderated the effects of enhancement and conservation values on change in EI.Research limitations/implications - We relied on self-reported measures and the sample was restricted to university students. Future research needs to verify to what extent our results generalize to other samples and different career fields, such as science or nursing.Practical implications - The results imply that men and women are interested in an entrepreneurial career based on the same work values but that values have different effects for men and women regarding individual changes in EI. Our results suggest that the prototypical work values of a career domain seem important regarding increasing the career intent for the gender that is underrepresented in that domain.Originality/value - The results enhance our understanding of how gender affects the relation of work values and a specific career intention, such as entrepreneurship.

Developmental Networks at Work: Holding Environments for Leader Development

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - To elaborate how an adult development perspective can further our understanding of developmental networks as holding environments for developing leaders confronted with challenging experiences. Design/methodology/approach - The article utilizes Constructive Developmental theory (C-D theory) to explore and address the implications of an adult development lens for leader development, especially as they confront complex leadership challenges that trigger anxiety.Findings - Theoretical propositions suggest different kinds of holding behaviors (e.g., confirmation, contradiction, and continuity) necessary for enabling growth and effectiveness for leaders located in different developmental orders. Research limitations/implications - Propositions offered can guide future researchers to explore how leaders confronted with different kinds of leadership challenges sustain responsive developmental networks over time and how the developers in the leader’s network coordinate to provide confirmation, contradiction, and continuity needed for leader development. Practical implications - Leaders and their developers should reflect on how developmental orders may determine which types of holding behaviors are necessary for producing leader effectiveness amidst challenging leadership experiences. Organizations should provide assessment centers and appropriate training and development interventions to facilitate this reflection. Originality/value - This article re-conceptualizes developmental networks as holding environments that can enable leader’s growth as an adult and hence, increase their effectiveness as leaders amidst complex leadership challenges.

Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Unemployment Stigma and the Impact of Length of Unemployment on a Unique Unemployed Sample

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Gary Blau, Tony Petrucci, John McClendon) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - The main purpose is to test a process model of coping with job loss by examining the impact of distal to proximal variable sets for incrementally explaining two distinct subjective well-being variables, life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. A second purpose is to test for mean differences between study scales for increasingly long-term unemployed individuals.Design/methodology/approach - A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an on-line survey investigating the impact of six variable sets on life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. These sets fall within the McKee-Ryan, Song, Wanberg and Kinicki (2005) taxonomy and included: (1) human capital and demographics; (2) personal and financial coping resources; (3) cognitive appraisal; (4) escape-focused coping; (5) problem-focused coping; and (6) job search effort.. Findings - Results partially supported the hypothesized variable set impact order on both life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. In addition we found some significant differences on study variables comparing four unemployed groups: up to six months; and three progressively long-term unemployed groups, i.e., seven to 12 months; 13 to 24 months; and over 24 months, with the over 24 month unemployed respondents (23% of the sample) suffering the most.Research limitations/implications - The cross-sectional self-report study research design is the foremost limitation. However, given the challenges of collecting unemployment related-data on such a diverse sample, the unemployment agency/job services recent-job-loss-respondent longitudinal data collection approach used in previous research was not an option. The one-factor test found that only 15% of "common method variance" was explained by the first factor, suggesting that this is not an overriding limitation. Survey constraints necessitated using shortened validated scales in several instances. However, we did select the highest loading items when shortening scales and such scales were generally reliable. Practical implications - Implications of study results for careers and steps to prevent longer-term unemployment are discussed. There seemed to be a general "disconnect" between unemployed respondent self-ratings of positive skill assessment, networking comfort, and proactive search, all of which were fairly high, against recent behavioral job search which was lower. This disconnect suggests that it may be hard for many unemployed to objectively look at their job search process.Originality/value - A unique unemployed sample, primarily executives, middle managers and professional, salaried individuals, with most being longer-term unemployed, was utilized. Initial psychometric support for several new scales was found, including unemployment stigma and behavioral job search. This study represented a fairly comprehensive test of the McKee-Ryan et al. (2005) taxonomy for correlates of psychological well-being during unemployment specifically applied to life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. An innovative on-line data collection approach, snowball sampling, was used.

Going global: The historical contingency of baseball hall of famer developmental networks

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Richard D. Cotton) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to investigate how the changing of institutional logics in an established field shapes the developmental networks of high-achievers.Design/methodology/approach - This research combines time series analysis of more than 80 years of historical data (1922-2004) with qualitative analysis of induction speeches of 99 hall of fame players from the same period.Findings - Findings indicate that a change in field logics from a more staid "insular" logic to a market or more business-oriented logic coincided with changes in key players’ developmental networks. In particular, the key players’ self-identified developmental relationships become both more numerous and more diverse in nature. Results of the time series analysis connect the shift in logic with the late 1950’s which was an important time in Major League Baseball’s history. It was during this period that, for the first time, each team had at least one African American player on their roster and each team had an average of at least one full time scout based in a country outside the United States – both indicators of MLB’s increasingly global search for talent. Research limitations/implications - The study focuses on extraordinary career performers (vs. all performers) in an all-male professional sport where the nature of the sport and the number of organizations remains relatively stable over time.Practical implications - These findings show how changes to industry level logics can affect individual level changes in mentoring and developmental networks. In particular, they demonstrate how organizations can create and remove potential developer roles as their respective logics change from era to era. Originality/value - This is the first known study to explore the effect of macro level changes on mentoring and developmental networks at the individual level.

LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INTENTIONS: A SOCIAL IDENTITY PERSPECTIVE

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to study how an approach of culturally-specific human resource management (HRM) should moderate the relationship between leadership style and employee turnover. Collecting empirical data from firms in different regions of China, we found that a leadership style, i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX), can have a significant effect on employee turnover. Moreover, the effect of LMX can be moderated by the C-HRM-oriented HRM (C-HRM) approach. We conclude this paper with a discussion of the implications of our findings to academic researchers and practitioners.Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaire data were collected from firms in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The subjects are 190 leader/member dyads (111 (58%) were from mainland China (i.e., Shenzhen), and 79 (42%) were from Hong Kong). Hierarchical regression model is adopted to test the hypotheses. Findings - There exist both the direct effect and interactive effect of LMX on employees’ organization identity, which in turn affects their turnover. Moreover, collectivism-oriented HRM (C-HRM) moderates the relationship between LMX and employees’ organization identity. Other conditions being equal, the higher the C-HRM, the stronger is the positive relationship between LMX and organization identity.Practical implications - LMX, as a leadership style, should help reduce employee turnover and improve their performance. This is especially true in organizations with C-HRM. The significant interactive effect between the leadership style and C-HRM also suggests that a given leadership style may be culturally specific. Accordingly, managers should understand the effect of organization culture on the effectiveness of their management styles or approaches. Originality/value - Integrating prior research on LMX, C-HRM, organization identity and employees’ employee retention, we develop this study examining the relationships among LMX, organization identity and employees’ employee retention. Ours is the first study testing these relationships. Our findings have several important implications. For instance, this study documents both the direct and moderating effects of C-HRM on employees’ performance for the first time, which will be helpful for the development of new studies on human resource management and cross-cultural management.