Subtheme 1
Careers: multilevel issues in theory, methodology and empirical research.
Convenors
Wolfgang Mayrhofer, WU Vienna, Austria, wolfgang.mayrhofer@wu.ac.at
Hugh Gunz, University of Toronto, Canada, hugh.gunz@utoronto.ca
Marijke Verbruggen, KU Leuven, Belgium, marijke.verbruggen@kuleuven.be
Call for Papers
Careers are multi-level phenomena. They take place at the 'intersection of societal history and individual biography' (Grandjean, 1981: 1057) linking micro- and macro-frames of references (Schein, 1978) and are central to understanding how individuals, institutions and society interact (Hughes, 1937; Mills, 2000 (Orig. 1959); Barley, 1989). Yet, skepticism is widespread about the field of career studies' achievements in this respect (e.g. Arthur, 2008; Jones & Dunn, 2007). The reasons for this are manifold and include insufficient interdisciplinary work (e.g. Khapova & Arthur, 2011; Lawrence, 2011), the partial neglect of context (Mayrhofer, Meyer, & Steyrer, 2007), or a lack of a joint theoretical language allowing communication between various discourses (Gunz & Mayrhofer, 2011). However, one common denominator derives from the theoretical, methodological, and empirical demands resulting from the multi-level quality of careers.
Theoretically, a comprehensive understanding of careers requires theoretical frameworks spanning different levels of social complexity. From its early stages on, the field of career studies has been rooted in a broad view embedding individuals in a dynamic interaction with their environment. Early descriptive works from the Chicago school looking at hobos (Anderson, 1923), taxi hall dancers (Cressey, 1932) or jack rollers (Shaw, 1930) are just harbingers for later conceptual and empirical work capturing various levels of social complexity (e.g. Hughes, 1958). Methodologically, multi-level analyses (Sniders, 2011; Klein & Kozlowski, 2000) provide formidable challenges. They not only require an in-depth knowledge of the available methods, but also depend on the availability of adequate data. Empirically, multi-level designs pose problems, too. At the least they entail the use of different sources of data, e.g. individual survey data tailored to the study and nation-wide data such as unemployment rates or culture variables collected for different purposes. In any case, they require substantial efforts and use of resources to gather a data set which covers various levels (e.g. van Veldhoven & Dorenbosch, 2008, Sveningsson & Alvesson, 2003).
Against this backdrop, the Standing Working Group invites papers which address one or several multi-level issues. They can have a theoretical, methodological or empirical focus or combine them. Examples include, but certainly are not limited to conceptual papers presenting multi-level frameworks; methodological papers showing how multi-level analysis can be made fruitful in career studies; and empirical papers using a multi-level design to answer a career-related question. In terms of content, papers from all areas of career studies are welcome.
References
Anderson, N. 1923. The hobo. The sociology of the homeless man. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Arthur, M. B. 2008. Examining contemporary careers: A call for interdisciplinary enquiry. Human Relations, 61(2): 163-186.
Barley, S. R. 1989. Careers, identities, and institutions: the legacy of the Chicago School of Sociology. In M. B. Arthur & D. T. Hall & B. S. Lawrence (Eds.), Handbook of Career Theory: 41-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cressey, P. G. 1932. The taxi-dance hall. A sociological study in commercialized recreation and city life. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Grandjean, B. D. 1981. History and career in a bureaucratic labor market. American Journal of Sociology, 86(5): 1057-1092.
Gunz, H. & Mayrhofer, W. 2011. Re-conceptualizing career success: a contextual approach. Journal for Labour Market Research, 43(3): 251-260.
Hughes, E. C. 1937. Institutional Office and the Person. American Journal of Sociology, 43: 404-413.
Hughes, E. C. 1958. Men and Their Work. Glencoe, Ill.: Free.
Jones, C. & Dunn, M. B. 2007. Careers and institutions: The centrality of careers to organizational studies. In H. Gunz & M. Peiperl (Eds.), Handbook of Career Studies: 437-450. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Khapova, S. N. & Arthur, M. B. 2011. Interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary career studies. Human Relations, 64 (1): 3-17.
Klein, K. J. & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (Eds.). 2000. Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations : foundations, extensions, and new directions San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lawrence, B. S. 2011. Careers, social context and interdisciplinary thinking. Human Relations, 64(1): 59-84.
Mayrhofer, W., Meyer, M., & Steyrer, J. 2007. Contextual Issues in the Study of Careers. In H. P. Gunz & M. A. Peiperl (Eds.), Handbook of Career Studies: 215-240. Thousend Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mills, C. W. 2000 (Orig. 1959). The sociological Imagination (Fortieth Anniversary ed.). Oxford et al.: Oxford Univ. Press.
Schein, E. H. 1978. Career Dynamics: Matching individual and organizational needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Shaw, C. R. 1930. The Jack-roller. A delinquent boy's own story. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Sniders, T. A. B. 2011. Multilevel Analysis. In M. Lovric (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science: 879-882. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
Sveningsson, S. & Alvesson, M. 2003. Managing managerial identities: organizational fragmentation, discourse and identity struggle. Human Relations, 56(10): 1163-1193.
van Veldhoven, M. & Dorenbosch, L. 2008. Age, proactivity and career development. Career Development International, 13(2): 112-131.
About the convenors
- Hugh Gunz: Professor of Organizational Behaviour, University of Toronto, Canada; research on careers, the management of professionals, and ethics, in a wide variety of journals as well as three books (including co-editing the Handbook of Career Studies published by Sage in 2007)
- Wolfgang Mayrhofer: Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour, WU, Vienna, Austria; research on human resource management, careers, leadership, social systems theory, published in a wide variety of journals, 26 authored, co-authored or co-edited books
- Marijke Verbruggen: Associate Professor of HRM and Organizational Behaviour, KULeuven, Belgium: research on careers, work-life issues, person-environment fit, unemployment and underemployment published in academic journals and policy-oriented journals and book chapters