Career Choice in Management and Entrepreneurship

Career Choice in Management andEntrepreneurship

Career Choice inManagement andEntrepreneurshipA Research Companion

Edited by

Mustafa F. zbilgin

Professor of Human Resource Management, University ofEast Anglia, UK

Ayala Malach-Pines

Professor of Psychology and Head, Department of BusinessAdministration, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Edward ElgarCheltenham, UK Northampton, MA, USA

Mustafa F. zbilgin and Ayala Malach-Pines 2007

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the priorpermission of the publisher.

Published byEdward Elgar Publishing LimitedGlensanda HouseMontpellier ParadeCheltenhamGlos GL50 1UAUK

Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.William Pratt House9 Dewey CourtNorthamptonMassachusetts 01060USA

A catalogue record for this bookis available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

Career choice in management and entrepreneurship : a research companion /edited by Mustafa F. zbilgin, Ayala Malach-Pines

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.1. Career development. 2. Vocational guidance. 3. Management. 4.Entrepreneurship. 5. Master of business administration degree. I.zbilgin, Mustafa. II. Malach-Pines, Ayala.

HF5831.C2651435 2007658.0023dc22

2007011684

ISBN 978 1 84542 844 0

Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall

Contents

Contributors viii

Introduction 1Mustafa F. zbilgin and Ayala Malach-Pines

PART I CAREER CHOICE OF MBA STUDENTSFROM CROSS-NATIONAL ANDINTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES

1. Convergence and divergence of inuences on career choice:a comparative analysis of inuences on career choices ofMBA students in China, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Korea,North Cyprus, Turkey and the UK 23Barbara P. Dexter, Cynthia Forson, Gzde Inal, Mine Karatas-zkan, Fatma Ksk, Mustafa F. zbilgin, Ayala Malach-Pines, Cem Tanova and Jeongkoo Yoon

2. Culture and gender in the career choice of aspiring managersand entrepreneurs 51Ayala Malach-Pines and Oshrit Kaspi-Baruch

3. Collectivistic attitudes and solidarity with a focus onHungary: value preferences of management studentsin Cyprus, the UK, Israel, Turkey and Hungary 75Agnes Utasi

PART II EARLY INFLUENCES ON THE CAREER CHOICEOF ENTREPRENEURS AND MANAGERS

4. Family inuences on the career life cycle 101T. Alexandra Beauregard

5. Understanding the role of relationships in making careerchoices among Turkish MBA students 127Zahide Karakitapoglu-Aygn and Kadire Zeynep Saym

6. Serial high-tech entrepreneurs and managers in Israel:background and personality 157Gilat Kaplan

v

7. Entrepreneurs and managers: a family portrait familydynamics, language and modes of eective dialogue 172Orenia Yae-Yanai, Dov Yanai and Tamar Milo

PART III ENTREPRENEURS AND MANAGERS CAREERCHOICE: CULTURAL DETERMINANTS

8. Contrasting entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs amongCanadian and Israeli MBAs 189Galit Chimo-Vugalter and Miri Lerner

9. What motivates people from business-related careersto change to teaching? 219Paul W. Richardson, Helen M.G. Watt and Nicole M. Tysvaer

10. The impact of foreign subsidiary managers sociopoliticalpositioning on career choices and their subsequent strategizing: evidence from German-owned subsidiariesin France 240Christoph Drrenbcher and Mike Geppert

11. Determinants of career choice of Israeli high-technologyentrepreneurs 258Dov Dvir and Ayala Malach-Pines

PART IV MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND MBA EDUCATION

12. Career development and values change among MBA students: a theoretical perspective and practical avenues 275Eran Vigoda-Gadot and Shmulik Grimland

13. Business students views on jobs, careers and the job search process: implications for universities and employers 292Ronald J. Burke and Eddy S.W. Ng

14. Business education as a career choice 309Yehuda Baruch and John Blenkinsopp

PART V EDUCATION, TRAINING AND LEARNING FORMANAGERS AND ENTREPRENEURS

15. The training and development of managers and entrepreneurs: the role of integrative capability 327Elizabeth Chell

vi Contents

16. Age of opportunity? Career making and learning formid-career entrepreneurs 349David Rae

17. The engaging manager and the role of knowledge absorptivecapacity: an organizational life-cycle perspective 379Laura A. Costanzo and Vicky Tzoumpa

18. Career constraints in the creative and cultural industries inLondon: the case of work placement and training experience 397Mustafa F. zbilgin and Ahu Tatl

PART VI ENTREPRENEURS, MANAGERS, CAREER CHOICE AND DIVERSITY: MINORITY ISSUES

19. The career reasons of minority nascent entrepreneurs 433Nancy M. Carter, William B. Gartner, Kelly G. Shaverand Patricia G. Greene

20. Career choices of skilled migrants: a holistic perspective 464Jawad Syed

21. A comparative study on career choice inuences ofTurkish Cypriot restaurateurs in North Cyprus and the UK 484Gzde Inal and Mine Karatas-zkan

PART VII ENTREPRENEURS, MANAGERS, CAREER CHOICE AND DIVERSITY: GENDER ISSUES

22. Gender and the MBA: intrinsic and extrinsic benets 511Ruth Simpson and Jane Sturges

23. The value of MBA education and its role in entrepreneurshipfor women and people of color 527Jennifer M. Sequeira and Myrtle P. Bell

24. Intersectionality, context and choice: the career choiceinuences of self-employed black women 548Cynthia Forson

Index 581

Contents vii

Contributors

Yehuda Baruch, University of East Anglia, UKT. Alexandra Beauregard, London School of Economics, UKMyrtle P. Bell, University of Texas at Arlington, USAJohn Blenkinsopp, Teeside Business School, UKRonald J. Burke, York University, CanadaNancy M. Carter, University of St Thomas, USAElizabeth Chell, University of Southampton, UKGalit Chimo-Vugalter, Tel Aviv University, IsraelLaura A. Costanzo, University of Surrey, UKBarbara P. Dexter, University of Derby, UKChristoph Drrenbcher, University of Groningen, The NetherlandsDov Dvir, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelCynthia Forson, Queen Mary, University of London, UKWilliam B. Gartner, Clemson University, USAMike Geppert, University of Surrey, UKPatricia G. Greene, Babson College, USAShmulik Grimland, University of Haifa, IsraelGzde Inal, Queen Mary, University of London, UKGilat Kaplan, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelZahide Karakitapoglu-Aygn, Bilkent University, TurkeyMine Karatas-zkan, University of Southampton, UKOshrit Kaspi-Baruch, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelFatma Ksk, Istanbul Technical University, TurkeyMiri Lerner, The Academic College of Tel-AvivJaa, IsraelAyala Malach-Pines, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelTamar Milo, AMI Family Business Consulting, IsraelEddy S.W. Ng, Trent University, CanadaMustafa F. zbilgin, University of East Anglia, UKDavid Rae, University of Lincoln, UKPaul W. Richardson, Monash University, AustraliaKadire Zeynep Saym, Bilkent University, TurkeyJennifer M. Sequeira, University of Southern Mississippi, USAKelly G. Shaver, College of Charleston, USARuth Simpson, Brunel University, UKJane Sturges, Kings College London, UK

viii

Jawad Syed, University of Kent, UKCem Tanova, Eastern Mediterranean University, North CyprusAhu Tatl, Queen Mary, University of London, UKNicole M. Tysvaer, University of Michigan, USAVicky Tzoumpa, University of Surrey, UKAgnes Utasi, University of Szeged, HungaryEran Vigoda-Gadot, University of Haifa, IsraelHelen M.G. Watt, Monash University, AustraliaDov Yanai, Genesis Consulting Group, IsraelOrenia Yae-Yanai, AMI Family Business Consulting, IsraelJeongkoo Yoon, Ewha Womens University, South Korea

Contributors ix

IntroductionMustafa F. zbilgin and Ayala Malach-Pines

The choice of a career is a complex and multifaceted process that includesall the spheres of a persons life (Hall, 1996). For one hundred years attemptshave been made to classify the factors that inuence this process. Most ofthese attempts include such factors as aptitudes, interests, resources, lim-itations, requirements and opportunities. Parsons (1909/1989, p. 5), forexample, stated that in the wise choice of a vocation there are three broadfactors: 1. A clear understanding of yourself, your aptitudes, abilities, inter-ests, ambitions, resources, limitations and their causes. 2. Knowledge of therequirements and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages, com-pensations, opportunities and prospects in dierent lines of work. 3. Truereasoning on the relations of these groups of facts. Parsonss work servedas the cornerstone in the development of modern counseling theories thatcenter on the personenvironment t (e.g. Edwards et al., 1998; Kristof,1996; Swanson, 1996).

In the 1950s, Ginzberg (1951) classied the factors that inuence careerchoices into: self, reality and key people, while Super (1953, 1957) classiedthem into: (1) Role factors the self and the role; (2) Personality factors intelligence, special abilities, preferences, values, approaches to work, per-sonality and general adaptability, and (3) Situational factors social andeconomic status of the parents, religious background, home atmosphere,parents approach, the general economic situation, a state of war or peace,and training opportunities. It is common today to view vocational choiceas a process, the way Ginzberg did, and as an ongoing process that contin-ues throughout the persons life, the way Super did. The modern perspec-tive of life career development is broad and holistic (Gysbers et al., 1998).It encompasses all spheres of activity and all corresponding facets of per-sonal identity (Hall, 1996, p. 7).

Despite their strengths, modern theories of vocational choice also havesome serious weaknesses (Tang, 2003). One such weakness, which has beenthe focus of repeated criticism, is that they are not sophisticated enough interms of their theoretical underpinnings and rarely extend to other countriesoutside the USA. It has been noted, for example, that they do not include theinuence of contextual factors (such as educational and socioeconomic

1

background, and the environment in which one grows up) (Tang, 2003).Growing globalization of the workforce increases the need to understand thecultural context of their work. The conclusion of nine analyses of moderncareer theories is that there is need for advance theory that is more contex-tual and multicultural (Savicas, 2003).

One response to this criticism has been the postmodern perspective.Postmodernism broadens career theories by focusing on plurality of per-spectives, on the dierent social constructions of reality represented bydierent cultural perspectives and on the importance of the meaning indi-viduals give to their experiences (Thorngren and Feit, 2001). Multiplepoints of view and cultural inuences are central to postmodernism, atheoretical perspective that has already inuenced our understanding ofcareers (e.g. Peavy, 1997; Richardson, 1993). The book sheds light onvarious antecedents, correlates and consequences of career choice intwo very special professions management and entrepreneurship fromdierent cultural, disciplinary and theoretical perspectives.

Managers and entrepreneurs are key players on the organizational stage,both described as enactments of archetypes, management as the activity ofintroducing order by coordinating the ow of things and people toward col-lective action; entrepreneurship as the making of new worlds (Czarniawakaand Wol, 1991). Owing to their leading role, managers and entrepreneursare often considered to have a major impact on the economy and socialprogress of nations. As such they are the focus of great interest. A large andsteadily growing research literature attests to this interest. However, trad-itional studies of managers and entrepreneurs tend to be discipline specic(including, for example, the elds of psychology, sociology, economics,political science, or specic areas of management), with each disciplinefocusing on a dierent aspect of management, using dierent theoreticalunderpinnings and methodologies with little awareness of relevant dataobtained in other disciplines. Little research has focused directly on thecareer choice of managers and entrepreneurs. This timely book addressestheir career choice at the start of their careers as MBA (Master of BusinessAdministration) students and in later stages of their careers. The focus onMBA students enables an exploration of a hotly contested issue regardingthe value of an MBA education. The distinguished group of contributorsexamined whether it is possible to train managers and entrepreneurs andwhether MBA study delivers its promised career outcomes in general andfor groups across the fault lines of ethnicity and gender in particular.

The book is the most recent stage in a process that started in August 2003in a Discussion Session held at the Academy of Management annual con-vention in Seattle, Oregon and led by Mustafa zbilgin and Ayala Malach-Pines. It is hard to imagine a more typical Muslim name than Mustafa and

2 Introduction

a more typical Israeli name than Ayala, and a session led by Mustafa andAyala raised some eyebrows as well as interest. It was titled Careers in theMiddle East and was the start of a great friendship and collaboration.

The next three-part stage included: an international symposium titledWork and non-work relationships, values and attitudes: A multi-culturalperspective, which was held in 2004 at the American PsychologicalAssociation convention; an international symposium titled AntecedentsCorrelates and Consequences of Career Choice in Management. AMulticultural and Interdisciplinary View, held in 2005 at the Academy ofManagement convention; and an international symposium titled An inter-national interdisciplinary perspective on the antecedents, correlates andconsequences of career choice in management, held in 2006 at theInternational Congress of Applied Psychology, in Athens, Greece. The par-ticipants in these symposia were an international, interdisciplinary groupof scholars who joined forces with Ayala and Mustafa to create a newmultifaceted vision of career choice in management and entrepreneurshipin the twenty-rst century. The scholars, both young and senior, comefrom China, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Korea, North Cyprus,Turkey and the UK, and represent dierent disciplines, including:Business Management, Business Administration, Organizational Behavior,Public Administration, Political Science, Sociology, Clinical, Social andOrganizational Psychology. They all share an interest in the multifacetedrelationship between the antecedents of career choice in management andentrepreneurship (e.g. the environmental, sociological, familial and psy-chological inuences propelling some people to become managers andentrepreneurs); the correlates of such career choices (e.g. MBA educationand training) and a variety of outcome variables (e.g. national indicatorsof economic success and citizenship as well as personal indicators of jobsatisfaction). The cross-cultural interdisciplinary perspective enabled anexamination of the role that culture plays in young peoples path to becomemanagers and entrepreneurs, including identication of certain groups (e.g.minorities and women) who do not always reach their full potential. Thegroup jointly constructed a research instrument. The instrument addresseddierent aspects of career choice from dierent theoretical perspectives,and was translated by members of the group into dierent languages aftermuch deliberation over the use of items that touched certain cultural sen-sitivities. All questions in the instrument were answered using similar scales.The three chapters in the rst part of this volume are based on this cross-cultural study. However, some of the other chapters in the book were alsowritten by members of the Career-Choice Research Network. The writersof these chapters address dierent aspects of career choice from dierentcultural and theoretical perspectives, focusing on dierent parts of the

Introduction 3

jointly collected data set. The participants in the cross-cultural study wereall MBA students assumed to be similar in age, education, social and eco-nomic status, and career goals, and old enough to have some work experi-ence. Most samples included a similar number of men and women. Itshould be noted that many of the respondents in the UK and Cyprussamples were foreign students, representing the situation in most MBA pro-grams in these countries.

The combination of divergent cultures and an interdisciplinaryperspective, using a jointly constructed research instrument, has gener-ated a wealth of data. In the rst part of the volume, each of the threechapters addresses a certain aspect of this multilayered view of careerchoice, discusses its specic theoretical underpinnings within the largerpostmodern perspective, presents the relevant data gathered from thejoint study, comments on the relevance of the data to the particularculture, and addresses the ndings theoretical and practical implications.Altogether, the three chapters oer a demonstration of both the promiseand challenge involved in this type of cross-cultural interdisciplinary col-laboration. The rst chapter (Dexter et al.) describes the convergence anddivergence of inuences on career choice in management based on a com-parative analysis of inuences on career choices of MBA students inChina, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Korea, North Cyprus, Turkey and the UK.This chapter provides the most comprehensive account of the collabora-tive study. It is followed by a chapter (Malach-Pines and Kaspi-Baruch)on the inuence of culture and gender in the career choice of aspiringmanagers and entrepreneurs in Israel as compared to the UK, Turkey,North Cyprus and Hungary. In the third chapter, Agnes Utasi examinesvalue preferences of management students in Hungary as compared toCyprus, the UK and Israel, focusing on the inuence of collectivisticattitudes and solidarity.

The second part of the book focuses on early inuences on the careerchoice of managers and entrepreneurs, especially family inuences.Within the plurality of perspectives oered in the book, this part can beviewed as representing the psychoanalytic perspective. This perspectivecontributes to life career development theories the dimension of uncon-scious career choices, based on the notion that the work that any personundertakes in almost any environment, excepting only the extremes ofslavery and imprisonment, is to some extent determined by personalchoice, made at several levels of consciousness (Pruyser, 1980, p. 61).According to the psychoanalytic perspective, the unconscious determin-ants of a vocational choice reect ones personal and familial history.People choose an occupation that enables them to replicate signi-cant childhood experiences, gratify needs that were ungratied in their

4 Introduction

Introduction 5

childhood and actualize occupational dreams passed on to them by theirfamilial heritage (Bratcher, 1982; Kets de Vries, 1991, 1995; Obholzerand Roberts, 1997; Osipow and Fitzgerard, 1996; Pines and Yae-Yanai,2001; Roe, 1956).

The family background and psychological make-up of managers andentrepreneurs have been the focus of extensive research. One branch of thisresearch focused on the inner life and unconscious forces that compelpeople into their career choice and determine their behavior as managersand entrepreneurs (e.g. Kets de Vries, 1991, 1995, 1996; Pines, 2003; Pineset al., 2002; Zaleznik, 1991). This research, which was based on psychoan-alytic work with managers, revealed, for example, that a high percentage ofthe fathers of successful managers were themselves successful managersand were distant fathers who did not have an intimate relationship withtheir sons. People who are unconsciously propelled to be managers have areexive longing to be in charge, in control, to be the father (Zaleznik,1991). And a comparison between successful entrepreneurs and high-levelmanagers demonstrated the managers positive identication with theirfathers as compared to the entrepreneurs negative identication with theirs(Pines, 2003; Pines et al., 2002).

The second part starts with a more general perspective oered inAlexandra Beauregards chapter (Chapter 4) on family inuences on thecareer life cycle and Karakitapoglu-Aygn and Sayms chapter (Chapter 5)on the role of various relationships in the career choice of Turkish MBAstudents. The next two chapters are based on the psychoanalytic perspec-tive. Gilat Kaplans chapter (Chapter 6) describes the background and per-sonality of serial high-tech entrepreneurs and managers in Israel, andYae-Yanai et al. in their chapter (Chapter 7) focus on the family prolesof Israeli entrepreneurs and managers.

The third part of the book addresses the cultural determinants associatedwith the choice of a career in management and entrepreneurship (or, in onecase, the choice to get out of a business career). An examination of the roleof culture oers insights into the attributes of entrepreneurs and managersthat vary, as compared to those that do not vary, with cultural contexts.McGrath et al. (1992), in their discussion of the question does cultureendure or is it malleable?, suggest that entrepreneurs from dierent culturesshare certain values that dierentiate them from non-entrepreneurs. And, asnoted by Chimo-Vugalter and Lerner in their chapter (Chapter 8), becausedierent countries have distinct and sometimes contrasting cultures, there isa strong need for cross-cultural studies to increase our understanding ofintercultural inuences on entrepreneurs and managers.

In response to Leong and Browns (1995) criticism of research on con-textual variables in vocational psychology that has focused on establishing

either cultural validity (across dierent cultural groups) or cultural speci-city (focus on a specic cultural group), the book in general, and the rstand third parts in particular, attempts to combine both perspectives bycomparing a focus on dierent countries with a focus on one particularcountry.

The rst two chapters in Part III represent cultural validity as bothpresent a comparison between two cultures (in the rst, a comparisonbetween Israeli and Canadian MBAs; in the second a comparison betweenAustralian and American MBAs). The second two chapters representcultural specicity as both focus on one culture (in one, German-ownedsubsidiaries in France; in the other Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs). Morespecically, in the rst chapter (Chapter 8) Chimo-Vugalter and Lernerfocus on Canadian and Israeli MBA graduates as they compare andcontrast entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. In the second chapter(Chapter 9) Richardson et al. focus on Australian and American MBAgraduates as they address the question of what motivates them to changeto a teaching career. In the third chapter (Chapter 10) Drrenbcher andGeppert focus on German-owned subsidiaries in France as they address theimpact of foreign subsidiary managers sociopolitical positioning (whichincludes such things as national descent, professional background and per-sonal career orientation) on their career choices and their subsequentstrategizing for subsidiary evolution. And in the fourth and last chapter inthis part (Chapter 11) Dvir and Malach-Pines focus on successful Israelihigh-tech entrepreneurs as they describe the cultural determinants of theircareer choice.

The fourth part of the book contains three chapters that examine careerdevelopment and MBA education from multidisciplinary perspectives.Studying careers from across disciplinary divides helps overcome two ofthe common problems in the study of careers: overemphasis of macro-,meso- or micro-perspectives (zbilgin et al., 2005) and absence of sophis-tication in theorization of careers (Tang, 2003). The chapters in thissection bridge sociological, psychological, management and political per-spectives, transcending their variable foci on levels of analysis and levels ofsophistication in their conceptualization of career choice and MBA edu-cation. Vigoda-Gadot and Grimlands chapter (Chapter 12) examinescareer development and values change among MBA students from apublic administration perspective. Burke and Ngs chapter focuses on busi-ness students views on jobs, careers and the job search process, bringingforth the implications for universities and employers (Chapter 13).Recognizing that career choice is studied in the process of education,Baruch and Blenkinsopp argue that business education itself can beframed as career choice (Chapter 14).

6 Introduction

Whilst Part IV focused on career development and MBA education,Part V goes on to examine education, training and learning for managersand entrepreneurs. The homology of the debates on learning, entrepre-neurship and management is a long-standing discussion on whether thetwo are innate or learned. Transcending these traditional arguments,Nooteboom (2000) has highlighted that whatever its origins and essence,learning in organizations and economies should be studied from multi-leveland interdisciplinary perspectives. The chapters in this section serve toachieve this goal. Chells chapter (Chapter 15) provides an assessment ofthe role of integrative capability in training and development of managersand entrepreneurs. In Chapter 16, Rae examines career making and learn-ing for mid-career entrepreneurs. Costanzo and Tzoumpa (Chapter 17)provide an assessment of the engaging manager and the role of knowledgeabsorptive capacity from an organizational life-cycle perspective. The nalchapter in the part is by zbilgin and Tatl (Chapter 18), who focus oncareer constraint in work placement and training experiences in the creativeand cultural industries in London.

Career choice and diversity is studied in Parts VI and VII of this book.The interplay between career choice and diversity by ethnicity (Part VI)and gender (Part VII) are explored in depth. Whilst some authors haveviewed career choice through very individualistic lenses, emphasizing therole of self in choice (Hakim, 1991), others have highlighted the inuenceof social context on choice (Gerson, 1986) and on self-assessment (Correll,2001). An explicit focus on diversity by ethnicity and gender allowsan understanding of social constructions of career choice by dierentlypositioned groups and individuals. Part VI examines ethnic dierences inexperiences of career and career choice. The rst chapter in the sectionis by Carter et al. (Chapter 19) and examines why and how nascent entre-preneurs make their career choices. Syed presents an exploration of careerchoices of skilled migrants and argues for a holistic perspective inChapter 20. Inal and Karatas-zkan oer a comparative study on careerchoice inuences of Turkish Cypriot restaurateurs in North Cyprus andthe UK (Chapter 21).

In the last part of the book (Part VII), three chapters examine the role ofgender in career choice. Simpson and Sturges (Chapter 22) focus on genderand intrinsic and extrinsic benets of MBA education. Two of the chaptersexamine the gender and ethnicity interplay, exploring issues of intersec-tionality: Sequeira and Bell examine the value of MBA education and itsrole in entrepreneurship for women and people of color in Chapter 23.Forsons chapter (Chapter 24) presents an assessment of intersectionality,context and choice in self-employed black womens careers.

Introduction 7

DESCRIPTION OF CHAPTERS

Part I Career Choice of MBA Students from Cross-National andInterdisciplinary Perspectives

In Chapter 1, Dexter et al. take a critical perspective on career choice, focus-ing on the signicance of the context and relational dynamics of careerchoice and development by exploring the national, sectoral and culturaldynamics of career choice in each country under study. The ndings ofthe cross-cultural survey study suggest that cross-national similarities arestronger than dierences. Two dierent reasons are explanatory for theseapparent similarities: the unifying impact of MBA internationally and theneoliberal inuences in the form of elevating individual and agentic framesof thinking over social and structural frames of reference. In terms offuture research and practice, three major concerns are identied: lack ofawareness of path dependencies in the respondent population; lackof awareness of social conditions that shape choice; and lack of critical rea-soning skills. The implications for career advisers are reported in the study.

In Chapter 2, Malach-Pines and Kaspi-Baruch address the inuences ofculture and gender on the career choice of MBA students aspiring to bemanagers and entrepreneurs. The study described aimed to shed light onvarious antecedents (e.g. the inuence of key people) and correlates (e.g.the meaning of work) of the career choice of MBA students in Israel, theUK, Turkey, North Cyprus and Hungary. The study attempted to establishboth cultural validity (across the ve cultural groups), as well as culturalspecicity (focus on a specic cultural group Israel). Five hypotheses wereexamined: based on evolutionary and psychoanalytic theories, genderdierences in variables related to career choice in management and entre-preneurship were expected to be more consistent and larger than the cross-cultural dierences; based on social role theory, it was hypothesized thatboth gender and cross-cultural dierences would be found; based on socialconstruction theory, it was hypothesized that cross-cultural dierenceswould be larger than gender dierences. Findings showing consistentlylarger cross-cultural dierences than gender dierences did not support theevolutionary and psychoanalytic theories, partially supported social roletheory, and strongly supported social construction theory. Based on exist-ential theory, it was hypothesized that the meaning of work would be moreimportant to Israeli students than it would be to students in other coun-tries. This hypothesis was conrmed. Based on studies comparing entre-preneurs and managers, dierences were expected between studentsaspiring to be entrepreneurs versus aspiring to be managers. This hypothe-sis was not conrmed, suggesting that an MBA may be more relevant to the

8 Introduction

career aspirations of students who want to be managers than those whowant to be entrepreneurs.

In the third and last chapter of the section (Chapter 3), Utasi focuses onthe values, especially those concerning collectivism and solidarity, of MBAstudents in Hungary as compared to North Cyprus, the UK, Israel andTurkey. The chapter describes various distinctive features of Hungariansociety and oers a sociological analysis that addresses both the similaritiesand dierences found between Hungarian students and students in theother countries. Utasi explains similarities found by the inuence of glob-alization. The dierences found are explained by the inuence of socializa-tion in general, and in the case of the Hungarian students by the inuenceof a value-ambivalent society that underwent four decades of socialism,with its destructive eect on traditional communities, and since 1989 hasmoved towards a neocapitalist market economy characterized by extremeindividualism.

Part II Early Inuences on the Career Choice of Entrepreneurs andManagers

The second part of the book focuses on family inuences on the careerchoice of managers and entrepreneurs. It starts with Beauregards discus-sion (Chapter 4) of the myriad ways in which ones family and personal lifecan aect ones career. A review of the literature demonstrates that careerchoice is inuenced by peoples values, attitudes and expectations concern-ing how work should be balanced with the rest of their life. Individuals arealso susceptible to inuence from their families of origin with regard tooccupational choice and balancing work and family. Career advancement,decisions to change jobs or accept a geographical transfer are often aectedby family commitments. The chapter identies some of the implications ofcombining a career with a meaningful life outside work, for both organ-izations and individuals.

The second chapter (Chapter 5) explores the importance and functionsof dierent relationships (e.g. mother, father, relatives, colleagues) in thecareer choice of Turkish MBA students. Understanding those relationalinuences is especially important in Turkey, which is characterized by aclose network of ties of family and friends. The chapter also examines thelinks between individualistic and collectivistic value orientations and theinuence of relationships on career choices. It reports the results of a studythat show that fathers were rated as having the greatest inuence, fol-lowed by lectures and mothers. Individualism was positively associatedwith being inuenced by ones colleagues and managers. Furthermore, sup-porting the patriarchal nature of Turkish society, collectivism was closely

Introduction 9

associated with the involvement of fathers in the career decision-makingprocess. To further clarify the role of relationships in career choices, inter-views were conducted with 13 students. The data revealed that most ofthem made their decisions themselves. They referred to parents, relatives(uncles, aunts, siblings), senior managers, friends and lecturers, but did notidentify any one particular individual as the most inuential in their deci-sions. These results are discussed with reference to their theoretical andpractical implications.

The third chapter in this part (Chapter 6), written within a psychoana-lytic perspective by Kaplan, focuses on highly successful Israeli serial high-tech entrepreneurs and a comparison sample of high-ranking managerswho were interviewed about their background and personality. The resultsof the comparison revealed that the entrepreneurs and managers sharecertain resemblance in traits and background: both tend to be highly edu-cated (an MBA degree is common), with rich vocational experience, a com-plicated and highly demanding workplace, high degree of responsibilityand autonomy, certain entrepreneurial qualities (that the CEOs share withthe entrepreneurs). However, while most entrepreneurs were rst-born(both objectively and psychologically), the majority of the executives werenot (only 30 percent were). In addition, the early childhood experiences ofexecutives seemed to be better than those of entrepreneurs, especially interms of relationship with the father. The dierent childhood experiencesfacilitated the development of entrepreneurial traits such as unwillingnessto accept authority, emotional instability and thinking out of the box. Inaddition, growing up in Israel involves two cultural themes: the struggle forexistence and military service.

The fourth and last chapter (Chapter 7) was written by Yae-Yanai et al.based on their extensive experience in consultation and career developmentwith owners and managers of enterprises. The chapter presents a psycho-logical portrait of the typical entrepreneur, as compared to the typicalmanager, along with their passion quests and distinct relations to theirbusiness. It suggests that they come from a dierent family dynamic, withdierent energy sources and motivations.

Entrepreneurs were often raised in relatively chaotic families in which thechild was hardly visible. The fathers were often absent either physically orpsychologically, and the mothers were often passionate dreamers, mostly ofunfullled dreams. Managers, on the other hand, were usually raised byattentive parents, who had high expectations of them and, consequently,criticized them often. Their mothers were mostly well-functioning women.As for their typical dialogue, while entrepreneurs typically ask why andstrive to leave a legacy, managers ask how and strive to be eective and todo a good job. Recommendations are made as to the nature of dialogue

10 Introduction

that may promote the consultation process with entrepreneurs and withmanagers.

Part III Entrepreneurs and Managers Career Choice: CulturalDeterminants

In the rst chapter (Chapter 8) Chimo-Vugalter and Lerner compare thecareer paths of MBA graduates who became entrepreneurs with those oftheir MBA colleagues who did not, in Canada and in Israel. The focus onMBAs enabled an examination of a population with a relatively highpropensity to undertake entrepreneurial careers. The chapter addresses thequestion: do demographic attributes, personality characteristics and familycareer patterns help distinguish MBA graduates who became entrepreneursfrom MBAs who did not, in both the Israeli and the Canadian samples?And do cultural dierences between Canada and Israel help distinguish thecareer paths taken by their respective MBA graduates?

Findings reported in the chapter show that the propensity to pursue anentrepreneurial career is higher for both Canadian and Israeli MBA gradu-ates than it is for the general population. Furthermore, great cross-culturalsimilarity was found between the Canadian and Israeli MBA graduates inthe propensity to pursue an entrepreneurial career. Multivariate examina-tions of the eect of career patterns, demographic factors and personalityvariables revealed that several of the variables included within these threeclusters distinguish entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs in the Canadianand the Israeli samples.

In the second chapter (Chapter 9), Richardson et al. focus on individualsin Australia and the USA who previously pursued business-related careers,but were changing careers into primary and secondary school teaching.The authors rst discuss the characteristics of those career switchers andthen discuss their reasons for having chosen to leave a career in business andpursue instead a teaching career. It turns out that the career switchers per-ceived teaching as a career that is highly demanding, and one that providesfor low return in terms of salary and social status. The fact that the careerswitchers were high on the intrinsic value of teaching suggests that teach-ing may aord dierent types of rewards that are not always inherent inbusiness careers such as management or entrepreneurship.

Based on three case studies of German subsidiaries in France, the thirdchapter (Chapter 10) examines how foreign subsidiary managers idiosyn-cratic actions as well as the political nature of headquarterssubsidiaryrelations inuence subsidiary evolution. In line with a study on the impactof dominant actor groups on organizational control, the authors try toestablish a link between the foreign subsidiary managers nationalities,

Introduction 11

professional backgrounds and personal career orientations referred to asthe sociopolitical positioning of foreign subsidiary managers their indi-vidual career choices and their follow-on strategizing with regard to theevolution of their subsidiaries. The chapter is based on an empirical studythat focused on how subsidiary mandates (dened as temporary responsi-bilities either allocated by the headquarters or acquired by the individualsubsidiary) are gained, developed or lost over time.

In the fourth and last chapter in this part (Chapter 11), Dvir and Malach-Pines describe the cultural determinants of the career choice of highly suc-cessful high-tech entrepreneurs in Israel. Israel has an unusually highnumber of high-tech entrepreneurs and companies, and is among the worldleaders in high-tech start-ups. The success of Israeli high-tech entrepre-neurs has raised curiosity worldwide, but very little academic researchattention. The chapter examines two empirical studies that reveal interest-ing information about the determinants of the career choice of Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs. The studies reveal a certain common background (e.g.rst-born, comes from a small family, is highly educated, has an advanceddegree in a technical eld, pursues a technical profession, served in thearmy in either a technical or a combat unit, was an ocer and commandedpeople). In-depth interviews with these entrepreneurs reveal the powerfulinuence of the army service on their career development as well as theinuence of Israeli culture.

Part IV Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Career Development andMBA Education

The rst chapter (Chapter 12) of this section is by Vigoda-Gadot andGrimland. The authors examine career development and values change ingraduate studies from theoretical perspectives. The chapter deals with citi-zenry values and career development among graduate students in BusinessAdministration (MBA) and in Public Administration (MPA) departments.The chapter focuses on a new type of protean career and on its contribu-tion to forming citizenship values of various aspects (individual, collective,organizational and communal/national). MBA and MPA students areviewed as the potential future leaders in the business and public systems.The chapter explains how such values may be encouraged among them andwhat can be the expected benets for businesses and for society. Because themodern type of career is values-driven, the mechanism that links valuesand career behavior will be explained. The mechanisms of COR (conser-vation of resources)/value priority and citizenship value levels of impactare proposed as a combined model that can explain and predict better thanother models the behavior of the MBA/MPA population. Based on COR

12 Introduction

principles, people tend to choose behaviors (career) that are congruent withtheir principal values and work/behave accordingly. This manner of actiontakes place in the individual/organizationalcommunal or national level,and in the collective/organizationalcommunal or national layer. Thechapter sets the ground for future empirical studies in this direction andoers some implications for such eorts.

The second chapter in this section addresses business students views onjobs, careers and the job search process with specic implications for employ-ers and universities. The chapter by Burke and Ng (Chapter 13) argues thatuniversity students continue to be a major source of hiring for skilled jobssuch as managers. They are technologically aware and eager to learn, whichmakes them highly desirable in todays job markets. Business students werechosen because they are more likely to enter managerial and professionalranks, and will be highly sought after by organizations. Business schools havetraditionally been a training ground for management education and a sourceof supply of managers to employers. The study on which the chapter is basedexplored the career aspirations and expectations, career choices and jobsearch behaviors among a sample of 4851 university students enrolled in abusiness program. Specically, it examined what attracts them to futureopportunities, how they explore potential employers, and how they makecareer decisions. Findings show that cooperative students have more realis-tic expectations about their careers, and indicated knowledge of the specicindustry, company, or career they were interested in, than non-cooperativestudents. The ndings can provide an insight into the future of Canadasgraduates and how well universities are supporting their careers.

In Chapter 14, Baruch and Blenkinsopp examine business education asa career choice. They argue that following the golden age of the MBA inthe 1980s and 1990s, there has been diversication of business education,where alongside the traditional MBA more specialized masters degreesare on oer, as well as a growing number of undergraduate degrees in busi-ness, management and related areas. While the MBA is still consideredthe agship of business education, other alternatives are now on oer forprospective business students. In this chapter the authors discuss the valueand relevance of business education as a career choice for individuals, andreview the benets versus possible pitfalls for managers and entrepreneursin the global marketplace for these degrees.

Part V Education, Training and Learning for Managers andEntrepreneurs

In this rst chapter (Chapter 15) of this part, Chell evaluates the roleof integrative capability in training and development of managers and

Introduction 13

entrepreneurs. Providing a critique of the nature of managers and entre-preneurs, Chell oers a discussion of situation-capability in respect of therespective roles of managers and entrepreneurs. The chapter goes on toargue that situation-capability alone as a skill to enable entrepreneurs andmanagers to perform eectively is arguably necessary but not sucient.Therefore the key components and ingredients of the creation of newknowledge and innovations are explored. Arguing for a context-sensitiveexploration of life courses and sense-making experiences of managers andentrepreneurs, the chapter criticizes essentialist and biologically determin-istic approaches to management and entrepreneurship. The chapter oersa range of suggestions for program designs that are conducive to fostertraining and development of managers and entrepreneurs.

Raes chapter (Chapter 16) on career making and learning for mid-careerentrepreneurs explores the concept of mid-career entrepreneurship, withparticular reference to career making as a learning process. Rae explainsthat mid-career entrepreneurs (MCEs) are those who, aged approximately3555, decide to start a business venture after a period of work as anemployee. Therefore mid-career entrepreneurship suggests a curious caseof a voluntary or enforced career change. The chapter examines careermaking for managers and entrepreneurs in mid-career from a learning per-spective, explaining why such an emphasis on learning is important.

In Chapter 17, Costanzo and Tzoumpa provide a conceptual explorationof the engaging manager concept by drawing on the theory of the organ-izational life cycle, which allows for a reading of the growth phase of therm with its specic management requirements. The authors argue that theengaging type of management style is particularly needed in the process ofgrowth, where the management is faced with survival challenges. In thegrowth stage, rms need entrepreneurial management, which is realized bythe knowledge-absorptive capacity. The chapter goes on to demonstrate thatconceptualization of knowledge-absorptive capacity as a key capability ofthe engaging manager contributes to deepening our understanding of themechanisms that shape the engaging managers ve styles of thinking.

The nal chapter of this part (Chapter 18) is by zbilgin and Tatl, whoargue that work placement may provide a signicant path to employmentand entrepreneurial careers in creative and cultural industries. Drawing ona eld study of higher education institutions (HEIs), host organizations andplacement students in the London-based creative and cultural industries,the authors demonstrate that work placement also presents constraints, par-ticularly to those students who do not t the subjective requirements set bythe host organizations. The process of work placement, from the outset ofallocation of work placement opportunities to management and evaluationof the placement, is open to subjective bias. This subjectivity may limit the

14 Introduction

choices of students from non-traditional backgrounds and may reduce theeectiveness of work placement in terms of enhancing personal and careerdevelopment of students. Furthermore, the current arrangements of workplacement fail to cater adequately for the students needs to embark oncareers in entrepreneurship, employment and management in the sector,starving them of essential experiences which could prepare them forsuccessful future careers in the creative and cultural industries.

Part VI Entrepreneurs, Managers, Career Choice and Diversity:Minority Issues

The career reasons of minority nascent entrepreneurs are examined inChapter 19. Carter et al. explain that self-employment has often been con-sidered an important option for demographic groups whose minority statusmight restrict their entry into the workforce. The social policy value of sup-porting minority entrepreneurship is recognized in federal and state con-tracting regulations that contain minority set-asides, and in the creation ofinter-city business incubators by local economic development ocials. Yetthe success of these eorts may be limited by an incomplete understandingof the motivations of minority entrepreneurs. Using the only availablenationally representative data set that contrasts individuals in the processof starting businesses (nascent entrepreneurs) with individuals in a com-parison group, the authors compared the reasons that minority (Black andHispanic) nascent entrepreneurs oer for starting new businesses to thoseof White nascent entrepreneurs and to career choice reasons oered by thecomparison group. Six separate categories of career reasons were exam-ined, and dierences by career choice and race and ethnic status wereidentied.

In his conceptual chapter, Syed investigates career choices of skilledmigrants from a holistic perspective (Chapter 20). Reecting on Ho (2006),Syed explains that the conventional policy reliance on human-capital-based research tends to simplify much more complex culturalenviron-mental challenges faced by skilled migrants in the host economies.However, the proponents of human capital theory insist that skilled migra-tion may be considered as capital mobility (Boeri, 2006), and that employ-ment in the migrant economies is a transitional phenomenon becauseemployment markets generally function as an integrative institution,seeking best-qualied and cheapest workers regardless of ethnic back-grounds (Nee et al., 1994). This chapter probes these lines of inquiry andendeavors to oer a holistic perspective of career choices of skilledmigrants. The chapter argues that skilled migrants are a people livingwithin a sociocultural and historical context, constituting much more than

Introduction 15

a factor of production owing across international borders. Accordingly,there is a need to expand the research lens to incorporate economic as wellas sociological and psychological aspects of migration.

The nal chapter in this part (Chapter 21) is by Inal and Karatas-zkan.It reports a study that seeks to generate comparative insights into theinuences on career choices of Turkish Cypriot restaurateurs in NorthCyprus and the UK. Drawing on the conceptual framework put forward,both career choices are examined. The study suggests three principal typesof inuences: family-related inuences, economic inuences, and self-related inuences. These three inuences form the basis of the formationof, and transformation between, dierent forms of capital that the partici-pant Turkish Cypriot restaurateurs have developed in both North Cyprusand the UK.

Part VII Entrepreneurs, Managers, Career Choice and Diversity:Gender Issues

In the rst chapter in the last part of the book (Chapter 22), Simpson andSturges study gender and intrinsic and extrinsic benets of the MBA. Thechapter reports ndings from a qualitative research study conducted at aleading business school in Ontario, Canada. The research explores theargument that MBA has gendered benets, as men are more likely to gainextrinsic benets in terms of pay, status and marketability, whilst womenare more likely to perceive that they gain intrinsic benets. Findings of thestudy reported in this chapter suggest that, while both men and women gainintrinsic benets from the MBA, they do so in dierent ways. The chaptergoes on to explain these dierences and the implications of such genderdierence.

Sequeira and Bell assess the value of the MBA education and its role inentrepreneurship for women and people of color in Chapter 23. Theyexplain that in the past two decades, many researchers have debated thevalue of the MBA degree, questioning its practicality and utility, and crit-icizing its ability to meet the needs of students. As students increase indiversity, with fewer Whites and men pursuing the MBA and more womenand people of color doing so, it is important to investigate the utility of theMBA for these non-dominant group members. Thus this chapter considersthe role that the MBA plays in career success for women and people ofcolor and the extent to which the MBA prepares these groups for entre-preneurship. In so doing, it hopes to raise issues concerning whetherwomen and people of color benet from the MBA education and toemphasize the possible need for a dierent perspective when educatingthese groups and preparing them for business ownership.

16 Introduction

In the very last chapter of the book Forson (Chapter 24) elaborates onintersectionality, context and choice, and examines the career choiceinuences of self-employed black women. It is well documented that careerchoice decisions of self-employed women are dierent from those of self-employed men. However, self-employed women are not a heterogeneousgroup and research on self-employed women has mainly focused on whitewomens career experiences. Although African and Caribbean women havehigh participation rates of paid employment, they are grossly underrepre-sented in self-employment compared to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)men and other women generally. This chapter examines the inuences onthe self-employment decisions of African and Caribbean women businessowners from two sectors of the London economy the legal and hair-dressing sectors in order to contribute to an understanding of how migra-tion, class, gender and ethnicity intersect in broader as well as more specicways to aect the career choice decisions of black women. The chapterdraws on literature on entrepreneurship as well as other sources to showhow the womens self-employment career choice discourse has developedand outlines the qualitative, layered yet intersectional approach that thestudy takes to the examination of the inuences on the decision to chooseself-employment as a career.

The volume addresses a very important area of human experience theworld of work from a perspective that aims to illuminate what is the sameand what is dierent across cultures. In the global village of the twenty-rstcentury it is crucial to expand ones vision to include other cultures andother theoretical perspectives beyond those oered by current vocationalchoice theories. The volume broadens these theories by focusing on the plu-rality of perspectives and the dierent social constructions of reality rep-resented by dierent cultural perspectives.

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Bratcher, W.E. (1982), The inuence of the family on career selection: a familysystems perspective, The Personnel & Guidance Journal, 61: 8791.

Correll, S. (2001), Gender and the career choice process: the role of biased self-assessments, American Journal of Sociology, 106(6): 1691730.

Czarniawaka, J.B. and Wol, R. (1991), Leaders, managers, entrepreneurs on ando the organizational stage, Organization Studies, 12: 52946.

Edwards, J.R., Caplan, R.D. and Harrison, R.V. (1998), Personenvironment ttheory: conceptual foundation, empirical evidence, and directions for future

Introduction 17

research, in C.L. Cooper (ed.), Theories of Organizational Stress, Oxford:Oxford University Press, pp. 2867.

Gerson, K. (1986), Hard Choices: How Women Decide about Work, Career andMotherhood, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Ginzberg, E. (1951), Occupational Choice, New York: Columbia University Press.Gysbers, N.C., Heppner, M. and Johnson, J.A. (1998), Career Counseling, Boston,

MA: Allyn & Bacon.Hakim, C. (1991), Grateful slaves and self-made women: fact and fantasy in

womens work orientations, European Sociological Review, 7(2): 10121.Hall, D.T. (1996), Long live the career, in D.T. Hall and associates (eds), The

Career is Dead Long Live The Career, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass,pp. 114.

Ho, C. (2006), Migration as feminisation? Chinese womens experiences ofwork and family in Australia, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 23(3):497514.

Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (1991), On becoming a CEO, in M.F.R. Kets de Vries andAssociates (eds), Organizations of the Couch: Clinical Perspectives onOrganizational Behavior and Change, San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 12039.

Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (1995), Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane, SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (1996), The anatomy of the entrepreneur, Human Relations,49: 85383.

Kristof, A.L. (1996), Personorganization t: an integrative review of its concep-tualizations, measurement, and implications, Personnel Psychology, 49: 149.

Leong, F.T.I. and Brown, M.T. (1995), Theoretical issues in cross cultural careerdevelopment: cultural validity and cultural specicity, in W.B. Walsh and S.H.Osipow (eds), Handbook of Vocational Psychology, 2nd edn, Hillsdale, NJ:Erlbaum, pp. 14380.

McGrath, R.G., MacMillan, I.C., Yang, E.A.-Y. and Tsai, W. (1992), Does cultureendure or is it malleable? Issues for entrepreneurial economic development,Journal of Business Venturing, 7: 44158.

Nee, V., Sanders, J.M. and Sernau, S. (1994), Job transitions in an immigrantmetropolis ethnic boundaries and the mixed economy, American SociologicalReview, 59(6): 84972.

Nooteboom, B. (2000), Learning and Innovation in Organizations and Economies,Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Obholzer, A. and Roberts, V.Z. (1997), The Unconscious at Work, London and NewYork: Routledge.

Osipow, S.H. and Fitzgerald, L.F. (1996), Theories of Career Development (4th edn).Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

zbilgin, M., Ksk, F. and Erdogmus, N. (2005), Explaining inuences on careerchoice: the case of MBA students in comparative perspective, InternationalJournal of Human Resource Management, 16(11): 2000.

Parsons, F. (1909/1989), Choosing a Vocation, Garrett Park, MD: Garrett ParkPress.

Peavy, R.V. (1997), A constructive framework for career counseling, in T.L. Sextonand B.L. Griin (eds), Constructive Thinking in Counseling Practice, Research andTraining, New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 12240.

Pines, A.M. (2003), Unconscious inuences on career choice: entrepreneur vs.manager, Australian Journal of Career Development, 12(2): 718.

18 Introduction

Pines, A.M., Sadeh, A., Dvir, D. and Yanai, Y.O. (2002), Entrepreneurs and man-agers: similar yet dierent, International Journal of Organizational Analysis,10(2): 17290.

Pines, A.M. and Yae-Yanai, O. (2001), Unconscious determinants of careerchoice and burnout: theoretical model and counseling strategy, Journal ofEmployment Counseling, 38: 17084.

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Introduction 19

PART I

Career Choice of MBA Students fromCross-national and InterdisciplinaryPerspectives

1. Convergence and divergence ofinuences on career choice: acomparative analysis of inuenceson career choices of MBA studentsin China, Ghana, Greece, Israel,Korea, North Cyprus, Turkey andthe UKBarbara P. Dexter, Cynthia Forson, Gzde Inal,Mine Karatas-zkan, Fatma Ksk, MustafaF. zbilgin, Ayala Malach-Pines, Cem Tanovaand Jeongkoo Yoon

INTRODUCTION

The international spread and proliferation of MBA programmes haveattracted scholarly attention to the career choices of MBA students(Simmering and Wilcox, 1995) as well as to individual and organizationalbenets of MBA programmes (Leeming and Baruch, 1998; Simpson,2000). MBA programmes originated in the USA at the beginning of the lastcentury and have spread internationally (Baruch and Peiperl, 2003).

The development of management education and MBA programmes is apart of this expansion, following the aforementioned international trend.However, the research to date has remained largely at a single level, eitherfailing to recognize the situated and embodied nature of career choiceacross time and space or failing to recognize individual choice as relevantdue to on over-emphasis on structural constraints. Exploring cross-national variation in multiple inuences on career choice is the mainpurpose of this chapter. This chapter not only reveals convergence anddivergence of inuences of career choice across national borders, it alsoallows for a reading of individual choice in the context of individual andstructural circumstances.

23

This chapter takes a critical perspective on career choice. It recognizesthe signicance of the context of career choice by exploring the uniquenational, sectoral and cultural dynamics of career choice in each countryunder study. It also examines the contested nature of career choice,reecting on the argument that careers are the products of the interplayand interrelationships between structural constraints such as labourmarket conditions, education paths, family and social formations, legaland economic institutions and variable degrees of agency, which manifestthemselves as dierent forms of capital, individual strategies and psycho-logical dispositions (zbilgin et al., 2005). The micro-level examines themicro-individual inuences on career choice. The intermediateorganiza-tional level is studied through an assessment of institutional contexts andrelational constructs. Finally, the macro-level examines the structuralconsiderations.

INFLUENCES ON CAREER CHOICE: ACONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

We contend that individual choice of career has three distinct attributes. It is(a) contextually situated (Shapero, 1971; Slater, 1980; Bourdieu, 1988;Barret et al., 1996; Bates, 1999; Borooah and Hart, 1999; Procter andPadeld, 1999; Clark and Drinkwater, 2000; Kyriacou and Coulthard, 2000;Simpson, 2000; Baruch, 2004; Wiseman, 2004); (b) relationally formed(Slater, 1980; Bourdieu, 1986; Hallissey et al., 2000); and (c) dynamicallyperformed (Schein, 1978, 1985; Rhodes and Doering, 1983; Bourdieu, 1986,1998; Hakim, 1991, 1996; Sturges et al., 2003; Baruch, 2004).

The contextual situatedness or embeddedness of career choice relates toan understanding of both the endogenous and exogenous inuences on andattributes of education and employment systems that create path depend-encies. Endogenous factors are educational and career structures thatprovide individuals with a xed number of choices of career based on indi-vidual past performance, such as the results of certain educational, as wellas recruitment and selection, tests. Exogenous inuences are the inuencesof the social, economic, political and the general wider context in thecountry or the locality of the individual, leading to dierentiated careerpaths. The endogenous and exogenous factors of contextual situatednessacross the countries that we have studied in this project are markedly diverse.

Baruch and Peiperl (2003) have identied three streams of research per-taining to the possible eects of MBA studies: social identity, performanceand competencies. Social identity theory (Turner, 1975; Tajfel, 1981) dealswith the issues of social comparisons and social identity, both of which

24 Career choice of MBA students

play an important role in the choice and pursuit of a career. Performanceor managerial eectiveness is considered to be the second research stream,focusing on understanding whether and how graduate management edu-cation makes better managers (Dougherty et al., 1993; Finney, 1996;Shoeld, 1996). Competencies are the third stream of research, looking ata combination of candidates skills, abilities and qualities (McClelland,1973; Boyatzis, 1983; Boyatzis and Renio, 1989).

Within career theory, it is generally recognized that career is not astraightforward concept. Increasingly, career is accepted as encompassingmore than just work and job moves, as in Arnolds (1997, p. 16) denitionof career as any sequence of employment-related positions, roles, activitiesand experiences and Watts (1996, p. 7) denition of individual lifelongprogression in learning and work. Most of this literature is on careers ingeneral, rather than specically on management careers, but the seminalwork by Nicholson and West (1988) focused on management careers ofmiddle and senior managers, and highlighted how career patterns hadchanged as the 1980s had progressed. These were mainly attributed toorganizational changes, including restructurings and downsizing, practicesthat continued throughout the 1990s and into the twenty-rst century. Otherpertinent factors include: changes in employment patterns to include moreoutsourcing, part-time and short-term contracts (Arnold, 1997; Cappelli,1999); more temporary and agency workers (Mallon and Duberley, 2000;Peters, 2000); including contract work for previous employers; a move frompaternalism to independence (Bagshaw, 1997); an ethos of lifelong learning(Herriot et al., 1998; Watts, 1999) and a focus on employability (Kanter,1989); more, smaller rms and an increase in self-employment (Watts, 1996);a move to more knowledge-based work, where people handle data, notthings (Drucker, 1992); privatization of previously public jobs (Handy,1994); a reduced work ethic, alongside a debate on worklife balances(Schein, 1978; Handy, 1998) and a call for a more holistic, spiritualapproach (Handy, 1998); a high number of people holding more than onejob, especially part-time jobs (Arnold, 1997).

Choosing a career is viewed as a part of the developmental process thatone follows by going through various cycles of opting among variouscareer paths (Kniveton, 2004). Modern career models devised to embracethis new arena for careers reect a plethora of metaphors, such as protean(Hall, 1976), portfolio (Handy, 1989) and boundaryless (DeFilippi andArthur, 1994). Measures of success in careers have also changed. The liter-ature suggests that there is a move away from the objective, external mea-sures of success, with the emphasis on titles, money and status, to moreinternal, intrinsic measures, with the emphasis on fullment and worklifebalance (Herriot, 1992; Arthur et al., 1999). However, a contrary view is

Convergence and divergence of inuences on career choice 25

oered by research in the UK and USA which showed that traditionalupward mobility within their organizational hierarchy was still the keymeasure of success for many individuals (e.g. Cappelli, 1999; Mallon, 1999;Holbeche, 2000a, 2000b). Many MBA programmes are marketed on thebasis of helping individuals with such career progression. The link betweenmanagement development programmes and performance is a tenuous oneand notoriously dicult to evidence (see Blackler and Kennedy, 2004;Dexter et al., 2006), but faith-based decisions often prevail (CEML, 2002;Dexter et al., 2005).

Relationality is an important aspect of career choices. Our form of rela-tionality takes four dierent forms: (1) relationality of the individual withhim or herself, i.e. the inner dialogue in terms of career aspirations, moti-vations and ultimately choices; (2) relationality between the individual andhis or her circumstances that are external to his or her institution of edu-cation and employment; (3) relationality between the individual and theorganizational settings; and (4) relationality between the individual, his orher inner dialogue, and those circumstances of exogenous and endogenousnature. Whilst most studies of career choice have examined the subjecteither from the agentic perspective of the rst form of relationality orthrough the lens of structural considerations of career opportunities andconstraints, the nal form of relationality, which considers relationality inthe context of agentic and structural inuences without reducing one to theother, is our preferred approach to relationality in this chapter.

The third aspect of career choice is dynamic performance. This aspecthosts the agentic perspective of careers which includes individual aspira-tions, likes, dislikes as well as choices that are unconstrained by externalinuences. Whilst this aspect of career choice assumes absence of contex-tual constraints, the situated context aspect focuses solely on the structuralconstraints, ignoring the agentic processes of choosing at the level of indi-vidual. The three-pronged approach adopted here allows for a reading ofcareer choice as a phenomenon that resides in the individual and structuraldomain, as well as in the space between the two domains as a relationalphenomenon.

METHODS

The study examined 21 dierent inuences on career choice (zbilginet al., 2005) in eight countries. These inuences are identied through aliterature review (Table 1.1). The statements in the career choice scalewere tested in an earlier study with a dierent data set (zbilgin et al.,2005). In order to identify dierences between countries, multivariate and



Table 1.1 Outlines three aspects of career choice with the respective itemsused in this study and their academic sources

Inuences on career choice Source

Exogenous contextual situatednessChance, luck and/or fate Wiseman (2004); Baruch (2004)Career choices are/were inuenced by Simpson (2000); Procter and

own sex Padeld (1999); Slater (1980)Career choices are/were inuenced by Slater (1980); zbilgin (1998)

own ethnicityCareer choices are/were inuenced by Slater (1980); zbilgin (1998)

own ageCareer choices are/were inuenced by Slater (1980); Bourdieu (1998)

own background

Endogenous contextual situatedness

Ease of access to career of own choice Shapero (1971); Bates (1999);Borooah and Hart (1999);Kyracou and Coulthart (2000);Clark and Drinkwater (2000);Barret et al. (1996);Slater (1980)

Lack of access to other career options Shapero (1971); Bates (1999);Kyracou and Coulthart (2000);Clark and Drinkwater (2000);Slater (1980)

Quality of life associated with career of Hallissey et al. (2000);own choice Baruch (2004)

Flexibility associated with career of Hallissey et al. (2000)own choice

Autonomy associated with career of Hallissey et al. (2000)own choice

Development opportunities associated Hallissey et al. (2000);with career of own choice Schein (1985)

Promotion opportunities associated with Hallissey et al. (2000)career of own choice

Training and education opportunities in Hallissey et al. (2000)career of own choice

Superior nancial rewards in career Hallissey et al. (2000)of own choice

Relational formation

Own acquaintances, friends and/or family Slater (1980); Bourdieu (1986, 1998)Own nancial and economic conditions Bourdieu (1986, 1998)Love of career of own choice Hallissey et al. (2000)

univariate analyses are performed. The strength of the survey tool and theapproach taken resides in the interdisciplinary and heterodox nature of theconceptual approach, paying particular attention to the intertwined natureof micro-, meso- and macro-level inuences. The relational approach(Kyriakidou and zbilgin, 2006) to careers that the chapter describesborrows elements from social constructionist, critical realist (Layder, 1993)and postmodernist approaches, as it recognizes career choice as an indi-vidual experience that is unique to each individual, with multilayeredinuences ranging from micro-psychological to macro-structural, and asan embodied phenomenon that has a socially, culturally and historicallyascribed meaning.

RESULTS

The distributive characteristics of the project participants in dierent coun-tries are diverse across both personal characteristics such as sex, age andmarital status (see Table 1.2), as well as in terms of their organizational statusand position (see Table 1.3). Absence of national statistics on MBA studentsand their distributive proles frustrates any attempt at drawing conclusionsregarding representativeness of our samples. Nevertheless, the demographicattributes of the survey participants may explain some of the national idio-syncrasies that emerge in the analysis of questionnaire responses.

Chinese, Ghanaian, Korean and Turkish respondents were predominantlymale, and women constituted the majority of Israeli and Greek respondents.


Table 1.1 (continued)

Inuences on career choice Source

Dynamic performance

Own knowledge of labour and/or career Schein (1978, 1985); Baruch market (2004); Bourdieu (1986, 1998)

Own education and training Hakim (1991, 1996); Bourdieu (1986, 1998); Sturges et al. (2003);Rhodes and Doering (1983)

Own skills, competences and abilities Baruch and Peiperl (2003);Schein (1978, 1985);Bourdieu (1986, 1998)

Free choice in making own career Slater (1980); Hakim (1991,decisions 1996); Bourdieu (1998)

Source: zbilgin et al. (2005).

The predominance of women in the Israeli sample can be explained by thefact that management education has become the major gateway for Israeliwomen into a career in management, whereas military service provides thisfunction for Israeli men. The predominance of men in the Korean samplecan be explained by the mean age of the participant group. The mean age forthe Korean respondents was 41. This is the oldest group across ve countries.It is reasonable to expect male domination in older generation groups asincreased female access to higher education and managerial ranks inter-nationally has been a phenomenon of the last three decades. These data are


Table 1.2 General characteristics of Sample 1

China Ghana Greece Israel Korea Turkey Total

SexMalea 79 22 39 39 123 69 371

64.2 71 38.6 39 93.9 59.5 61.6Femalea 44 9 62 61 8 47 231

35.8 29 61.4 61 6.1 40.5 38.4Missing 3 0 1 1 0 0 5

AgeMean 28.92 35.52 27.36 32.85 41.20 23.46 31.28Median 28 33 27 30 42 23 28Mode 28 29b 25 25b 37b 23 25b

Std deviation 2.89 7.81 3.57 8.21 6.54 1.79 8.15Min. 23 25 24 23 25 21 21Max. 36 54 46 60 60 35 60

Marital statusSinglea 65 10 102 42 17 113 349

51.6 32.3 100 43.3 13.2 97.4 58.1Marrieda 60 21 44 110 2 237

47.6 67.7 45.4 85.3 1.7 39.4Separateda 1 1 2

1 0.8 0.3Divorceda 8 1 1 10

8.2 0.8 0.9 1.7Widoweda 1 2 3

0.8 2.1 0.5Missing 0 0 0 4 2 0 6

Total frequencies 126 31 102 101 131 116 607

Notes:a First row shows frequency; second row shows percentage within nationality.b Multiple modes exist. The smallest value is shown.

also consistent with the rate of female managerial and administrative posi-tions in Korea documented by the Human Development Report (UNDP,2006). Turkey had the youngest cohort of respondents in the survey. This isin line with its young population. Turkey has the youngest population incomparison with other survey participants. Unsurprisingly, due to theiryouth, the Greek and the Turkish respondents were mostly single, whilst theKorean respondents were predominantly married and the Israeli respon-dents whose age was in the middle between Ghana and Turkey were abouthalf single and about half married (see Table 1.2).

The current job status of the sample participants is also congruent withthe age proles of respondents. In comparison with Greek and Turkish




Current job statusNo paid work 10 3 36 50 99

experiencea 8 9.7 35.3 43.9 16.7Experience of paid 37 7 38 14 32 128

work but now 29.6 22.6 37.3 14.7 28.1 21.6I am unemployeda

Currently doing paid 78 21 28 81 126 32 366worka 62.4 67.7 27.5 85.3 100 28.1 61.7

Missing 1 0 0 6 5 2 14

Career goalManagementa 23 11 22 47 25 36 164

18.9 35.5 21.6 54.7 19.2 31.9 28.1Own your own 30 14 21 4 24 41 134

businessa 24.6 45.2 20.6 4.7 18.5 36.3 22.9Entrepreneurshipa 26 2 18 4 14 5 69

21.3 6.5 17.6 4.7 10.8 4.4 11.8Career advancementa 33 4 37 13 50 26 163

27 12.9 36.3 15.1 38.5 23 27.9Changea 8 4 1 8 21

6.6 3.9 1.2 6.2 3.6Othera 2 17 9 5 33

1.6 19.8 6.9 4.4 5.7

Missing 4 0 0 15 1 3 23

Total 126 31 102 101 131 116 607

Note: a First row shows frequency; second row shows percentage within nationality.

respondents, the respondents from other countries were more likely to haveemployment experience and to be currently working. For example, allIsraeli respondents had some paid work experience, and almost all (over85 per cent) were currently doing paid work.

Whilst for the Chinese, Korean and Greek respondents the main careergoal was advancement, for the Ghanaians and Turkish it was setting uptheir own business, for Israelis, managerial career was the main goal(a nding that corresponds with the higher rate of women in this sample,women who believe that an MBA will open career options in managementfor them; see Table 1.3). Setting up ones own business in Ghana, as in manyother developing countries, is a primary career goal even among the well-qualied (Baryeh et al., 2000). This can be explained in terms of the generalknowledge and experience of declining waged employment due to struc-tural adjustments in the public sector and an insuciently mature privatesector (Killick, forthcoming) and low formal sector (public and private)wages (Xiao and Canagarajah, 2002), which are often inadequate to sustainthose in paid employment.

Chinese, Ghanaians, Koreans and Israelis were predominantly white-collar professionals; Greek and Turkish respondents were mostly students.In terms of fathers occupation, Chinese respondents fathers were mainlyblue-collar workers, Ghanaian, Israeli, Turkish and Greek respondentsfathers were of white-collar professions. Mothers occupational statusvaried more extensively. For Turks, the main response was the other cat-egory. This suggests that the occupational status list had a serious omission.For Chinese, Israeli, Greek and Ghanaian students, white-collar work wasthe main category for mothers occupational status. What seems mostsignicant, however, is that in all groups the majority of mothers had paidwork except for Koreans (see Table 1.4). For Korean students, the mainmothers occupational status was housewife.

The majority of the Ghanaian and Korean and half of the Chinese stu-dents were self-funding their MBA studies. While self-funding was the pre-dominant source for Greek and Israeli students, they also drew on othersources. For Turkish students, parents were the key source of funding. Thismakes sense in context of their youth (see Table 1.5).

When compared to key inuences on career choices of MBA studentsfrom Greece, Israel and Turkey (zbilgin et al., 2005), China, Ghana andKorea appear divergent. The Ghanaians endogenous contextual situated-ness factors of development, and training and education opportunities,may be accounted for in the context of the low wages in their labour marketwhere training and development opportunities may be the only substan-tial reward individuals have access to (Akyeampong and Stevens, 2002).Table 1.6 shows average scores for each statement.





Occupational statusWhite-collar/ 66 17 28 49 66 35 261

professionala 55.5 56.7 27.7 53.3 50.8 33 45.2Blue-collar/technicala 12 2 34 48

10.1 6.7 26.2 8.3Pink-collar/servicesa 6 2 1 20 20 2 51

5 6.7 1 21.7 15.4 1.9 8.8Studenta 29 9 71 15 63 187

24.4 30 70.3 16.3 59.4 32.4Othera 6 1 8 10 6 31

5 1 8.7 7.7 5.7 5.4Missing 7 1 1 9 1 10 29

Fathers occupational statusWhite-collar/ 32 14 55 45 34 47 227

professionala 27.8 45.2 55 52.3 26.2 40.9 39.3Blue-collar/technicala 38 3 7 19 19 6 92

33 9.7 7 22.1 14.6 5.2 15.9Pink-collar/servicesa 5 4 27 13 3 3 55

4.3 12.9 27 15.1 2.3 2.6 9.5Studenta 12 9 9 5 28 35 98

10.4 29 9 5.8 21.5 30.4 17Houseworka 5 1 3 5 9 23

4.3 3.2 3.5 3.8 7.8 4Retireea 1 2 5 1 9

0.9 2 3.8 0.9 1.6Othera 22 1 36 14 73

19.1 1.2 27.7 12.2 12.7Missing 11 0 2 15 1 1 30

Mothers occupational statusWhite-collar/ 38 11 46 29 4 44 172

professionala 31.1 35.5 45.1 34.9 3.1 40 29.8Blue-collar/technicala 36 4 6 3 2 51

29.5 3.9 7.2 2.3 1.8 8.8Pink-collar/servicesa 9 2 22 22 5 9 69

7.4 6.5 21.6 26.5 3.8 8.2 11.9Studenta 8 11 2 2 14 6 43

6.6 35.5 2 2.4 10.8 5.5 7.4Houseworka 4 1 4 1 104 1 11

3.3 3.2 3.9 1.2 80 0.9 1.9Retireea 1 1 2

0.8 3.2 0.3

Table 1.7 shows the top and bottom ve mean scores across all state-ments and six countries. It is interesting to note endogenous contextualsituatedness, relational formation and dynamic performance. Exogenouscontextual situatedness does not feature in the top ve ranking any of thesample countries. On the contrary, exogenous contextual situatednessstatements are a common feature of the bottom ve means across all state-ments. In the case of China, Korea and Turkey, a few endogenous contex-tual situatedness statements appear in the bottom ve means.

With the exception of China and Korea, superior nancial rewards inchoice of career does not feature as a signicant inuence on career choice.




Othera 26 5 24 23 48 23021.3 16.1 23.5 27.7 43.6 39.8

Missing 4 0 0 18 1 6 29

Total 126 31 102 101 131 116 607




Funding for MBA studySelf 61 20 45 39 91 15 271

50 66.7 44.1 40.6 70.5 12.9 45.5Parents 14 2 29 6 76 127

11.5 6.7 28.4 6.3 65.5 21.3Work 8 2 12 17 5 44

6.6 6.7 12.5 13.2 4.3 7.4Self and parents 28 1 28 14 2 12 85

23 3.3 27.5 14.6 1.6 10.3 14.3Self and work 10 4 14 18 46

8.2 13.3 14.6 14 7.7Other 1 1 11 1 8 22

0.8 3.3 11.5 0.8 6.9 3.7Missing 1 1 11 1 8 22

Total 126 31 102 101 131 116 607



Table 1.6 Average scores for each statement

Meana Total

China Ghana Greece Israel Korea Turkey

Contextual situatedness: exogenousCareer choices are/ 4.41 3.35 3.02 3.68 4.13 5.17 4.08

were inuenced byown background

Chance, luck and/ 4.07 2.65 2.95 3.83 4.43 4.45 3.92or fate

Career choices are/ 4.24 2.19 2.41 3.06 3.89 4.14 3.53were inuenced by own age

Career choices are/ 3.87 2.13 2.58 3.26 3.34 3.79 3.33were inuenced byown sex

Career choices are/ 3.04 1.58 1.70 2.06 3.01 3.11 2.58were inuenced byown ethnicityb

Contextual situatedness: endogenousDevelopment 5.66 6.13 5.21 6.24 5.76 6.25 5.83

opportunities associated with career of own choice

Promotion 5.38 5.74 5.20 6.19 5.39 6.26 5.67opportunities associated withcareer of own choice

Training and 5.45 6.10 4.95 5.95 5.27 6.06 5.56education opportunities in career of own choice

Quality of life 5.29 5.68 4.75 5.74 5.42 6.29 5.51associated with career of own choice

Superior nancial 5.68 5.42 4.66 5.67 5.51 5.77 5.47rewards in career of own choice

Autonomy associated 4.61 5.03 4.69 5.69 5.43 5.61 5.19with career of own choice

Across all six countries, it is interesting to note that a combination of indi-vidual love of career, skills, competencies and work-related opportunitiesare cited as important inuences.

What appears to be strongly evident across all countries is the fact that rela-tional formation and dynamic performance factors, rather than exogenous or



Meana Total

China Ghana Greece Israel Korea Turkey

Flexibility associated 4.93 5.87 4.45 5.45 5.18 5.59 5.16with career of own choice

Ease of access to 4.17 4.26 3.82 4.75 3.83 4.36 4.18career of ownchoice

Lack of access to 3.97 3.58 3.44 4.35 3.72 3.65 3.81other career options

Relational formationLove of career of 5.38 5.32 4.99 5.99 5.88 6.38 5.71

own choiceOwn nancial and 4.75 4.84 4.66 5.65 5.16 5.26 5.07

economic conditionOwn acquaintances, 4.64 4.10 4.16 5.12 4.37 5.47 4.71

friends and/or family

Dynamic performanceOwn skills, 5.63 6.55 5.40 6.41 6.04 6.65 6.05

competences and abilities

Own education and 5.33 6.23 5.15 6.13 5.70 6.49 5.78training

Own knowledge of 5.02 5.03 4.34 5.31 5.22 6.04 5.19labour and/or career market

Free choice in making 4.60 6.39 4.37 5.33 4.31 6.29 5.03own career decisions

Notes:a All statements were measured by a 17 strongly disagreestrongly agree Likert scale and

the mean indicates the selected frequency by each group for the acceptance of thestatements (variables).

b For Koreans, the term ethnicity in question number 18 was replaced with familial clanto take into account that Korea is a homogeneous ethnic society.


Table 1.7 Top ve and bottom ve mean scores across all statements andsix countries

Top ve Bottom ve

Items Mean Items Mean

China Superior nancial rewards 5.68 Career choices are/were 3.04in career of own choicec inuenced by own ethnicityb

Development opportunities 5.66 Career choices are/were 3.87associated with career of inuenced by own sexb

own choicec

Own skills, competences 5.63 Lack of access to other 3.97and abilitiesa career optionsc

Training and education 5.45 Chance, luck and/or fateb 4.07opportunities incareer of own choicec

Love of career of own 5.38 Ease of access to career of 4.17choiced own choicec

Ghana Own skills, competences 6.55 Career choices are/were 1.58and abilitiesa inuenced by own ethnicityb

Free choice in making 6.39 Career choices are/were 2.13own career decisionsa inuenced by own sexb

Own education and traininga 6.23 Career choices are/were 2.19inuenced by own ageb

Development opportunities 6.13 Chance, luck and/or fateb 2.65associated with career of own choicec

Training and education 6.1 Career choices are/were 3.35opportunities in inuenced by owncareer of own choicec backgroundb

Greece Own skills, competences 5.4 Career choices are/were 1.7and abilitiesa inuenced by own ethnicityb

Development opportunities 5.21 Career choices are/were 2.41associated with career of inuenced by own ageb

own choicec

Promotion opportunities 5.2 Career choices are/were 2.58associated with career inuenced by own sexb

of own choicec

Own education and traininga 5.15 Chance, luck and/or fateb 2.95Love of career of own 4.99 Career choices are/were 3.02

choiced inuenced by own backgroundb

Israel Own skills, competences 6.41 Career choices are/were 3.11and abilitiesa inuenced by own ethnicityb

Development opportunities 6.24 Career choices are/were 4.14associated with career of inuenced by own ageb

own choicec

endogenous contextual situatedness factors, are reported to explain careerchoices of the respondents. This is con

Career Choice in Management and Entrepreneurship

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