Academics career success: the impact of organizational context and individual variables

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to address a paucity of research into career success by exploring the impact of organizational context (“in-group” culture and the competitiveness strategy) and individual variables (self-efficacy and goal orientation), on objective career success (academic position) and subjective career success (career satisfaction). Design/methodology/approach Survey data were obtained from 447 faculty members employed by Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU), the best-ranked Romanian higher education institution. For analysis, hierarchical multiple regressions analyzes were used. Findings The novel results of this quantitative analysis are that organizational context variables influence both subjective career success and objective career success. Academics who do not attain promotion have lower subjective career success and objective career success, as a result of the publish or perish university strategy. Self-efficacy has a positive impact on both success types, while goal orientation is for subjective career success a weak predictor. Practical implications Organizational efforts should be focused on improving academics career development especially for those teachers who are in the current position already for many years. The development of performance-driven career paths should be also considered for diminishing the impact of organizational variables. Originality/value This paper extends the knowledge concerning objective and subjective career success by revealing the important impact of contextual determinants, as it confirms the impact of individual self-efficacy in a university context and partially the one of goal orientation.

The Effects of Demographic Factors on Professional Career Success: An Investigation of Higher Education Staff in South Africa

“…Moreover, Alzyoud (2017) observes that past research on PCS has been in the Western context. Crisan (2021) underscores that academic career studies have primarily been researched in Western contexts, where faculty performance in terms of knowledge generation and dissemination is guided by the 'publish or perish' paradigm. Nonetheless, both in Western and African environments, there is a consensus that academic PCS research is still regarded as an under-researched field (Santos, 2016;Van der Klink et al, 2014).…”

“…While it has become crucial for academics to have a long-lasting career, doing so has become increasingly difficult because of changes in both their work environment and content (Van der Heijden et al, 2022). One of the primary changes in this environment is the increasing pressure to meet institutional demands and expectations (Crisan, 2021). Hence, HEIs have become more focused on measurable outcomes and productivity, often prioritising quantity over quality.…”

“…This shift has led to a greater emphasis on publishing research articles, securing grants, and obtaining external funding. Academics are compelled to allocate a significant amount of their time to these activities, often at the expense of other essential aspects of their work (teaching and mentoring students) (Crisan, 2021). As a result, Van Balena et al (2012) posit that one of the main criticisms of existing research on academic PCS is that they tend to focus on identifying and addressing barriers that may hinder PCS, neglecting the factors that contribute to PCS.…”

“…The new knowledge economy, which is the result of developments in HE over the past 25 years, has had an impact on how HEIs operate and how academic PCS is measured (Obers, 2014). Likewise, Crisan (2021) echoes that the HEI has evolved over the past few decades in line with trends that previously dominated industry, such as collaboration, competition, massification, internationalisation, and/or globalisation. Over the past 25 years, the advancements in the HE sector have led to a shift from objective measures to subjective ones when assessing PCS.…”

“…As a result, gender is considered because based on the literature, women academics have lower chances of receiving tenure and face greater obstacles and discrimination to succeed in their careers (Ooms et al, 2019;Santos, 2016;Afiouni and Karam, 2014). Moreover, Crisan (2021) and Santos (2016) argue that the pressure younger academics experience to publish demonstrates that age is another crucial factor in determining PCS.…”