Explaining influences on career 'choice': the case of MBA students in comparative perspective

Ozbilgin M., Kusku F., Erdogmus N.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, cilt.16, sa.11, ss.2000-2028, 2005 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 11
  • Basım Tarihi: 2005
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/09585190500314797
  • Dergi Adı: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.2000-2028
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: career choice, MBA, cross-national study, Britain, Israel, Turkey, HUMAN-RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, ISSUES
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

This study explores the micro-individual, meso-institutional and relational and macro-structural level influences on career choices of MBA students from three countries, questioning the apparent dominance of 'free choice' in the context of persistent forms of structural constraints in career markets. The paper takes a critical perspective on career 'choice' acknowledging the contested nature of 'choice' and identifying career as a socially and historically situated phenomenon. The central hypothesis of the study is that 'it is more likely for the MBA students to report micro-agentic or meso-instutional and relational rather than macro-structural conditions as key influences on their career choices'. The study draws on the findings of a cross-national survey on careers involving Britain, Israel and Turkey. Findings show that MBA students consider the impact of structural conditions as less significant on their career choices than their own human capital and capacity to make free choices. The study provides an understanding of the main cross-national similarities and differences in reporting of influences on career 'choice'. and brings to bare interesting theoretical and methodological insights.