Advances in Career Theory and Research: A Critical Review and Agenda for Future Exploration

Social media—computer-mediated tools of the Web 2.0 generation that make it possible for anyone to create, circulate, share, and exchange information in a variety of formats and with multiple communities—have become increasingly widespread in today’s organizations. Social media have started to affect multiple organizational phenomena and processes. This article pursues three interrelated goals. First, it provides a theoretical framework, based upon the concept of affordances, to theorize the potential implications of social media use for organizing. Second, it reviews existing scholarship on social media and organizing, highlighting social media diffusion, use, and implications for organizational processes of communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. Third, it relies upon the affordance perspective and existing scholarship to articulate an agenda for future research on social media and organizing, advocating for a diversification of the phenomena under study and for greater diversity and innovativeness in the methodological approaches devised to investigate these phenomena.

Social Media and Their Affordances for Organizing: A Review and Agenda for Research

This article proposes a perspective on careers that recognizes the interdependencies between work and home over the life course and is particularly suitable to contemporary careers. We first discuss the meaning of a work–home (WH) perspective and elaborate on the economic, organizational, and workforce changes that have affected contemporary careers. We then illustrate the implications of adopting a WH perspective for four streams of scholarship relevant to contemporary careers (career self-management, career success, global careers, and sustainable careers), suggest directions for future research in each area, and discuss the practical implications of adopting a WH perspective. We conclude that contemporary careers can be better understood by considering how employees’ home lives influence and are influenced by career processes and that the adoption of a WH perspective requires understanding the role of gender norms in prescribing and sanctioning women’s and men’s participation in the work and home domai...

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091324

The Contemporary Career: A Work–Home Perspective

The protean career concept is a widely acknowledged contemporary career model, but conceptual and empirical analysis of the model is scarce. We provide an integrative literature review of empirical research and note that the research is hampered by inconsistent use of terminology and methodological limitations. First, we show that the two protean metacompetencies-adaptability and identity-have been relatively neglected as the research has evolved. Second, we describe how preexisting protean measures are limited in covering the full range of the concept. Finally, we draw on career theory to suggest four conceptual components as a basis for future model development and offer suggestions for research that tests the utility of the protean career concept in relation to other similar constructs. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

/pdf/reassessing-the-protean-career-concept-empirical-findings-2i7vdx4gv9.pdf

Reassessing the protean career concept: Empirical findings, conceptual components, and measurement

Coping with an insecure employment environment: The differing roles of protean and boundaryless career orientations

Protean and Boundaryless Careers: A Study on Potential Motivators.

With the ubiquity of social media in all aspects of daily life, research interest in the topic has been on the rise. Within the existing body of research on these tools, part of the literature focuses on the use of social technologies by employees. This article employs a systematic literature review methodology, with the objective of identifying the main methodologies and themes of research on employees' usage of social technologies. A total of 66 articles were included in this review, covering five major research themes, that is, legal aspects and policies, human resources management, knowledge management and sharing, learning, and communication. In terms of methodological choices, research on the use of social technologies by employees is found to be fragmented and in need of further quantitative studies, mixed-methods approaches, and theory-based research. Suggestions for future research are provided based on both thematic and methodological considerations.

Employees' use of social media technologies: a methodological and thematic review

We offer a theoretical coaching cube that helps to structure and understand the coaching industry. The three dimensions of the cube refer to (1) coaching agendas (what); (2) coaches' characteristics (who); and (3) coaching approaches/schools (how). Each dimension is described by discussing the academic literature surrounding it. Using an economic and psychological perspective, we explore which combinations of these three dimensions are more likely to be observed in the business world. Next, we present three studies from Belgium that empirically explore the existence of the different combinations. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications of the coaching cube. © 2011 Academy of Management Learning & Education.

Structuring and Understanding the Coaching Industry: The Coaching Cube

‘Social media’ has become a widely used term, and the subject of a growing body of academic research, but with little definitional consensus. The purpose of this article is to answer the question: what are social media? We examined existing scholarly definitions of the term ‘social media’ through a Lasswellian lens, by applying directed content analysis to a sample of 23 academic definitions retrieved from the top 179 cited papers on social media in the Web of Knowledge database. The present study makes two main contributions to the theorization of social media. First, we build on previous academic efforts to suggest an inclusive definition of social media based on Lasswell’s act of communication. Second, using the suggested definition, we categorize social media channels based on three dimensions, that is, user, content format and function. This taxonomy is illustrated by presenting a social media cube that aims to help practitioners, managers, researchers and developers to both classify existing social ...

Social Media Conceptualization and Taxonomy: A Lasswellian Framework

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to explore how public cultural organizations use ambidextrous design to balance exploitation and exploration given their organizational structure that mainly stimulates exploitation.




Design/methodology/approach




The authors use an abductive methodology and, perform an in-depth comparative case study. The data sample consists of two Belgian public cultural centers located in the Flemish area. In all, 21 semi-structured interviews where analyzed using Nvivo.




Findings




Results show, first, that although both cases have the same formal organization chart, their informal structure differs. Second, both cases have a different point of view toward exploitation and exploration. Third, no “pure” ambidextrous designs were found. Finally, the paper formulates theoretical propositions for ambidexterity and public sector research.




Research limitations/implications




Limitations of this paper are threefold. First, the authors only compared two cases, so generalization of the findings is limited. Second, although the authors managed to make contributions to ambidexterity and public sector research, theory building is not finished. Finally, researchers have to improve empirical evidence focusing on which design elements lead toward ambidextrous public organizations.




Originality/value




This paper makes a threefold contribution to ambidexterity literature and public sector research. First, the focus on public sector organizations is a rarely taken approach in ambidexterity research. Second, the specific use of ambidextrous design attributes to the limited public sector research that has focused on ambidexterity. Third, the focus on small organizations with limited resources is a rarely taken focus in ambidexterity and public sector research.

Erik Henderickx

Papers

Protean and Boundaryless Careers: A Study on Potential Motivators.

Employees' use of social media technologies: a methodological and thematic review

Structuring and Understanding the Coaching Industry: The Coaching Cube

Social Media Conceptualization and Taxonomy: A Lasswellian Framework

Ambidextrous design and public organizations: a comparative case study