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Bounded or boundaryless? An empirical investigation of career boundaries and boundary crossing

Author

Listed:
  • Ricardo Rodrigues

    (Kingston Business School, UK)

  • David Guest

    (King’s College London, UK)

  • Alexandra Budjanovcanin

    (King’s College London, UK)

Abstract

The article argues that the long-running debate between organizationally bounded and boundaryless careers has been too narrow and neglects the variety and distinctive characteristics of career boundaries. Drawing on boundary theory, it investigates the main career-relevant domains and boundaries, and the motivations and structural conditions that influence boundary crossing or having a career within a specific domain among a sample of professional pharmacists. The qualitative study shows that careers are enacted within a number of relevant domains and are shaped by a range of boundaries such that boundarylessness and embeddedness are co-existing career dimensions. It also reveals how even within a professional population careers are embedded within diverse social and cultural contexts that impose differing constraints on career mobility. The article therefore provides a fuller, more nuanced understanding of career boundaries and contemporary careers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ricardo Rodrigues & David Guest & Alexandra Budjanovcanin, 2016. "Bounded or boundaryless? An empirical investigation of career boundaries and boundary crossing," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 30(4), pages 669-686, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:30:y:2016:i:4:p:669-686
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017015570726
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Gill Kirton, 2009. "Career plans and aspirations of recent black and minority ethnic business graduates," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(1), pages 12-29, March.
    3. Katharine G. Abraham & James R. Spletzer & Michael Harper, 2010. "Labor in the New Economy," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abra08-1.
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