PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine how employees in different generational groups (or cohorts) and different career stages perceive their psychological contracts.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 345 working adults included psychological contract obligations, incentives and importance and the cognitive responses of job satisfaction, affective commitment and intention to leave. Super's “Adult career concerns inventory” measured career stage.FindingsSmall but significant differences between individuals' psychological contract perceptions were based on both career stage and generational cohort: higher levels of balanced obligations and fulfilment were found than either relational or transactional obligations and fulfilment; relational and transactional obligations were significantly higher for Baby Boomers than Generation Xers; a stronger negative relationship was found between transactional fulfilment and intention to leave for Generation Xers than Generation Yers; higher balanced fulfilment had a significantly stronger positive relationship with job satisfaction for exploration compared with other career stages and commitment for exploration compared with maintenance stages.Research limitations/implicationsCross‐section methodology and difference scores in the female‐dominated sample limits generalisability. The study's key theoretical contribution is the need to further investigate whether the protean career concept is operating within employees' perceptions of their psychological contractual terms.Originality/valueDespite widespread colloquial use of generational cohort groupings such as Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y, small effect sizes were found. Implications for employers looking to manage employees' psychological contracts include that there are greater similarities than differences between the different career stages and generational cohorts.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in management is still in its infancy. Several studies suggest that managers in businesses and other organizations do not consult the scientific evidence when making decisions. To facilitate its uptake, we need to better understand practitioner attitudes and perceived barriers related to EBP. In medicine and nursing, an abundance of research exists on this subject, although such studies are rare in management. To address this gap, we surveyed 2,789 management practitioners in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Our findings indicate that most managers we studied have positive attitudes towards EBP. However, lack of time and a limited understanding of scientific research are perceived as major barriers to the uptake and implementation of EBP in management. Studies in other professions where EBP is far more established also report similar barriers. We discuss the implications of our findings for practice, education and research, providing suggestions to enhance use of EBP in management practice.

University business schools are increasingly adopting an international outlook as they compete for students who are aiming for global careers. A natural consequence of university internationalization is the need to internationalize the academic workforce, resulting in increasing attention on, and recognition for, the academic with international teaching and research experience. Yet the effort and complexity involved in making an international academic transition is often overlooked. Academic institutions' efforts to recruit international academics often outpace their expertise and support in the inpatriation and orientation processes. Academics interested in international mobility may find it difficult to obtain helpful information prior to arrival in the new country and encounter problems in adjusting to their new job and surroundings. This paper presents personal experiences of a select group of academics who have moved between countries. Their reports illustrate differences in teaching loads, language, student behavior, recruitment and career-ladder issues across countries, as well as strategies they have used to adapt to their new surroundings.

This study examined the direct effect of individual career concerns on career and employer change intention, as well as the buffering influence of organisational commitment on this relationship, based on the AMO model of behavioural change intention. Survey data, collected from 341 employees across industry sectors in Australia, showed that 'exploration' concerns related positively to both employer and career change intentions; the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention was buffered by affective commitment, however, and reinforced by normative commitment. 'Establishment' concerns related negatively to career change intention, and this effect was also buffered by level of affective commitment. The results point towards the distinct nature of employer and career change, and prompt calls for further research on the interplay of the myriad of factors that influence boundary-crossing career behaviour.Crown

Purpose -This paper aims to widen knowledge of and explore how convergent interviewing can be used to identify key issues within an organization. Design/methodology/approach -This paper introduces the convergent interviewing technique and describes the method of selecting the interview subjects. The construction of a round of interviews is explained. The content of the interviews is described and the particular probing nature of the questions demanded by the convergent interview process is explained. The ways to analyze the full set of interviews for groupings or categories is also described. The case study example of a broad research question about influences on work behaviors in a local government council is used to illustrate the convergent interviewing technique. Findings -The key issues revealed by using the technique can be subsequently used for a variety of research and consulting purposes and settings. Convergent interviewing is an effective research method, which conserves resources. Originality/value -Convergent interviewing enables researchers to determine the most important and/or key issues within a population rather than a full list of issues in an organization or barriers to change in a particular organizational context.