Career Resourcing and the Process of Professional Emergence

Abstract

We theorize a career resourcing process that explains how individuals can create a new profession. Using historical archives, we trace the emergence of health services research as a new research profession through the career actions of early practitioners. We find that career resourcing can lead to the institutionalization of a new profession by: 1) a process of accretion, where people pursuing fulfilling careers generate resources that contribute to institutionalization, or 2) institutional work to deliberately build the professional community and infrastructure. We contribute to research on institutional change by specifying career actions that can lead to the institutionalization of a new profession, and by developing theory that accounts for the motivations and the means of individuals to act in ways that result in the institutionalization of a new profession.

Happily retired! A consensual qualitative research to elaborate theory on resources' categorization, processes and caravans for successful retirement adjustment

“…Indeed, it is unclear whether some resources may be perceived as more important for retirement adjustment than others-and may be so within specific combinations. By clarifying this, the present study not only contributes to the broader literature on the implications of resource caravans for psychological well-being (Hobfoll, 2014) and careers (Nigam & Dokko, 2019) but also to the successful ageing outcome of retirement adjustment (Sarandopoulos & Bordia, 2022).…”

Designing and Aligning Interprofessional Relations: Third-party ties and partnership formation in the silk industry of 18th-century Lyon

“…In an evolving field, incumbent professionals have a vested stake in maintaining their dominance and jurisdiction among related professions (Abbott, 1991). New occupations, often associated with new technologies and skills, emerge outside an established field (Fayard, Stigliani, & Bechky, 2017), acting as entrepreneurs, freelancers, or independent workers, and seek resources and legitimacy through partnering with established organizational professionals (Nigam & Dokko, 2018). For incumbent professionals, coalitions with new yet interdependent occupational entrepreneurs provide access to fresh ideas, proximity to potentially disruptive innovations and linkages to diverse knowledge pools required for survival (Eisenhardt & Schoonhoven, 1996).…”

Health Care Research and Organization Theory

“…Two articles in our dataset focus on institutional work by paying particular attention to the level of practice. Nigam and Dokko (2019) studied the development of health services researchers as a new profession. They argued that individuals can create a new profession by engaging in practices to deliberately build a professional community and an infrastructure to support the profession.…”