Browsing by Author "Tams S"

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    Careers in cities: An interdisciplinary space for advancing the contextual turn in career studies
    (SAGE Publications on behalf of the Tavistock Institute, 2021-05) Tams S; Kennedy JC; Arthur MB; Chan KY
    With careers increasingly taking place within and between cities, this article maps the territory for research and theory on careers in cities. Cities present a microcosm for advancing a systemic understanding of people’s careers over time and in relation to broader issues. We acknowledge cities’ multilayered contexts by identifying six spheres—locality and networks, material infrastructure, economic activities, non-work, virtual reconfiguration, and nexus of social change. The interplay between careers and these city spheres informs intertwined phenomena such as well-being, mobility, and migration. To guide further research, our framework distinguishes two meta-theoretical perspectives. An entity perspective examines causal relationships across levels, analyzing how urban characteristics explain career-related phenomena, and vice versa. A constructionist perspective examines how people’s construal of careers in cities draws on cultural repertoires about work, non-work life, and the city, including its social, symbolic, and material aspects. We use the framework to discuss contributions of the five articles of this special issue. A career lens can contribute to our understanding of cities being sources of both stability and change. With cities currently facing significant disruptions, there has never been a more appropriate time for careers researchers to incorporate the city as context.
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    Careers in Cities: Improving Lives, Improving Communities
    (Academy of Management, 9/07/2018) Kennedy J; Tams S; Arthur MB
    In this symposium, we present four examples of ways in which an exploration of interactions between careers and cities can enhance our understanding of both individual and institutional dynamics relevant to work and wellbeing. Setor, Joseph, and Chan present an empirical study which illustrates a technique for distinguishing career patterns, their differing prevalence in city and rural contexts, and the effect of these differences on career outcomes. Gill presents results of a longitudinal study of the emergence of a new innovation ecosystem, reflecting on tensions between economic priorities and acknowledgement of local place, culture, and identity in supporting entrepreneurs. Feltner, Pandzich, and Mitra explore ways in which entrepreneurs and a broader entrepreneurial ecosystem can contribute to individual and community wellbeing and urban renewal. Zikic and Voloshyna apply intelligent career theory to the transition faced by migrants as accumulated career capital is disrupted, and ways in which new host cities influence career reestablishment.