Investigating Factors Influencing Third Sector Social Enterprise Managers’ Career Orientations: A Conceptual Framework

This chapter proposes conceptual framework that explores factors that influence managerial career orientations (self-perceived talents and abilities, basic values and the evolved sense of motives and needs that influences a person’s career-related decisions. The argument put forward is that demographic (age, gender, social class, marital status, ethnicity, professional and educational qualifications); societal and organisational factors (government policies, labour market conditions, diversification of income streams, organisation size, structure and culture) will influence small third sector manager’s career orientations. Identifying and understanding the career orientations of managers provide organisations with greater awareness of employee career needs and the ability to target career management effectively. The results indicate positive outcomes in organisational commitment, improved productivity and staff retention. This chapter concludes with a summary of finding, implications and future research directions.