Understanding satisfaction with supply chain management careers: an exploratory study

Purpose – Career shifts and talent shortages in supply chain management (SCM) are evident at most occupation levels and need further attention and understanding. The purpose of this paper is to present factors that shape SCM career expectations, choices, and satisfaction and to advance career theory and research that is currently absent in SCM literature.Design/methodology/approach – This study administered open‐ended surveys to individuals educated and working in SCM to elicit the satisfaction and dissatisfaction that professionals derive from various aspects of their SCM careers. Resulting data were content analyzed and categorized into major themes representing career satisfiers (likes) and dissatisfiers (dislikes).Findings – This exploratory study found evidence of traditional career components and the presences of objective and subjective components that transcend organizational boundaries. The results indicate an emergence of the boundaryless career concept in SCM, as the SCM career appears less dep...

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