The career motivation of female executives in the Hong Kong public sector

Alicia S. M. Leung*, Stewart R. Clegg

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)
    29 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Reports a study of female executives (n = 30) working in the public sector in Hong Kong. The research captures a set of organisational practices in transition: from a colonial to a post-colonial setting, and from a bureaucracy that offered jobs for life to one that offers them on contract terms. The concept of career motivation is explored in the study through three dimensions of career resilience, career insight, and career identity. Overall, younger executives (n = 19) had higher levels of career motivation and were striving to attain additional responsibility and authority in work assignments, while senior executives (n = 11) were concerned with holding on to their previous accomplishments and competence in their occupational role. Moreover, the more ambiguity and uncertainty existing in the government office, the lesser the levels of career motivation. The results and their implications for future studies of career motivation are discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)12-20
    Number of pages9
    JournalWomen in Management Review
    Volume16
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2001

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Gender Studies
    • Business, Management and Accounting (miscellaneous)

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Hong Kong
    • Women
    • Careers
    • Motivation
    • Civil Service

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