With or without you: career capital development as experienced by MBA alumni

Houldsworth, E., Tresidder, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7819-9836 and Rowson, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1605-2927 (2024) With or without you: career capital development as experienced by MBA alumni. Management Learning. ISSN 1461-7307 doi: 10.1177/13505076241236337

Abstract/Summary

This paper focuses on understanding the qualitatively different experiences of career development reported by MBA alumni of a UK business school. Although the potential of the MBA to support career capital development has been previously identified, a thorough investigation into how this is experienced has been lacking. The study contributes to career capital theory in the context of post-experience management education in three ways. Firstly, our findings report the development of career capitals, and we describe how these are manifested within the context of an MBA. Secondly, we identify five different experiences of career capital development, to which we ascribe the following labels: applying; achieving; collaborating; believing; and transforming. These five different experiences contribute to theory by revealing the interrelationships and interdependencies between different forms of capital. Finally, we highlight that whilst it is possible to develop certain forms of career capital either with or without others, this is not the case for those involving personal transformation, which cannot be achieved alone. The paper concludes with reflections on the implication of our findings for management educators, MBA teachers, and researchers.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/115246
Identification Number/DOI	10.1177/13505076241236337
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation
Publisher	Sage Publications
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item