TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of boundaryless careers on organizational decision making

T2 - an analysis from the perspective of Luhmann's theory of social systems

AU - Becker, Kai Helge

AU - Haunschild, Axel

PY - 2003/8

Y1 - 2003/8

N2 - Research on careers has recently discovered the growing relevance of inter-organizational, boundaryless careers. The new paradigm of career studies that goes hand in hand with the concept of boundaryless careers, though, has not yet paid very much attention to the impact of new career patterns on how organizations function. To fill this gap, the paper analyses the effects of boundaryless careers on organizational decision making. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems, we elaborate how observing a (potential) employee's life in terms of career generally facilitates organizational decision making by what we call the evaluative capacity of career. Further, the paper shows in what respect employing this mode of observation is rendered more difficult by the emergence of boundaryless careers. Based on the theoretical framework developed, we finally deduce and apply a scheme of classification of possible reactions to the organizational problems caused by boundaryless careers. In sum, the paper provides a new theoretical approach to analysing different ways of how organizations can cope with the challenges of new career patterns.

AB - Research on careers has recently discovered the growing relevance of inter-organizational, boundaryless careers. The new paradigm of career studies that goes hand in hand with the concept of boundaryless careers, though, has not yet paid very much attention to the impact of new career patterns on how organizations function. To fill this gap, the paper analyses the effects of boundaryless careers on organizational decision making. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems, we elaborate how observing a (potential) employee's life in terms of career generally facilitates organizational decision making by what we call the evaluative capacity of career. Further, the paper shows in what respect employing this mode of observation is rendered more difficult by the emergence of boundaryless careers. Based on the theoretical framework developed, we finally deduce and apply a scheme of classification of possible reactions to the organizational problems caused by boundaryless careers. In sum, the paper provides a new theoretical approach to analysing different ways of how organizations can cope with the challenges of new career patterns.

KW - Autopoiesis

KW - Boundaryless career

KW - De-paradoxization

KW - Evaluative capacity of career

KW - Organizational decision making

KW - Theory of social systems

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0142227444&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/0958519032000080767

DO - 10.1080/0958519032000080767

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0142227444

VL - 14

SP - 713

EP - 727

JO - International Journal of Human Resource Management

JF - International Journal of Human Resource Management

SN - 0958-5192

IS - 5

ER -