Strategic career development for R&D staff: a field research

Explores the evolution of career management systems for industrial researchers. Based on case studies of experimental career development systems for industrial researchers, combined with a survey of 151 researchers and engineers employed at a large public research institution, alternative approaches toward managing professional careers are discussed. The results indicate that the researchers’ personal career orientations, as measured by Schein’s Career Anchors Inventory, may serve as a useful predictor of their career preferences. In addition, the research enables an evaluation of alternative modes of career development for industrial R&D to be developed.