Abstract

BARNES, Nina; DU PLESSIS, Marieta  and  FRANTZ, José. Academic career management intervention at a South African university: A modified Delphi study. Acta Commer. [online]. 2023, vol.23, n.1, pp.1-8. ISSN 1684-1999.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ac.v23i1.1187.

ORIENTATION: Understanding the components for an academic career management intervention programme, to enable the development of the required academic pipeline to achieve the strategic objectives of higher education institutions RESEARCH PURPOSE: A consensus view across subject experts for a career management intervention programme to enable the progression of academic careers MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: While academic career literature captures an array of normative designs of career management programmes to cultivate the required academic talent consortium, literature indicates a lack of a comprehensive and systematic approach for career management to provide a framework for successfully managing academic careers. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A modified Delphi technique was employed, by presenting an expert panel with the findings of a broader research project to initiate the consensus-seeking methodology - a systematic approach to obtain concordance on the experts' opinions through two rounds of structured questionnaires. MAIN FINDINGS: The identified components are structured and presented in five main themes (categories), including: (1) institutional, (2) individual, (3) overlapping, (4) cultural and (5) external. The results show a strong agreement among the experts on the first four categories. The fifth (external) offers the lowest level of agreement, reminding that the higher education system is part of a broader contextual system; it should be understood within its operational context and time PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Offering talent management practitioners and higher education leaders expert observations of the factors to consider while planning and implementing career management intervention programmes to enable academic career progression. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: A comprehensive and systematic approach for career management, providing a framework for successfully managing academic careers across the various career stages.

Keywords : academic career; career progression; career management intervention; modified Delphi; South African university.

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