Career Decision Making, Stability, and Actualization of Career Intentions: The Case of Entrepreneurial Intentions. (November 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hirschi, Andreas
• Is Part Of: Journal of career assessment. Volume 21:Number 4(2013)
• Page Start: 555
• Page End: 571
• Publication Date: 2013-11
• Subjects: entrepreneurial intention -- career decision making -- vocational identity -- career exploration -- career intentions; Vocational guidance -- Periodicals; 331.702
• DOI: 10.1177/1069072712475287
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1069-0727

Abstract

Career counselors are often concerned with stability and likelihood of implementation of clients' career intentions. It is often assumed that the status in career decision making (CDM) is one likely indicator; yet, empirical support for this assumption is sparse. The present study focused on entrepreneurial career intentions (EI) and showed that German university students ( N = 1, 221), with high EI can be found in very different empirically derived CDM statuses that range from preconcern to mature decidedness. Longitudinal analyses ( n = 561) showed that career choice foreclosure (high decidedness/low exploration) related to more EI stability and that mature decidedness (high decidedness/high exploration) amplified effects of EI on opportunity identification, a form of EI actualization. The results imply that CDM statuses are useful to estimate stability and actualization of career intentions.