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In this study, we used the career construction theory (CCT) to examine the effects of career adaptability resources and career adapting responses on the career readiness of young adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using data from a sample of 635 senior business students at two universities, we found that career adaptability has a positive impact on two measures of career readiness including career decidedness and perceived employability. Our findings also indicate that career adaptability, as expected, predicts two relevant career adaptive responses within the United Arab Emirates context including intentions to seek "Wasta" (using social connections to help in finding a job) and willingness to work in the private sector (WWPS). We further found that WWPS mediates the relationship between career adaptability and perceived employability. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Few studies have explored the careers of Native Americans. Historically, this population has been, and continues to be, ignored within mainstream career and management studies. To address this research gap, the current study explores the challenges that Native Americans, living and working in various locations and states across the United States, face. Drawing on Syed and Özbilgin's relational framework, a qualitative approach was used whereby 14 in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings highlight the salience of some challenges including poor educational levels of completion, lack of transportation means, shortage of employment opportunities, difficulty in work-life balance, and cultural stereotyping and prejudice. The results of the study have important implications for career development practitioners, legislators, higher institutions of learning, and other stakeholders interested in advancing the lives of these disadvantaged people.

This paper advances research on the nexus between macro‐level turbulence and workers' experience through the empirical analysis of the coping strategies of women human resource managers in the context of Lebanon. Theoretically grounded in the transactional theory of stress and coping, the findings reveal how the multidimensional coping strategies of human resource managers unfold at the juncture of macro‐level turbulence, emotion‐focussed and problem‐solving strategies, doing/re‐doing of gender, and the deployment of various types of silence. Practitioner notes: What is currently known?Research on women's coping strategies is minimal, primarily focussed on single sources of stress and ignores the role of silence as a coping strategy.Research on coping strategies is Western‐centric, overlooking the experiences of workers in Arab, turbulent macro‐contexts. What this paper adds?In‐depth understanding of the coping strategies of women HR managers beyond the narrow dichotomy of emotion‐focussed and problem‐solving coping strategies.Demonstration of how various types of silence and gender as a performative unfold as coping strategies for women in turbulent contexts. The implications for practitionersPractitioners need to deepen their understanding of the stresses that employees in countries with macro‐level turbulence experience.Practitioners need to improve their understanding of silence and gender as a performative as coping mechanisms and integrate them into their development of interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we used the career construction theory (CCT) to examine the effects of career adaptability resources and career adapting responses on the career readiness of young adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using data from a sample of 635 senior business students at two universities, we found that career adaptability has a positive impact on two measures of career readiness including career decidedness and perceived employability. Our findings also indicate that career adaptability, as expected, predicts two relevant career adaptive responses within the United Arab Emirates context including intentions to seek "Wasta" (using social connections to help in finding a job) and willingness to work in the private sector (WWPS). We further found that WWPS mediates the relationship between career adaptability and perceived employability. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Frequently used in fostering the career progression of individuals this paper aims to explore the concept of "wasta" and its significance in the career advancement of individuals in the Middle Eastern region. The paper also seeks to compare "wasta" with networking and mentoring. Design/methodology/approach: The argument is based on relevant literature, the authors' own knowledge through conducting research in the Arab world, informal interviews and survey data conducted across the Middle Eastern Region. Findings: The research clearly shows that on balance "wasta" remains traditional in its influence in the career advancement of individuals and business life and social life and is unlikely to diminish in the near future, despite the perception that it is an unfair practice. "Wasta" also displays similarities and differences with networking and mentoring. Research implications/limitations: Fundamental knowledge on "wasta" is limited precluding reliable conclusions on how "wasta" compares with networking and mentoring. Further research needs to be conducted with a larger sample, across a range of industries. Practical implications: The paper suggests the need for human resource departments of Middle Eastern organizations to create conditions that encourage managers to develop social relationships given the lack of interactive support mechanisms. Originality/value: Given the token status of systematic management studies in the Arab world, this research is important as it extends knowledge in "wasta" practices in the region, and also in comparing "wasta" with networking and mentoring. Overall, the paper argues that "wasta" is a lucrative area for future research. (Contains 3 tables.)

In a bid to accelerate the modernization of its economic and social structures, Saudi Arabia has recently embarked on a set of ambitious reforms, including those aiming to advance the role of Saudi women in the economy and society. This study explores both how and the extent to which human resource (HR) managers are involved in undertaking a strategic role in advancing women's careers amidst the changing legislative mandates. In so doing, we draw upon semi-structured interviews with HR managers and capitalize on the strategic human resources management partnership model and insights from Institutional Theory. Accordingly, we present empirical evidence detailing how the Saudi HR managers are experiencing a slow transformation away from strictly administrative tasks toward strategic partnerships in terms of reducing gender discrimination and further developing women's careers. However, this transformation is hindered by the varying speed of change among the cognitive-cultural, normative, and regulative institutions, along with disconnects between policy makers, senior managers, and HR managers. These disconnects unfold as institutional challenges hindering the transformation of macroeconomic goals into social progress and managerial practices that further advance the progression of Saudi women's careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have explored the careers of Native Americans. Historically, this population has been, and continues to be, ignored within mainstream career and management studies. To address this research gap, the current study explores the challenges that Native Americans, living and working in various locations and states across the United States, face. Drawing on Syed and Özbilgin's relational framework, a qualitative approach was used whereby 14 in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings highlight the salience of some challenges including poor educational levels of completion, lack of transportation means, shortage of employment opportunities, difficulty in work–life balance, and cultural stereotyping and prejudice. The results of the study have important implications for career development practitioners, legislators, higher institutions of learning, and other stakeholders interested in advancing the lives of these disadvantaged people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the proliferation of studies on talent management (TM), few studies focus on the perspectives of human resource management (HRM) representatives. Furthermore, there is a dearth of studies that explore talent philosophies and TM in practice in private organizations in emerging economies, such as those of the Arab Middle East (AME) region. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore talent philosophies and TM in practice in the country-specific context of Lebanon. Design/methodology/approach: This study was exploratory in nature and followed a qualitative interpretive methodology. It capitalized on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with HRM representatives. Findings: The findings of this study indicated relative consensus in talent philosophies across organizations in four industries; talent was largely perceived as exclusive, despite disagreements on whether it was stable or developable. Differences were identified in terms of how TM was understood in organizations and also how it was executed in practice in terms of talent identification and recruitment, training and development, performance assessment and talent retention. Originality/value: This study is the first to empirically explore talent philosophies and TM in practice in the context of Lebanon. It is also among the few studies to extend the use of institutional theory (IT) to talent philosophies and TM practices. The originality of this study is also derived from its focus on the practices of HRM departments through using feedback from HRM representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on institutional theory, this study gives voice to Arab women entrepreneurs. Through contextualization and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, I examine Lebanese women entrepreneurs' conceptualizations of career success, the mechanisms they use to realize it and their overall awareness of it. According to the findings, the entrepreneurs experience career success as an act of disobedience against socially imposed cultural and gender mandates. Furthermore, career success evolves as a contextual, dynamic process that is culturally dependent but individually negotiated, interpreted and constructed using external and internal conceptualizations. In turn, these conceptualizations are intertwined with agency and unfold as a process at the intersection of gender, patriarchy and cultural values. Accordingly, I argue against reducing career success to static, objective and subjective criteria. Doing so undermines the complexity and processual nature of the construct and neglects the importance of cultural values in shaping the understanding and experience of career success in different societies. I also stress the importance of contextualizing women's entrepreneurial experiences and demonstrate that Lebanese women entrepreneurs' conceptualizations of career success reflect both Arab social-cognitive and normative institutions and their own agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]