Abstract
The expansion of the academic labor market, in scope and relevance, underscores the growing importance of the career lifespan for identifying career paths and opportunities for leaders in the sector. We study the career trajectories of current and former presidents of French Universities to identify the future career outcomes and how their human capital may be effectively leveraged. Our career life-span perspective draws on Career Ecosystem Theory (CET), and Career Construction Theory (CCT) as we explore different career actors – individual leaders, their institutions, and the national system, affording a unique perspective that enhances the existing literature. We studied the career trajectories of university presidents, using a mixed methodology, including 39 in-depth interviews: 21 with current university presidents and 18 with former presidents. Our findings indicate a set of career pathways available following a leadership role in the French Higher Education sector. Boundary-crossing was typical, moving to a different sector, generally the public sector, or to retirement. However, the conflicts and tensions within the choices made suggest there is an extent to boundarylessness for those transitioning from senior positions. While this challenges the boundaryless career theory suggesting a need for theory refinement and modification, it also extends theory within CET in terms of extent of agency. We notice that at the stage of reaching the top, there is a need to move from ‘following the script’ to either ‘writing one`s own script’ or having a new script. We offer several managerial implications for various stakeholders to better support career transitions.