Managing the Process: The Intradepartmental Networks of Early-Career Academics

• Published in: Innovative higher education Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 323 - 337
• Main Authors: Pifer, Meghan J., Baker, Vicki L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.08.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Beginning Teachers; Business networking; Career development planning; Careers; Change Strategies; College Faculty; Collegiality; Departments; Doctoral Programs; Education; Higher Education; Intellectual Disciplines; Interaction; Interpersonal Relationship; Interprofessional Relationship; Interviews; Leadership Styles; Mentors; Network Analysis; Networks; Politics; Resource Allocation; Self Actualization; Social Cognition; Social Environment; Social Networks; Success; Teacher Behavior; Teacher Surveys; Teaching Methods; Tenure; New York; United States > US; Pennsylvania; Networking; Networks; Early-career academics
• ISSN: 0742-5627; 1573-1758
• DOI: 10.1007/s10755-012-9243-y

This article relies on data from surveys and interviews to explore the networking behaviors and strategies of early-career faculty members within the contexts of their academic departments. Findings suggest that faculty members’ approaches to interactions and relationships with colleagues may be conceptualized according to a continuum of behavior, based on their political awareness of interactions and their strategic engagement in them, interactions as a means of impression management, the cultivation of relationships for symbolic inclusion in networks, and the presence of functional patterns in network. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.