Convergence and divergence of influences on career choice: A comparative analysis of influences on career choices of MBA students in China, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Korea, North Cyprus, Turkey and the UK

1. Convergence and divergence of influences on career choice: a comparative analysis of influences on career choices of MBA students in China, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Korea, North Cyprus, Turkey and the UK Barbara P. Dexter, Cynthia Forson, Gözde Inal, Mine Karatas -Özkan, Fatma Küskü, Mustafą F. Özbilgin, Ayala Malach-Pines, Cem Tanova and Jeongkoo Yoon INTRODUCTION The international spread and proliferation of MBA programmes have attracted scholarly attention to the career choices of MBA students (Simmering and Wilcox, 1995) as well as to individual and organizational benefits of MBA programmes (Leeming and Baruch, 1998; Simpson, 2000). MBA programmes originated in the USA at the beginning of the last century and have spread internationally (Baruch and Peiperl, 2003). The development of management education and MBA programmes is a part of this expansion, following the aforementioned international trend. However, the research to date has remained largely at a single level, either failing to recognize the situated and embodied nature of career choice across time and space or failing to recognize individual choice as relevant due to on over-emphasis on structural constraints. Exploring crossnational variation in multiple influences on career choice is the main purpose of this chapter. This chapter not only reveals convergence and divergence of influences of career choice across national borders, it also allows for a reading of individual choice in the context of individual and structural circumstances. 23 24 Career choice of MBA students This chapter takes a critical perspective on career….