The Moderating Effect of Power Contests and Tacit Competitiveness on Career Orientation in Universities- A Conceptual Paper

Abstract This paper explores the moderating effect of Power contest and Tacit Competitiveness on Career Orientation not yet reported in literature. The article provides a brief critical review of literature in the areas of power contest, tacit competitiveness and career orientation. A thorough analysis of the three research areas is carried out to support the development of a conceptual model that maps out the connectivity and moderating effect of each of the research areas to and on each other. This paper proposes that the prevalence of power contests and tacit competitiveness influences the career orientation of university faculty. There are many causes of career orientation but the author believes that the effects of power contests and tacit competitiveness play an instrumental role in developing careers in the university. Future research to examine the linkage between these two variables and career orientation is anticipated to provide empirical evidence. The impact of both variables on university careers can be explored separately since this is a newly developed research interest. By proposing a relationship between power contests and tacit competitiveness on career orientation of faculty, this work provides university management the knowledge needed to shape organisational restructuring and provide a policy framework for higher institution career development. University management can also develop systems that will address high employee turnovers and reduce rivalry within the work environment thus making the work environment more healthy and congenial. It will also help newly recruited faculty to develop the appropriate psychological framework to fit into the competitive environment.