{"title":"With a powerful God, all things are possible: A compensatory control account of occupational aspirations among overqualified policemen","authors":"A. S. Adebusuyi","doi":"10.1080/23322373.2022.2155114","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Research has found occupational aspirations to lead to several positive career and employment outcomes in contexts of high personal agency. However, an investigation into occupational aspirations in contexts of high uncertainty is lacking in the literature. To fill this gap, I investigated occupational aspirations among overqualified policemen whose career plans have been shattered. Specifically, guided by the Compensatory Control Theory (CCT), I investigated the influence of work-related low personal control and belief in a controlling God on occupational aspirations. The study is cross-sectional, and the sample size is 407 policemen drawn from different state commands of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). The data were analyzed using (Hayes, A. F. 2018. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press) PROCESS macro, model 58. The study findings include the following. First, career-related low personal control led to more belief in a controlling God. Second, individuals high in belief in a controlling God were also high in occupational aspirations. Third, belief in a controlling God mediated the relationship between low personal control and occupational aspirations. Finally, I found that overqualified policemen who were lower in personal control had more belief in a controlling God and more occupational aspirations than those with low personal control. Theoretically, this study extends extant literature on the antecedents of occupational aspirations and practically highlights the positive impact of religious belief on occupational aspirations in contexts of high uncertainty.","PeriodicalId":37290,"journal":{"name":"Africa Journal of Management","volume":"9 1","pages":"97 - 116"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Africa Journal of Management","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23322373.2022.2155114","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT Research has found occupational aspirations to lead to several positive career and employment outcomes in contexts of high personal agency. However, an investigation into occupational aspirations in contexts of high uncertainty is lacking in the literature. To fill this gap, I investigated occupational aspirations among overqualified policemen whose career plans have been shattered. Specifically, guided by the Compensatory Control Theory (CCT), I investigated the influence of work-related low personal control and belief in a controlling God on occupational aspirations. The study is cross-sectional, and the sample size is 407 policemen drawn from different state commands of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). The data were analyzed using (Hayes, A. F. 2018. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press) PROCESS macro, model 58. The study findings include the following. First, career-related low personal control led to more belief in a controlling God. Second, individuals high in belief in a controlling God were also high in occupational aspirations. Third, belief in a controlling God mediated the relationship between low personal control and occupational aspirations. Finally, I found that overqualified policemen who were lower in personal control had more belief in a controlling God and more occupational aspirations than those with low personal control. Theoretically, this study extends extant literature on the antecedents of occupational aspirations and practically highlights the positive impact of religious belief on occupational aspirations in contexts of high uncertainty.
期刊介绍:
The beginning of the Twenty First Century has witnessed Africa’s rise and progress as one of the fastest growing and most promising regions of the world. At the same time, serious challenges remain. To sustain and speed up momentum, avoid reversal, and deal effectively with emerging challenges and opportunities, Africa needs better management scholarship, education and practice. The purpose of the Africa Journal of Management (AJOM) is to advance management theory, research, education, practice and service in Africa by promoting the production and dissemination of high quality and relevant manuscripts. AJOM is committed to publishing original, rigorous, scholarly empirical and theoretical research papers, which demonstrate clear understanding of the management literature and draw on Africa’s local indigenous knowledge, wisdom and current realities. As the first scholarly journal of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM), AJOM gives voice to all those who are committed to advancing management scholarship, education and practice in or about Africa, for the benefit of all of Africa. AJOM welcomes manuscripts that develop, test, replicate or validate management theories, tools and methods with Africa as the starting point. The journal is open to a wide range of quality, evidence-based methodological approaches and methods that “link” “Western” management theories with Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, methods and practice. We are particularly interested in manuscripts which address Africa’s most important development needs, challenges and opportunities as well as the big management questions of the day. We are interested in research papers which address issues of ethical conduct in different African settings.