Neue Publikation in Academy of Management Learning & Education

Building on self-determination theory and intelligent career theory, we investigate what leads PhD graduates to pursue an academic career. Using panel data from a cohort of PhD students who completed PhDs in business, economics, law, or social sciences in the 2014 academic year in Germany, we find that, in general, intrinsically motivated PhD students are more likely to choose an academic career. However, they need to be embedded in a specific social context—that is, a specific set of social relationships—for the intrinsic motivation to have its positive effect. In particular, our results show that the positive relationship between the PhD students’ intrinsic motivation and their probability of pursuing an academic career is strengthened when they collaborate more with others. Further, we find that social relationships such as mentoring aimed at developing the PhD students’ career identity are favorable, whereas mentoring targeted at increasing their knowledge and skills or exposure to networks becomes irrelevant, or even dysfunctional, when their collaborative working environment is considered. By disentangling the interplay of intrapersonal factors and social context in the academic career choice, our findings contribute to a more comprehensive, multilevel view of the factors that lead to the choice of such a career.