Comparisons between the career orientations of R&D professionals in Japan and the United States

Research objectives The debate over the career orientations of R&D professionals in terms of their professional research has until now involved two main categories, namely managerial orientation and technical orientation (Allen and Katz, 1986). The compensation and benefits system that corresponds with these categories is the dual ladder, the specialist system found in Japan. The former, “managerial orientation,” denotes a career path where a professional is promoted into managerial positions, while the latter, “technical orientation,” denotes a career path involving progression into specialist positions only. Managerial positions in Japan include Section Chief, Department Manager, and Director, while managers in Europe and America are referred to by titles such as Project Manager, Director, and Vice President. Technically oriented positions include Managing Engineer, Chief Engineer, and Chief Researcher in Japan, and Senior Scientist, Senior Fellow, and Senior Researcher in Europe and America. An alternative career orientation which does not fit the technical/managerial categorization, however, has been suggested by Allen and Katz (1986). This orientation, which they call project orientation, refers to professionals who are not concerned with whether their promotion is of a managerial or technical nature; rather, project-oriented professionals are motivated by projects that capture their interest. Allen and Katz (1995) further consider the types of individuals who are project oriented. While they found this orientation in higher age groups, for whom further promotion had been precluded, they also found evidence of project orientation among younger age groups. Allen and Katz surmise these younger professionals to be individuals who act according to their own internal values. Further research suggests that career orientations have become increasingly diversified. Bailyn (1991), who focused on the mobility of personnel in Japanese firms in conducting interview-based research, discovered yet another career orientation which she terms technology transfer orientation. Technology transfer orientation involves the sense of satisfaction gained by professionals from the transfer of technologies they have developed to other departments for commercialization. Furthermore, Kim and Cha (2000), who carried out research on 1240 professionals at both private and public sector R&D departments in South Korea, add what they term “entrepreneurial orientation” on top of managerial, technical, project, and technology transfer orientations. These types of orientations are each seen to correspond to the five career anchors suggested by Schein (1978). However, of the various career orientations identified by these researchers, technical transfer orientation can be considered an offshoot of technical orientation. This is due to the fact that the careers of professionals with technical transfer orientations have been