A longitudinal model of sponsorship and career success: A study of industrial-organizational psychologists

Drawing from research on the sociology of science, we hypothesized a model of academic career success in an effort to extend research on particularistic and universalistic influences on career success. Results, based on a sample of 154 members of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, provided support for the hypothesized model. Specifically, doctoral program prestige and publications as a PhD student influenced prestige of the first job. Furthermore, these 2 variables-along with chair publications-influenced career publications, prestige of the first job and career publications influenced extrinsic success (a composite variable comprised of rank, salary, longitudinal citation rates, prestige of current job, fellowships, and presence on editorial boards), and extrinsic success influenced intrinsic career success (career satisfaction). The results further suggest that individual performance has a stronger influence on the career success of industrial-organizational psychologists than do social networks.