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When Promotions Come Unexpectedly: Promotion Congruence and Women’s Career Goal Transitions in Public Administration

Sangsuk Kim et al.

Public Personnel Management2026https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260261421587article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Drawing on grounded‑theory interviews with 16 female staffers in the South Korean National Assembly, this study integrates the Kaleidoscope Career Model with a person–environment congruence lens to explain career‑goal dynamics. A two-stage process emerges. First, initial careers are shaped by the interaction of entry motivations (proactive or reactive) and perceived organizational climate (positive or negative). Second, women interpret promotion decisions through four congruence patterns: positive congruence (expected promotion received), negative congruence (promotion neither expected nor received), downward incongruence (promotion expected but denied), and upward incongruence (unexpected promotion). Upward incongruence generates cognitive dissonance, prompting career-goal shifts from balance or authenticity toward challenge. Conversely, downward incongruence typically prompts withdrawal from challenge goals. These findings extend the Kaleidoscope Career Model by showing that promotion shocks—not only gradual work–family adjustments—can trigger non‑linear shifts in women’s challenge, authenticity, and balance goals in public organizations.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260261421587

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@article{sangsuk2026,
  title        = {{When Promotions Come Unexpectedly: Promotion Congruence and Women’s Career Goal Transitions in Public Administration}},
  author       = {Sangsuk Kim et al.},
  journal      = {Public Personnel Management},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260261421587},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.