Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Administration & Society
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bozeman, B.
Right arrow Articles by Feeney, M. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Toward a Useful Theory of Mentoring

A Conceptual Analysis and Critique

Barry Bozeman

University of Georgia, Athens

Mary K. Feeney

University of Georgia, Athens

In this review and critique of mentoring theory and research, the authors identify persistent problems in the development of mentoring theory. Their conceptual analysis highlights these problems with a "thought experiment" illustrating the inability of mentoring theory and research to resolve certain fundamental issues, the resolution of which is a prerequisite for the advancement of explanatory theory. They conclude with ideas about demarcating "mentoring" from the sometimes confounding concepts "training" or "socialization." Absent an ability to distinguish mentoring from related activities, progress in explanatory theory will remain impeded.

Key Words: mentor • mentoring theory • group mentoring • formal mentoring

References

  • Allen, J., & Johnston, K. (1997). Mentoring . Context, 14(7), 15 .
  • Allen, T.D., Eby, L., Poteet, M., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis . Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127-136 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Auster, D. (1984). Mentors and protégés: Power-dependent dyads . Sociological Inquiry, 54(2), 142-153 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Balzer, W. (1986). Theoretical terms: A new perspective . Journal of Philosophy, 83(2), 71-90 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Bozionelos, N. (2004). Mentoring provided: Relation to mentor's career success, personality, and mentoring received . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(1), 24-46 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Burke, R.J., & McKeen, C.A. (1996). Do women at the top make a difference? Gender proportions and the experiences of managerial and professional women . Human Relations, 49(8), 1093-1105 .[Abstract]
  • Burke, R.J., & McKeen, C.A. (1997). Benefits of mentoring relationships among managerial and professional women: A cautionary tale . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 43-57 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Burke, R.J., McKenna, C., & McKeen, C.A. (1991). How do mentorships differ from typical supervisory relationships ? Psychological Reports, 68, 459-466 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Carr, D. (1981). Knowledge in practice . American Philosophical Quarterly, 18, 53-61 .[Web of Science]
  • Chao, G.T. (1997). Mentoring phases and outcomes . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 15-28 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Chao, G.T., Walz, P.M., & Gardner, P.D. (1992). Formal and informal mentorships: A comparison on mentoring functions and contrast with non-mentored counterparts . Personnel Psychology, 45(3), 619-637 .[Web of Science]
  • Collins, E.G.C., & Scott, P. (1978). Everyone who makes it has a mentor . Harvard Business Review, 56(4), 89-110 .[Web of Science]
  • Dansky, K.H. (1996). The effect of group mentoring on career outcomes . Group and Organization Management, 21, 5-21 .[CrossRef]
  • Dirsmith, M.W., & Covaleski, M.A. (1985). Informal communications and mentoring in public accounting firms . Accounting, Organizations and Society, 10, 149-169 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Dreher, G.F., & Ash, R.A. (1990). A comparative study of mentoring among men and women in managerial, professional, and technical positions . Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(5), 539-546 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Eby, L.T. (1997). Alternative forms of mentoring in changing organizational environments: A conceptual extension of the mentoring literature . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 125-144 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Eby, L.T., & Allen, T.D. (2002). Further investigation of protégés' negative mentoring experiences: Patterns and outcomes . Group & Organization Management, 27(4), 456-479 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Eby, L.T., Butts, M., Lockwood, A., & Simon, S.A. (2004). Protégés' negative mentoring experiences: Construct development and nomological validation . Personnel Psychology, 57(2), 411-447 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Eby, L.T., McManus, S.E., Simon, S.A., & Russell, J.E.A. (2000). The protégé's perspective regarding negative mentoring experiences: The development of a taxonomy . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57(1), 1-21 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Fagenson, E.A. (1989). The mentor advantage: Perceived career/job experiences of protégés versus non-protégés . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 309-320 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Fagenson-Eland, E.A., Marks, M.K., & Amendola, K.L. (1997). Perceptions of mentoring relationships . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 29-42 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
  • Gigerenzer, G. (1991). From tools to theories: A heuristic of discovery in cognitive psychology . Psychological Review, 98(2), 254-267 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Godshalk, V.M., & Sosik, J.J. (2003). Aiming for career success: The role of learning goal orientation in mentoring relationships . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(3), 417-437 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Goodin, R. (1996). Institutionalizing the public interest: The defense of deadlock and beyond . American Political Science Review, 90(2), 331-342 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Green, S.G., & Bauer, T.N. (1995). Supervisory mentoring by advisers—Relationships with doctoral-student potential, productivity, and commitment . Personnel Psychology, 48(3), 537-561 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Hacking, I. (1983). Representing and intervening: Introductory topics in the philosophy of natural science. Cambridge , UK: Cambridge University Press .
  • Hempel, C.G. (1952). Fundamentals of concept formation in empirical science (Vol. 2). Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
  • Higgins, M.C., & Kram, K.E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective . Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Hunt, D.M., & Michael, C. (1983). Mentorship—A career training and development tool . Academy of Management Review, 8(3), 475-485 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (Eds.). (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage .
  • Kirshenmann, P. (1981). Some thoughts on the ideal of exactness in science and philosophy. In J. Agassi & R. Cohen (Eds.), Scientific philosophy today: Essays in honour of Mario Bunge, Boston studies in philosophy of science (pp. 85-98). New York: Springer .
  • Kitcher, P. (1993). The advancement of science. New York: Oxford University Press .
  • Kram, K.E. (1980). Mentoring processes at work: Developmental relationships in managerial careers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, CT .
  • Kram, K.E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship . Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608-625 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Kram, K.E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman .
  • Kram, K.E., & Isabella, L.A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development . Academy of Management Journal, 28(1), 110-132 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Lane, R. (2000). The loss of happiness in market democracies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press .
  • Laudan, L. (1981). Science and hypothesis. Dordrecht , Netherlands: Reidel .
  • Levinson, D., Darrow, C., Klein, E., Levinson, M., & McKee, B. (1978). The seasons of a man's life. New York: Knopf .
  • Manchester, W. (1982). Goodbye darkness: A memoir of the pacific war. New York: Dell .
  • McManus, S.E., & Russell, J.E.A. (1997). New directions for mentoring research: An examination of related constructs . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 145-161 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Merriam, S. (1983). Mentors and protégés: A critical review of the literature . Adult Education Quarterly, 33, 161-173 .[Web of Science]
  • Noe, R.A. (1988). An investigation of the determinants of successful assigned mentoring relationships . Personnel Psychology, 41(3), 457-479 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Parsons, K. (1971). On criteria of meaning change . British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 22(2), 131-114 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Payne, S.C., & Huffman, A.H. (2005). A longitudinal examination of the influence of mentoring on organizational commitment and turnover . Academy of Management Journal, 48(1), 158-168 .[Web of Science]
  • Ragins, B.R. (1989). Barriers to mentoring: The female manager's dilemma . Human Relations, 42, 1-22 .[Abstract]
  • Ragins, B.R. (1997a). Antecedents of diversified mentoring relationships . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 90-109 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Ragins, B.R. (1997b). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective . Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 482-521 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Ragins, B.R., & Cotton, J.L. (1996). Jumping the hurdles: Barriers to mentoring for women in organizations . Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 17, 37-41 .
  • Ragins, B.R., Cotton, J.L., & Miller, J.S. (2000). Marginal mentoring: The effects of type of mentor, quality of relationship, and program design on work and career attitudes . Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1177-1194 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Ragins, B.R., & Scandura, T.A. (1997). The way we were: Gender and the termination of mentoring relationships . Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(6), 945-953 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Ragins, B.R., & Sundstrom, E. (1989). Gender and power in organizations: A longitudinal perspective . Psychological Bulletin, 105(1), 51-88 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Roethlisberger, F., & Dickson, W. (1939). Management and the worker. Cambridge , UK: Cambridge University Press .
  • Rosenberg, A. (2005). Philosophy of science: A contemporary introduction. London: Routledge .
  • Russell, J.E.A., & Adams, D.M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 1 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Scandura, T.A. (1992). Mentorship and career mobility—An empirical-investigation . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 169-174 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Scandura, T.A. (1997). Mentoring and organizational justice: An empirical investigation . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 58-69 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Scandura, T.A. (1998). Dysfunctional mentoring relationships and outcomes . Journal of Management, 24(3), 449 .[Abstract]
  • Scandura, T.A., & Ragins, B.R. (1993). The effects of sex and gender role orientation on mentorship in male-dominated occupations . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 43(3), 251 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Scandura, T.A., & Schriesheim, C.A. (1994). Leader-member exchange and supervisor career mentoring as complementary constructs in leadership research . Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1588-1602 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Scandura, T.A., & Viator, R.E. (1994). Mentoring in public accounting firms—An analysis of mentor protégé relationship, mentorship functions, and protégé turnover intentions . Accounting Organizations and Society, 19(8), 717-734 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Sen, A. ( 2002). Rationality and freedom. Cambridge, MA: Belknap .
  • Singh, V., Bains, D., & Vinnicombe, S. (2002). Informal mentoring as an organisational resource . Long Range Planning, 35(4), 389-405 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Smith, W.J., Howard, J.T., & Harrington, K.V. (2005). Essential formal mentor characteristics and functions in governmental and non-governmental organizations from the program administrator's and the mentor's perspective . Public Personnel Management, 34(1), 31-58 .[Web of Science]
  • Tepper, B.J. (1995). Upward maintenance tactics in supervisory mentoring and nonmentoring relationships . Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 1191-1205 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Tepper, B.J., & Taylor, E.C. (2003). Relationships among supervisors' and subordinates' procedural justice perceptions and organizational citizenship behaviors. Academy Of Management Journal, 46(1), 97-105 .
  • Thomas, D.A. (1990). The impact of race on managers' experiences of developmental relationships (mentoring and sponsorship): An intra-organizational study . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11, 479-492 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Whitely, W., Dougherty, T.W., & Dreher, G.F. (1991). Relationship of career mentoring and socioeconomic origin to managers' and professionals' early career progress . Academy of Management Journal, 34(2), 331-351 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Wilson, J., & Elman, N. (1990). Organizational benefits of mentoring . Academy of Management Executive, 4, 88-94 .
  • Wolff, T. (1994). In pharaoh's army: Memories of a lost war. London: Bloomsbury .
  • Young, A.M., & Perrewe, P.L. (2000). What did you expect? An examination of career-related support and social support among mentors and protégés . Journal of Management, 26(4), 611-632 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Zey, M.G. (1984). The mentor connection. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin .

Administration & Society, Vol. 39, No. 6, 719-739 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0095399707304119
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Review of Public Personnel AdministrationHome page
B. Bozeman and M. K. Feeney
Public Management Mentoring: A Three-Tier Model
Review of Public Personnel Administration, June 1, 2009; 29(2): 134 - 157.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 AJPHHome page
M. C. Zea and F. Z. Belgrave
Mentoring and Research Capacity-Building Experiences: Acculturating to Research From the Perspective of the Trainee
Am J Public Health, April 1, 2009; 99(S1): S16 - S19.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Administration & SocietyHome page
B. Bozeman and M. K. Feeney
Mentor Matching: A "Goodness of Fit" Model
Administration Society, September 1, 2008; 40(5): 465 - 482.
[Abstract] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bozeman, B.
Right arrow Articles by Feeney, M. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?