An Examination of Boundary Management and Career Success

This research examines the relationship between boundary management behaviors, employee gender, managers’ perceptions of employee commitment, and career outcomes. Using boundary management theory, the work devotion schema and status characteristics theory as my frameworks, I test how boundary management behaviors and gender influence the career outcomes of salary, promotion and year-end bonus. The study was conducted using a 2 (boundary management behaviors from work-to-home) x 2 (boundary management behaviors from home-to-work) x 2 (employee gender) between-subjects experimental design. Findings suggest that boundary management behaviors influence managerial recommendation for salary increase, promotion, and year-end bonus through managerial perceptions of employee commitment. However, no evidence was found to support the idea that employee gender plays a role in this process.