Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 23 Issue 4

© 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue IV Version I 19 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 C Exploring Motives and Strategies in the Production of Knowledge in the University Context by the Example of Academic Career Trajectories scholarships, you must have some people for external references, and then he told me, ‘Well, there’s a conference right here. I’ll just show you two or three people, talk to them, and explain to them what you want and then make sure that you get an expert opinion from them. And that was, of course, the ‘watch’ variant, so let’s say, ‘I’ll help you, but then you have to see to it that you get ahead, because you can’t always be carried through life’. And then you would talk to the people and, uhm, they would finally write you an expert opinion and it was obviously an expert opinion and not a bad one, because you got the scholarship.” (Interview 8: lines 298-306; own translation) In this case, individuals are taken to meetings to get in touch with others. The higher-ranking person determines the appropriate behavior for the situation by giving instructions or recommendations to approach the “right” people at conferences to build up the necessary social relationships for the further course of one’s career. This strategy can be correlated with field- specific positioning and learning of field-specific nuances. As described above, young scientists are introduced to the field by attending conferences to position themselves in the field and build up a network, as well as to acquire field-specific knowledge. This process has been referred to in terms of a causal chain, the origin of which lies in the participation in conferences and the effect of which ultimately leads to learning field- specific nuances and, thus, to a transfer of knowledge. 3. “Involvement in research projects” Here, the planning and execution of research projects facilitate knowledge transfer through the assumption of one’s own responsibility under the guidance of an experienced professor. “So, I didn’t have a lot of freedom at first, but I learned a lot because we were constantly doing research projects together, big research projects, surveys, content analyses, and I was pretty much solely responsible for realization. But you can’t say that I had to do it alone. So, he told me how it works and how to do it, and we agreed, but I was able to do a lot of it on my own.” (Interview 12: line 103-109; own translation) The transfer of knowledge is vertical but is marked by a high degree of autonomy for the young scientist. The motive of knowledge transfer in the university context is based on supervisors’ various strategies, including giving advice, taking students to conferences, and involving them in research projects. It becomes apparent that the motive of knowledge sharing cannot be separated from other motives, such as prosocial or pro-self motives. Sharing knowledge and information is initially prosocial on the part of the supervisors, who may also benefit from the junior scientists’ successful career paths, since it improves their reputation in the academic field, so knowledge sharing can also be based on pro-self motives. The same applies to the strategies of taking them along to conferences, where supervisors introduce their junior scientists to the circle of the academic field, and the latter learn field-specific nuances in the process as they are embedded in the academic network. Here, too, supervisors can benefit from the junior scientists if the last present and position themselves professionally at the conferences. This in turn, increases their standing in the academic field. In the strategy of involvement in research projects, junior scientists are introduced to the research field in thematic terms, while at the same time, work is taken off the shoulders of research management, and its workload is reduced. Again, pro- self and prosocial motives are mixed: the young junior researchers can contribute new ideas to the project and take over the tasks, which can be based on a pro-self motive, and at the same time, implicit knowledge is passed on or acquired, which suggests a prosocial motive. In addition, everyone also benefits from obtaining research funds or grants, which are often associated with research projects. d) Strategies about the motive “to collect (field-specific) experience” Three strategies were categorized under this motive. First, “to write to relevant people”, followed by “exam strategies and colloquia”, and finally “test publications”. 1. “To Write to relevant people” The following example is about soliciting funding for grants through work group leaders: “[Well, uhm, as it was] always, uhm, always done at that time. You write to different, uhm, workgroup leaders, uhm, and of course, they pay attention to it, things have been published, courses quickly done and so on. And then, first, you only get a job promise, and then you must apply again for, uhm, the appropriate funds, uhm, for the postdoctoral fellowship. That was always predetermined, it only goes through scholarships, because scholarships are an award.” (Interview 4: lines 122-127; own translation) The strategy of “to writing to relevant people” illustrates professors’ micropolitical decision-making power, whose degree of effectiveness can be seen here in the academic field. Hüthers and Krücken (2018: 168) addressed the influence that superiors in this field have on mid-level faculty, as they can decide on the use of financial resources. In our case, the job-seeking Ph.D. student wrote into many work group leaders. The job- and fund-raising activities described here are not to be understood solely as career-relevant contacting, but rather as knowledge practices in which the researcher gained important experience regarding the academic field. By dealing with the details of the individual procedures, she learned how to write to important people and institutions in her field. In addition, the previously acquired knowledge comes into play in cover letters. The persons to be contacted both emerged