The Reduced Opportunity Structure: Senior Faculty Movement in Accounting 1980–2012

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ability to move from one employing institution to another can be very important in an academic career. This study concerns the mid-career opportunities for institutional migration for accounting faculty. Unlike previous studies that focused on the characteristics, motivations, and attainments of mobile faculty, this study examines the relative size of the accounting professoriate that has been in transition at various points in time. When a large component of senior accounting academics have (have not) taken new positions in the last few years, the opportunity structure can be said to be high (low). The findings, using accounting doctoral schools as the empirical setting, document a declining opportunity set. Over time, the fraction of senior accounting academics that have changed schools in the previous five years has dwindled. This conclusion holds true across various divisions of academic accounting. Specifically, a decline is shown for both public schools and private schools, for higher and lower prestige schools, and for most sub-fields of the accounting discipline. The paper offers implications about this long-term trend.