Going up?: are traits and informal social processes important to advancing upwards in management?

The aim of this study was to assess how managerial traits and interpersonal support help explain advancement in management up to upper manager, taking into account performance-based factors and formal promotion opportunities. Beyond human capital and promotion opportunities, managerial aspirations and gender similarity added to the explanation of entry into lower management where they were most important — and to advancing to middle manager, and gender similarity added to the explanation of advancing to upper manager.