Promotion at re-entry: gender-contingent configurations in boomerang careers

Abstract

Boomerang moves – leaving and later rejoining a former employer – are increasingly common, yet we know little about which combinations of conditions are associated with promotion at re-entry, or whether those combinations differ by gender. Studying Brazilian professionals who returned to prior employers (N = 147), we use a configurational (fsQCA) approach to examine how two forms of prior organizational engagement – maintaining ties with former colleagues and staying informed about the organization’s development – combine with initial tenure and time away to relate to advancement upon return. We find one robust route in the pooled sample: an engagement bundle – maintained ties plus current organizational awareness – sufficient for promotion, with neither long prior tenure nor a long separation required. Gender-segmented analyses qualify this pattern. For men, the engagement bundle frequently suffices on its own. For women, higher-prevalence successful profiles pair the engagement bundle with longer prior tenure and – under stricter screens – a longer time away. A tenure-plus-awareness variant without maintained ties appears only at low prevalence and is concentrated among men. The study contributes an individual-level, configurational account of boomerang careers and shows that advancement at return is read through bundles rather than single indicators. We translate these profiles into implications by aligning individual signalling with organizational routines across the ­separation–return lifecycle.