Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the career choice to stay at the same company and
organizational re-adaptation process of ex-managers who stepped down their positions based on the
position retirement policy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 ex-managers. The data
collected from each participant were analyzed according to the modified grounded theory approach. A
hypothetical model was constructed. As a result, 9 category groups, 22 categories, 6 sub-categories, and
70 concepts were created based on the data. The major findings were as follows: Upon position
retirement, ex-managers make the career choices to stay at the same company. The career choice is
subject not only to the result of job search and self-analysis but also other ex-managers around them and
family issues. Ex-managers who take new roles after stepping down feel a sense of loss of managerial
roles, but move toward the practical and psychological re-adaptation to the new role with the influence of
co-workers, workplaces and their work orientations. Then they revise their career plans which affect their
career choices at the retirement age of 60.
