The hierarchy of personal values guides choices, attitudes and individuals' behaviors. One aspect that has drawn attention of researchers is to understand the extent to which the values (axiological priorities) of a person undergo changes over time in different stages of his/her life and career. This study aimed to identify the variation of individual values within the time since graduation of business administrators. For this, the Schwartz values survey was administered to a sample of 179 professionals who graduated from the School of Economics, Business and Accounting at the University of São Paulo, between 1967 and 2008. Anova was calculated at the level of motivational types of values and bipolar dimensions. The results indicate variations in the axiological profile of the subjects, as the time since graduation increases. This change moves the prioritization from stimulation and hedonism values (openness to change) in the first years after graduation to a greater emphasis on security, tradition and conformity (conservation) in later stages of the subjects' careers. There is also a shift in prioritization of values that serve individual interests (early career) to values that serve collective interests (in later stages). Other results, as well as implications and possible causes, are also discussed.
Values; Schwartz value survey; Careers; Business administrators; Alumni
