This does not contradict my view. At big companies, there is a stable layer of management who have expressed interest in progression and are waiting for their n

This does not contradict my view. At big companies, there is a stable layer of management who have expressed interest in progression and are waiting for their next promotion / assignment. It may never come, but they're playing the game, management is dangling the carrot, and it's a stable equilibrium. If someone says they don't want to progress, they are saying that the carrot won't work for them, and when someone in management leaves they won't be able to help, so sooner or later they will be replaced with someone who does (at least say that) they want to progress.