Choosing an undergraduate major in business administration: Student evaluative criteria, behavioral influences, and instructional modalities
Department
Management and Entrepreneurship
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2018
Abstract
Although demand in the United States for business administration majors has historically been high, the supply of graduates in this discipline may be inadequate in the future. While some research indicates that numbers of students selecting a major in business administration has increased, other research reports the opposite. As such, it is important to identify key selection criteria used by students when considering whether or not to major in a business program. This study employed the theory of planned behavior and structural equation modeling, across three instructional modalities (face-to-face, online, and hybrid), to investigate undergraduate students' behavioral intention to major in business administration. An online survey provided 165 usable responses from students enrolled in an introductory management course with the three modalities represented. The results show that students' attitudes did not have a major effect on their intention to major in business administration, while subjective norm and perceived behavioral control effects did influence behavioral intention. No differences were noted in any of the instructional modalities influencing students' attitudes in choosing a business administration major. The findings add to existing research by illustrating how attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control relate to different instructional modalities and influence students’ selection process.
Journal Title
International Journal of Management Education
Journal ISSN
1472-8117
Volume
16
Issue
3
First Page
524
Last Page
540
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.ijme.2018.10.002