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Abstract

This 2003 study repeats and extends a 1997 investigation of how students perceive hospitality organizations as prospective employers. Using structural equation modeling, the study confirmed five factors to examine the relationship between the factors and the likelihood of employment in eight industry segments. The greatest difference between the 1997 findings and those of 2003 is the rise of the Internet in guiding students’ attitudes toward various industry segments. With regard to quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and private clubs, company-sponsored events particularly improve the likelihood of that a student will accept employment in those segments. Word of mouth and experience as a customer, on the other hand, can decrease a student’s interest in working in economy hotels and QSRs (even though direct work experience improves notice for those two segments). Ironically, the personal recruiting visit seems to have less influence on employment decisions than one might expect.

Keywords

career choice job selection employment recruiting

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References

M. P. Sciarini and P. Gardner , “Prescreening of Hospitality School Graduates: A Study of Hospitality Recruiter Decision Strategies,” Hospitality Research Journal 18, no. 2 (1994): 97-114.

A. L. Farrar , S. K. Murrmann , and J. M. West , “Profiling Managerial Entrants to the Hospitality Industry,” Hospitality Research Journal 18, no. 1 (1994): 65-76.

M. P. Sciarini and R. H. Woods , “Selecting that First Job,” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 38, no. 4 (1997): 76-81.

Ibid.

Three additional questions asked for the following demographic information: GPA, gender, and year in school or status.

The eleven participating colleges are Florida State University, Michigan State University, Northern Arizona University, Oklahoma State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Temple University, University of Central Florida, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and University of South Carolina.

A total of 362 students responded (a 38.8 percent response rate). Twenty surveys were eliminated because of incomplete responses.

We confirmed the results of factor analysis by performing a confirmatory factor analysis by means of the analysis of moment structures (AMOS). The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the reliability ranged from .68 to .84, all exceeding a suggested minimum of .60. The equation used to measure the reliability is presented in Appendix A. For the equation, see C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker , “Structural Equation Models with Unobserved Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics,” Journal of Marketing Research 18, no. 3 (1981): 382-388.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was preferred over several multiple regression analyses because it estimates a series of separate multiple regression equations simultaneously.

10.

Sciarini and Woods , “Selecting that First Job,” 76-81.

11.

Exhibit 3 shows the model tested with standardized factor loadings for observed variables and significant path effect coefficients (p < .05) of the five factors to the likelihood of employment. For the measurement model, which is equivalent for a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), all factor loadings were significant at p < .01. Significant factor loadings are used to evaluate convergent validity of the factors. Convergent validity examines the degree to which the indicator is similar to other indicators to which it theoretically should be similar. Reliability for the factors was evaluated by two methods, Cronbach’s alpha and construct reliability (see Appendix A).

12.

Information used by permission of T. Siriani. People Report represents data from U.S. firms comprising more than eighty-three hundred units, distributed in eighty-plus concepts, with systemwide sales of more than $30 billion.

13.

C. Collins and J. Han , “Exploring Applicant Pool Quantity and Quality: The Effects of Early Recruitment Practice Strategies, Corporate Advertising, and Firm Reputation,” Personnel Psychology 57 (2004): 685-717.

How Hospitality Students Develop Perceptions of Potential Employers

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