The purpose of our study was to examine the impact of retail work experience, career expectation, and job satisfaction on college students' intention to pursue retail careers. The 470 students who completed self-administered questionnaires were enrolled in academic programs with a merchandising focus. Using multiple regression analyses to test the hypothesized relationships, work experience and job satisfaction were significantly related to career intention. Emotional satisfaction was the most robust determinant of students' career intention. However, students' expectation concerning opportunity and success also were predictors of career intention. Understanding these relationships is beneficial for educators as they prepare students for retail careers.
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