Effect of Work Experience on Students’ Attitudes Toward Hospitality Careers
Tourism and Hospitality Management
ISBN: 978-1-78635-714-4, eISBN: 978-1-78635-713-7
Publication date: 15 September 2016
Abstract
There is an essential link between the success of hospitality organizations and the availability of appropriate labor resources, making employee attraction a critical concern for the industry. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the role of work experience, both inside and outside the hospitality industry, in shaping students’ attitudes toward hospitality careers. The study was conducted on the group of 338 undergraduates and graduates enrolled in tourism and hospitality studies in Poznan, Poland. The findings suggest that work experience displays a stronger relationship with preferred than with perceived job and organization attributes. It is also related to perceptions of hospitality career attractiveness both in the long and in the short run as well as to intentions to apply for a job after graduation. The results underline the importance of providing students with quality work experience by the hospitality industry stakeholders as it can influence future career decisions.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgment
The research reported in this chapter is a part of the project “Quality of work life in competitive potential development in the tourism industry” financed by the National Science Centre, Poland (decision no. DEC-2012/07/B/HS4/03089).
Citation
Bednarska, M.A. and Olszewski, M. (2016), "Effect of Work Experience on Students’ Attitudes Toward Hospitality Careers", Tourism and Hospitality Management (Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 235-249. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1871-317320160000012018
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016 Emerald Group Publishing Limited