Effects of Internship Satisfaction on the Pursuit of Employment in Sport Management

Abstract

The internship could have a significant impact upon the student’s desire to enter the field after graduation. Despite a substantial amount of research that has been conducted with employees in many fields, relatively little research has been conducted with sport management interns. The purpose of this study, therefore, was twofold: (1) investigate the satisfaction of student-interns with characteristics of the internship experience and (2) investigate the effect of students’ satisfaction with their internship on their affective occupational commitment for and subsequent intentions to pursue employment in the sport management field. A total of 248 undergraduate students from two universities in the Southeastern United States completed a survey. Participants generally indicated satisfaction with opportunities to develop pertinent skills, engage in meaningful tasks, and build professional networks during the internship. Those who reported satisfaction with the internship were more likely to enter the field after graduation than those reporting dissatisfaction. Implications of these findings for site supervisors and sport management faculty were discussed.