“The Catalysts of Choice:” Factors influencing the Choice of Specialization Areas by Management Undergraduates in University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study was contextually undertaken in the Faculty of Management, University of Peradeniya, with two objectives: to explore the contextual factors affecting the selection of specialization and to classify such contextual factors. The qualitative interpretive methodology, precisely a case study strategy, was followed. Thematic analysis was conducted on the data collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 second and third-year students from different ethnicities and genders. The study found that three major arenas, the self, the people, and the information, influence the choice of specialization areas. Theoretically, this is one of the pioneering qualitative explorations on the factors influencing the choice of specialization of management undergraduates of Sri Lankan State universities.