Graduate Business Research Articles

Ethical use of artificial intelligence based tools in higher education: are future business leaders ready?

AbstractThis study examined the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence-based Tools (AIT) in higher education, focusing on graduate business students. Drawing from a diverse sample of students from the United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the research explored how cultural values shaped perceptions and behaviors towards ethical use of AIT. Structural Topic Modeling (STM), a machine learning technique to identify themes in open-ended responses, was used to assess the influence of culture as a covariate. Culture was classified into ten clusters comprising a group of countries, and findings were interpreted using Hofstede’s cultural framework. The study revealed significant variations in ethical perceptions across cultural clusters. For example, students from the Southern Asia cluster viewed the use of AIT to answer questions as more ethical, while students from Latin Europe were less likely to perceive it as ethical. Conversely, students from Latin Europe were more inclined to consider the use of AIT to understand concepts as ethical, compared to their Southern Asian counterparts. The findings highlight the importance of understanding cultural perceptions when integrating AIT in higher education. Addressing a significant gap in the existing educational literature, this research contributes to the broader discussion on the ethical implications of AI in education and offers practical strategies for fostering a culturally sensitive and inclusive approach while utilizing a novel methodology within the field.

Analyze the Factors Affecting the Entrepreneurial Behavior among the Business Graduates of Bangladesh

Analyze the Factors Affecting the Entrepreneurial Behavior among the Business Graduates of Bangladesh

Analytics: What Do Business Majors Need and Where Do They Get It?

Analytical skills are important for all business majors. Because of the statistical underpinnings, statisticians are a natural fit for the delivery of these skills. Unfortunately, there is a lack of common understanding of what skills and competencies are needed. This article has two primary objectives: determine how business analytics course offerings delineate course content (i.e., where statistical and analytical topics are currently offered in business disciplines); and determine the industry analytical needs of various business domains. We performed two phases of analysis. First, we collected course listings and descriptions from the top thirty undergraduate and graduate business programs in the United States to determine what analytics courses are currently offered. Second, we collected industry data to determine what skills are needed across business disciplines based on job postings that identify analytics. Our results indicate there is some overlap of content between current courses. We also find that there are varying analytical skills and competencies needed in other business domains based on job postings. These results can help guide the structure of analytics offerings in business schools.

“Integrated model perspective of capital theory, TPB and SCCT towards determining business students' digital entrepreneurial intention in developing country context”

The current research studies aim to investigate antecedents that influence business graduate students' digital entrepreneurial intention (DEI) to establish digital start-up ventures by employing the capital theory, theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and social cognitive career theory (SCCT) model. Using quantitative and convenience sampling methods, 564 self-reported primary survey data were collected through an online questionnaire from business graduates in Karnataka, India. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse survey data and empirically test the hypothesis. Findings suggest that digital entrepreneurial competence, digital entrepreneurial knowledge, digital entrepreneurial self-efficacy, digital innovative cognition, subjective norms, information technology culture, perceived behaviour control and social media influence antecedents significantly influence digital entrepreneurial attitudes towards DEI. Hence, digital entrepreneurial education and digital entrepreneurial role models are insignificant in influencing digital entrepreneurial attitudes towards DEI. Furthermore, business students' digital entrepreneurial attitudes significantly influence digital entrepreneurial intention towards creating digital-based start-up ventures. These research findings and results will contribute to governments, collegiate education departments, universities, and societal supporting systems to develop a framework and policies regarding technical and entrepreneurial education systems and create digital start-up ecosystems in the Indian context.

Unveiling the Drivers of Social Entrepreneurship Intentions: Insights from Business Graduates in Bangladesh

Young business graduates often show a higher level of entrepreneurial intention due to their ambition, energy, innovation, drive, and capacities. However, there is limited research on what drives them towards social entrepreneurship (SE) in a complex developing country such as Bangladesh. This quantitative study investigates the factors motivating business graduates’ SE intention (SEI) using 314 finalised survey responses from Bangladeshi universities. We used SPSS 25 and SmartPLS 4.0 to analyse the data and found that the need for achievement, self-confidence, and socio-cultural values, have significant positive effects on business graduates’ SEI, whereas risk-taking, and economic factors have no significant effects. These findings add value to the upper echelons theory with implications for the policymakers in similar contexts to foster SE among the youth.

Sustainable development goals, sustainable finance, and financial inclusion: An awareness perspective of business graduates

AbstractThe study aims to inquire about the level of understanding of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sustainable Finance (SF), and Financial Inclusion (FI) among business graduates. The data were collected through a self‐administered questionnaire from 342 business graduates from different universities in a developing country like Pakistan. The findings revealed that the respondents have a no‐to‐low understanding of SF, FI, and the role or importance of these in achieving the 17 SDGs. The findings suggest major revisions in the structure and contents of different business degrees in Pakistan. Overall, the study opens new avenues for research and provides important insights for all the key stakeholders, including universities, higher education institutions (HEIs), the Higher Education Commission (HEC), students, and parents. The study also has social and practical implications for various stakeholders in the HEIs.

Why do parental education effects on wages differ by study fields? An analysis of bachelor- and master graduates in Austria

ABSTRACT From an equity perspective, it is important that higher education graduates have the same labour market opportunities after graduation regardless of their social background. However, empirical evidence on the direct effect of parental education on labour market outcomes is mixed, with heterogeneous effects across fields of study. A common finding is that social origin is more relevant for labour market success for graduates in business, law, and the arts than for graduates in engineering, IT, or medicine. Analysis of comprehensive Austrian administrative data show disadvantages for first-generation graduates compared to graduates with tertiary educated parents in some fields (e.g. law), but advantages in others (e.g. engineering). Multilevel models show that the composition of study fields in terms of first-generation graduates plays a crucial role in explaining these differences. Other factors such as the distinction between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ disciplines or the proportion of graduates working in more bureaucratic institutions play no or a lesser role.

An analysis of the obstructive factors that impact the growth of entrepreneurs among university graduates in Bangladesh

The development of university graduate’s entrepreneurial intentions is essential for the financial stability of developing countries like Bangladesh. The purpose of the research is to detect the variables that inhibit or impede Bangladeshi university graduates from starting new businesses. The study was carried out. 150 recent business graduates from five institutions in Bangladesh—three public universities and two private universities—were chosen and interviewed for the study. The participant graduates completed a standardized survey with a five-point Likert scale, and secondary information was gathered from a variety of sources. In order to describe the current state of entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh and pinpoint factors that discourage university graduates from starting their own businesses there, descriptive data were employed. This study’s reliability, validity, and regression have been tested with the help of SPSS (version 21). The findings of the study explore that lack of self-confidence and serenity, absence of desire to lead successfully, lack of a favorable environment, absence of determination, and learning have a positive impact on enhancing the growth of entrepreneurs among university graduates in Bangladesh. That means these four factors are significantly connected to the overall obstacle to university graduates in Bangladesh. On the contrary, a lack of resources and financial support has a negative impact on enhancing the growth of entrepreneurs among university graduates in Bangladesh. The findings of the investigation are expected to help policymakers better understand their entrepreneurial intentions in the context of university graduates and design an effective business strategy to enhance the growth of entrepreneurship among fresh university graduates in the competitive market.

Comparative analysis of student evaluations: Exploring the effects of course modality and type in graduate business courses

This study compares student evaluations across face-to-face and online modalities, as well as qualitative versus quantitative courses, in a large sample of graduate-level courses from 2008 to 2023 at a US business school. The findings reveal significantly lower course and instructor evaluation ratings despite similar class performance in online modality. Quantitative courses received notably lower satisfaction ratings than qualitative courses. Importantly, when accounting for modality and course type, grades do not influence student evaluations. Maintaining fair comparisons by restricting evaluations solely to the same modality and course type is crucial for assessing college professors’ teaching quality through student evaluation ratings.

Research on Business Talents Cultivation and Employment Issues in Universities under the Background of Digital Economy

The digital economy is injecting new vitality and opportunities into the global economic recovery, and high-quality digital economy talents have become the key competitiveness to promote industrial development. Colleges and universities are the breeding grounds for talent supply for regional economic development. During the critical period when the digital economy is reshaping the industrial chain and changing the world economic landscape, enhancing the digital literacy of business talents is crucial for all regions and universities. Taking business graduates in Zhejiang Province as the research object and using questionnaires and interviews as the main survey methods, this paper studies the relationship between the integration of digital education and employment competitiveness. The survey found that the participation of business graduates in the digital economy is relatively low, indicating that this field can provide more development space for business students. The research results show that the integration of digital education, mastery of professional skills, and practical application of knowledge all have a positive impact on enhancing the employment competitiveness of business students. Improving the professional skills and practical application abilities of business talents in the digital field can effectively enhance their employment competitiveness.

Perceived university entrepreneurship support services and entrepreneurial intentions: experiences from the University of Dodoma’s graduates

Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in economic growth for developing countries, including Tanzania. Unfortunately, the number of entrepreneurs in Tanzania is still lagging behind other East African countries. The emergence of knowledge-based entrepreneurship programs makes universities one of the vital supply sources for creating entrepreneurs. Even though it has institutional support from the government, entrepreneurship is still not considered a promising alternative career choice. Thus, we investigated the influence of perceived university support services on building entrepreneurial intention from the perspective of the University of Dodoma’s graduates. In this cross-sectional research study, a sample size of 120 is drawn from the business graduates of the University of Dodoma who have received entrepreneurship support services using two-stage random sampling, of which females were 37.5% and males were 62.5%. The data were analysed using multiple regressions. The study found that most of the respondents do not intend to own businesses. The study further found that perceived entrepreneurship education and business development support services have a positive and significant influence on the odds of graduates becoming entrepreneurs. However, concept development support has a positive but insignificant influence on graduates’ entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, we draw a number of recommendations for the theory, future research, and practice of university entrepreneurship support services.

Student’s Readiness for Career Satisfaction in the Private Universities of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

This study investigates the factors influencing students' readiness for career satisfaction among business graduates in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. Drawing on a descriptive survey analysis methodology, data were collected from 250 business administration students attending private institutions in Nanchang. The research explores the roles of societal norms, student expectations, skills, and career counsellor proficiency in shaping career satisfaction. Findings emphasize the importance of aligning career choices with personal values, enhancing students' skills, and ensuring effective career guidance services. The study contributes to understanding the complexities of career satisfaction and offers insights for educators, policymakers, and career counsellors to improve outcomes for business graduates.

Predicting graduate students’ entrepreneurial intentions through innovative teaching in entrepreneurship education: SEM-ANN approach

PurposeEntrepreneurship education (EE) through innovative teaching techniques (ITEE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) are two essential components of entrepreneurship development. Using the assumptions of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we took three constructs: attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SUBNs), and perceived behavioral control (PBC), and from the assumption of Human Capital (HC) theory, we constructed another variable, ITEE. Thus, the fundamental objective of this study is to find out the essential predictor of EI between entrepreneurial antecedents (ATT, SUBNs, PBC) and ITEE through an artificial neural network (ANN).Design/methodology/approachUsing the snowball sampling technique, a highly structured questionnaire was sent to respondents. Finally, a sample size of 397 business graduate students was chosen.FindingsThe findings revealed that two dimensions of entrepreneurial antecedents (attitude and subjective norm) positively impacted EI. Furthermore, ITEE partially mediated the relationship between two dimensions of entrepreneurial antecedents (attitude and subjective norm) and EI. Moreover, through ANN, we found that attitude (ATT) was a crucial predictor of EI among business graduate students in Bangladesh.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, only business graduate students were included as respondents; thus, further research should include students from other departments or disciplines to generalize the findings.Practical implicationsThis study covers numerous actors in terms of practical contributions, including students, academics, the government, and the state. This article should draw the attention of Bangladesh government policymakers regarding the significance of ITEE for developing entrepreneurship. The research framework of this study proposed that ITEE should implement antecedents of entrepreneurship into business education, boosting the ability of students to make judgments, which will also enhance EI in the future.Originality/valueIntegrating the TPB theory with human capital theory represents a significant scholarly advancement in business education for graduate students in Southeast Asia, namely Bangladesh. Furthermore, we developed a novel ITEE scale by synthesizing information from many literary sources, providing valuable insights for future researchers.

Synergistic competencies of business graduates for the digital age: directions for higher education

PurposeFor business and management higher education (HE) to transition graduates to digital workplaces and careers, it’s crucial they develop competencies (digital and traditional, soft and technical, new and old) that are relevant and applicable.Design/methodology/approachInsights are obtained from 60 comprehensive interviews with HE business students, educators and industry practitioners.FindingsSix synergistic competencies are described that leverage synergies of (often) divergent competencies in the digital age of business, integrating them with a recently emerged multi-disciplinary competency framework. Each synergy states its target application, purpose and is aligned with specific HE practices.Originality/valueScholarship of competencies is re-oriented away from clusters and towards synergies, with a new inter-disciplinary competency framework validated to business in the digital age, with directions provided for HE.

Measurement of sustainable attitudes: a scale for business students

Purpose This study aims to present the development and validation of a scale to measure the attitudes of Latin American business students toward sustainable management practices in the economic, social and environmental dimensions. Design/methodology/approach Using a nonprobabilistic sample, the appreciation for sustainable practices in students (ASP-S) scale was administered to a total of 653 undergraduate and graduate business students in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. A range of psychometric validity (construct, convergent and discriminant) and reliability criteria were applied. Findings Construct, convergent and discriminant validity was obtained from the ASP-S scale across all samples. During the internal validation process, two factors were found: systemic consciousness (ten items) and sustainable business leadership (nine items), both of which obtained acceptable reliability indices. The resulting structure is equivalent in all four countries. Originality/value The instrument can be applied by educators and learning assurance areas to diagnose and measure the effectiveness of pedagogical strategies used in sustainability courses taught at Latin American business schools. As a result, it has applications for curriculum design. As a valid and reliable instrument set in the context of regional business praxis, it can promote an understanding of sustainable behaviors and practices in future Latin American leaders.

Why underserved business students show a lack of interest in developing sought-after STEM skills

Technological advancements have profoundly transformed business operations and decision-making processes. They underscore the pivotal role of technology in gaining a competitive edge, a critical competency for future business leaders. However, college students in business disciplines, particularly underserved populations, commonly exhibit a lack of interest in developing STEM skills. This issue arises from a complex interplay of various factors that require further exploration. This paper presents an empirical study that delves into the multifaceted origins of this challenge. The study unveils significant insights, shedding light on the importance of addressing disparities in early STEM engagement. The resulting findings mostly align with our hypothesis, suggesting the need for unconventional STEM education tailored for underserved business students. By examining the roots of this issue, the research brings about nuanced perspectives for educators and other stakeholders to consider when developing targeted strategies to enhance the readiness of underserved business graduates for the demands of technology-driven business environments.

Whether mismatch finds match in the digitalized era: A comparison of five types of graduates to align business education and banking jobs

Reasons for the emerging mismatch between education and the labor market, its impact and the resolving mechanisms have been well studied. However, mismatch continues to be very problematic. Moreover, the new era of digitalization and artificial intelligence is accelerating this crisis. Acknowledging this tenet, we investigate further—whether a mismatch finds a match in the digitalized era. An individualist approach to answer each research question was considered so descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression and interviews are adopted under were implemented using the framework of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings suggest that the overall performance of the fully mismatched group (Science graduates) is comprehensively better compared to their counterpart (Business graduates). Digitalization has further generated a mismatch since business graduates are now increasingly irrelevant. This paper supplements the discourse on education and job market mismatch by using a distinct measurement strategy. We argue that digitalized skills are now the required competence to do jobs in any sector. Hence, all types of schools (business, science, social sciences) should equip their graduates with digitized skills in order to prevent them being replaced by science graduates.

Building synergistic mindsets in international business education: the unmet demands of a VUCA marketplace

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opening experience that put to the test our crisis management competencies across many institutions, including those offered by institutions of higher education. This study aims to review the literature on international business (IB) risks and IB education (IBE) to question whether business graduates are equipped to make decisions in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) marketplace. Design/methodology/approach While the IB literature has discussed the importance of various sources of risks on global business operations, IBE did not effectively adopt an integrative approach to building the needed risk management competencies related to those risks into our education. The authors argue that this integrative approach to teaching IB is critically needed to prepare future global managers for addressing crises, like that of the pandemic and others. Specifically, this study proposes that this integrated risk management competency can be developed through the building of “synergistic mindsets”. Findings This study presents a conceptual framework for the components of the synergistic mindset, with intelligence that directly links to present IB risks. These components are cultural intelligence (CQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), public policy intelligence (PPQ), digital intelligence (DQ) and orchestration intelligence (OQ). Originality/value Insights related to IBE effectiveness in addressing today’s VUCA market demands and IB risks are discussed.

Learning Analytics: The Impact of Digital Tools in Upper-Level and Graduate Courses

Colorado Technical University (CTU) harnesses adaptive learning, accompanied by learning analytics in online courses that engage thousands of students quarterly. Approximately 600 CTU faculty have participated in the use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom. Learning analytics applied to information gleaned from data dashboards provides visibility and insight concerning our students’ level of progress when enrolled in a course. This study focused on learning analytics capturing student success factors, including student engagement, timeliness of assignment submission, assignment grades, and student progression (persistence to next term) in four upper-level and graduate business courses. Additional information analyzed consisted of CTU Messenger data, end-of-course surveys with insights extracted from instant messages, and recorded student and instructor feedback throughout a course. Recommended strategies informed by findings that can lead to improved student outcomes are also detailed.

Entrepreneurial engagement of business graduates in Region XI with entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial education as determinants: A convergent mixed methods study

Entrepreneurial engagement of business graduates in Region XI with entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial education as determinants: A convergent mixed methods study