Will parental influences affect career choice?

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine how the perceptions of hospitality and tourism management (HTM) undergraduates about their parental influences predict their career choice intention with regard to the hospitality and tourism (H&T) industry in China.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered questionnaire containing 22 parental influence attributes was given to both junior and senior students studying HTM programmes. Primary research on students' perceptions of parental influences on career choice has been undertaken in ten universities across five cities in China, with 566 valid samples acquired as a result.FindingsThree out of six parental influential factors derived from 22 attributes are determined as being the salient predictors for students' H&T career choice intention. Those three factors are “perceived parental supports of the H&T industry”, “perceived parental career concerns about welfare and prestige”, and “perceived parental barriers to career choice”. Demographic differences in parental influential factors are also revealed in the study.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings need to be confirmed by further evidence from other countries with different cultures. Future research should investigate students studying different majors, or at various educational levels. The variables of internship experience and colleges or universities being attended also deserve more attention. Another interesting topic would be to study parental influences on career choice from the parents' perspectives.Originality/valueThe knowledge obtained from the study will increase the very limited understanding of the effects of perceived parental influences on career choice, which might then lead to more attraction and recruitment of students to the H&T industry in China.