An assessment of students’ job preference using a discrete choice experiment: a postgraduate case study

Abstract

Purpose Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study aims to better understand the job preference of postgraduate students studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Institute of Distance Learning, Ghana and also rank the attributes of a job they deem important. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a positivist epistemological design contextualised within a deductive approach and case study strategy. Primary survey data was collected from a stratified random sample of 128 postgraduate students with multi-sectorial career prospects. Sample students were subjected to a DCE in which their stated preferences were collected using closed-ended questionnaires with 28 pairs of hypothetical job profiles. Respondents’ preferences from the DCE data were then modelled using the conditional logit. Findings The research reveals that: salary in the range GHC 2,800.00 to GHC 3,400.00 ($1 = GHS 5.3); supportive management; very challenging jobs; and jobs located in the city were the top attributes that were significant and had the most impact in increasing the utility of selecting a particular job. Interestingly, jobs with no extra hours workload were not significant hence, had a negative impact upon student preferences. Originality/value This novel research is the first to use a DCE to better elicit preference and trade-offs of postgraduate students in a developing country towards varying job characteristics that have an impact on their future employment decisions. Knowledge advancements made provide invaluable insight to employers and policymakers on the key criteria that should be implemented to retain the best candidate.

Nurturing Innovative Work Behaviour through Workplace Learning among Knowledge Workers of Small and Medium Businesses

“…Second, SMEs working in the knowledgeintensive sector were considered. The selection of knowledge-intensive SMEs was guided by previous empirical research in the area (Gyarteng-Mensah et al 2021;Zaki et. al., 2021;Hamad et al, 2018Hamad et al, , 2015Dosumu et al, 2017;El-Gohary, 2012;Giauque et al, 2010;Khalique et al, 2018;Ojala, 2009;Yusoff et al, 2016;Ramezan, 2012;Jeong et al, 2018).…”

Exploring job preferences of business and economics students from Colombia, Ecuador and Spain: a discrete choice experiment

“…Most of these case studies were conducted in the health field. For instance, Gyarteng-Mensah et al (2021) analysed the job preferences of postgraduate students in careers in multiple sectors in a university in Ghana. This work provides an approach to the study of job preferences in a developing country, and the findings indicate that the most important job attributes for students were supportive management, highly challenging work and jobs located in the city.…”

“…Most of these case studies were conducted in the health field. For instance, Gyarteng-Mensah et al. (2021) analysed the job preferences of postgraduate students in careers in multiple sectors in a university in Ghana.…”

Pre-covid and peri-covid analysis of employees' work values and job quality

“…Higher salaries, better career opportunities, expanding supportive supervision and training opportunities are what front-line health workers want from their jobs, according to a study by Dunsch and Velenyi (2019) that assessed the preferences of Ghanaian frontline health workers. Further, Gyarteng-Mensah et al. (2021)' study to better understand the work values of post-graduates reported that a higher salary, supportive management and complex jobs were the most important to them.…”