FACTORS INFLUENCING UNDERGRADUATES CHOICE

OF BUSINES MAJOR
Manjeet Kaur & Yeoh Ei Leen
INTI International University College
Persiaran Perdana, Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan
ABSTRACT
This research seeks to examine the amount of information search on business
majors and higher education institutions by students before their enrolment and
factors that influence their choice of business major. The sample comprised of 216
first year business students as respondents to this research. The findings revealed
that the students enrolled into courses without sufficient information on the course
and the institution of higher learning. Interest in the subject was found to be the
most influencing factor for all majors except those who are interested to major in
finance who found career advancement most influential.
INTRODUCTION
In Malaysia, business studies has become one of the main courses offered in many tertiary
institutions be it public or private universities or colleges. Students choosing a business course
will have to major in one the fields such as accountancy, finance, marketing, human resources or
business administration. While there has been increasing efforts among the universities and
colleges in offering the courses that matches the students qualifications and needs, very little
research has been conducted on the factors that actually influences the students choice of major.
Research in other countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom and Australia
have established that students choice of major appear to be influenced by several factors ranging
from personal to job related factors. Gender, race, their quantitative skills, students interest in
the subject, expected marketability, performance in major classes, the approachability and
teaching reputation of the faculty are among the factors that have some influence on the students
choice.
The main objective of this research is to examine if the first year business students have collected
enough information about the major that they enrol in and if they are aware of the career options
available. This research also aims to discover the significant factors contributing to students
choice of business major. The last objective of this research is to find out if there is a significant
difference among the identified factors influencing undergraduates who intent to pursue different
business majors.
LITERATURE REVIEW

There were research done in United States of America and Australia in identifying factors
influencing students choice of business major. Some of these research examined the subjective
factors including social cultural, sociological, psychological and personal factors, some looked at
the objective factors and many others took into consideration both categories. Zhang (2006) had
proposed a comprehensive research model combining both subjective and objective elements to
study factors influencing undergraduate students intention to choose Information System as a
major in business schools based on previous research work of several researchers on similar
areas. Due to the comprehensiveness of Zhangs (2006) research model this research has adopted
some elements of Zhangs (2006) research model and adapted them to the questionnaire used by
Malgwi, Howe and Burnaby (2005) to build the survey instrument. Each variable selected for the
survey instrument is discussed as follows.
Normative or salient referents including family and non family groups provide the student with
norms, attitudes, and values through direct interaction (Park and Lessig as cited in Pimpa, 2007,
p.1 and Zhang, 2006, p.312). Previous studies confirmed that reference groups either family or
non family groups who have significant amount of interaction could influence students choice of
major (Bearden and Etzel as cited in Pimpa, 2007, p.1 and Bebko; Maple and Stage as cited in
Kim, Markham and Cangelosi, 2002, p.29). Study confirmed that parents do influence students
choice of business major except for those who chose accountancy as their major (Kim et al.,
2002, p.30). Students choice of business major can also be influenced by their parents
occupation (Leppel, Williams and Waldauer as cited in Malgwi et al., 2005, p.275). Research has
showed that the instructors including high school teachers and college lecturers play a significant
role in influencing a students final choice of business major (Cohen and Hanno; Mauldin, Crain
and Mounce as cited in Pritchard, Potter and Saccucci, 2004, p.153). However, there were two
contradictory research findings (Malgwi et al., 2005) which reported that parents and educators
did not have significant influence on students choice of major. Given the contradictory results of
previous research, this study aims to explore if Malaysian students with a different cultural
background are influence by either parents or educators in choosing their business major.
Another category of subjective factors which Zhang (2006, p.312) categorised as instrumental
beliefs or what can also be termed as personal factors such as interest in the subject, ability to do
the major (Galotti; Giacomino and Akers; Gist, Goedde and Ward; Simpson; Wikoff and Kafka
as cited in Pritchard et al., 2004, p.152), quantitative skills and intellectually challenging and not
boring (Cohen and Hanno as cited in Pritchard et al., 2004, p.153 and as cited in Zhang, 2006,
p.312) were examined. Many research revealed that students interest in the subject is one of the
significant factors identified that influences their choice of major (Adams, Pryor and Adams;
Cohen and Hanno; Malgwi et al. as cited in Zhang, 2007, p.312). Research findings indicated
that students with better quantitative skills tended to choose either accountancy or finance as
business major whereas those who chose to major in marketing, management and management
information system were those with weaker quantitative skills (Pritchard et al., 2004, p.154).
This research investigates if the personal factors including interest in the subject, ability to do the
major, quantitative skills and the inclination towards intellectually challenging major have
significant influence on foundation level students and first year undergraduate in choosing their
business major.

Previous research found that objective elements including job-related factors (Zhang, 2006,
p.312) potential job opportunities and compensation are the two key factors influencing the
choice of major among business students (Cebula and Lopes; Mauldin et al. as cited in Kim et
al., 2002, p.28; Cohen and Hanno as cited in Zhang, 2006, p.312). Many research indicated that
students choice of business major are influenced by higher earnings, prestige and career
advancement (Giladi, Amoo and Friedman; Goff; Swenson, Swinyard, Langrehr and Smith;
Daymon and Andrisani; Green; Leppel; McKendall and Lindquist; Lysonski and Durvasula as
cited in Kim et al., 2002, p.28-29). Lowe and Simons (1997, p.41) discover that compensation,
career opportunities and prestige were significant factors that influence students in choosing
accounting as their major whereas students who chose other business major were more
influenced by personal and normative factors. There should be a general awareness among
students on the career opportunities available in Malaysia and overseas and level of
compensation for accountants as it has been widely publicised in the local newspapers such as
The Star. With the amount of news publicity given to a particular profession, it is interesting to
find out if these job-related factors are the key factors influencing student in choosing
accountancy as a major. Similar situation was reported by Zhang (2006, p.311) where
information system was a desirable major to undergraduate students in mid 1990s during the
emergence of the Internet and e-commerce and mushrooming of dot.com companies.
The other categories of objective factors are more of institutional factors which include workload
required of the major, colleges reputation in the subject and advertisements or promotion
(Mauldin et al.; Swenson et al.; Vangermeersch as cited in Kim et al., 2002, p.29). The amount of
coursework required is highlighted by Cohen and Hanno as cited in Zhang (2006, p.312) as an
expected academic difficulty or cost factor which could influence students choice of major.
However, research findings by Kim et al. (2002) indicated that reputation of the major at the
university and promotion are the least selected reasons for choosing a major. There were a total
of 540 public and private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia and many of them offered
business courses with accounting, marketing, finance and business administration as major. Thus,
there is an intense competition among these higher education institutions in attracting potential
undergraduates to enrol in their establishment. Therefore, this research seeks to find out if
students are concerned of the reputation of the major at the institution of higher learning and
influenced by the advertisements of the institutions of higher learning.
METHODOLOGY
A questionnaire was developed to collect data on the factors influencing the choice of major
among undergraduates in private university and colleges. In the first part of the questionnaire,
categorical variables were used to identify the gender, nationality and the choice of major. The
majors available to the respondents are Business Administration, International Business,
Marketing, Finance and Accountancy. Then, a five-point Likert scale type was used to evaluate
the influence of 16 factors on the students choice of major. These factors were identified from
previous researches. They consist of personal factors (interest in the subject, ability to do the
major, workload, challenge), reference group (parents, counselors, friends, school teachers,
university lecturers, college friends), job-related factors (job opportunities, compensation, career
advancement and prestige) and institutional factors (advertisements and institution reputation). In

the last part of the questionnaire, an open ended question was designed to determine the subject
in which the respondents had the highest score during high school or foundation programme.
Among the programmes that were targeted as the population of the survey are Business
Foundation, British Business Degree, Australian Transfer Degree and home grown degree
programme. A sample size of 216 students were selected from the final semester of foundation
programme and the first year degree programme as at this stage, they have either yet to choose
their major or they have just enrolled.
The data collected was then analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 12.0.
In order to investigate the influence of the concerned independent variables on the choice of
major, the descriptive statistics such as mean scores for each influential factor were presented.
Frequency distribution was also used to analyse the percentage of different majors.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Profile of Respondents
The sample group included five types of majors, comprising of 123 females and 93 males. The
sample is broken down according to respondents intention to pursue a particular business major.
Fourty three (43) of them intent to major in Accountancy, 53 in Finance, 56 in Marketing, 51 in
Business Administration and 13 in International Business.
Information Search Performed by Business Undergraduates before their Enrolment
Research results showed that less than 15 percent of the respondents searched for substantial
amount of information on private higher education institution, business major options, career
opportunities available for each business major and subjects to be taken before they enrolled
themselves to a business program. Almost half of the respondents interviewed either did not
search or carried out very little information search on institutions of higher learning and business
majors available. This finding highlights the importance of conducting clear career counselling
on the career prospects and subjects to be taken for the different business major to high school
leavers who intent to pursue a business degree otherwise there will be a mismatch of students
ability and interest and the business major which he or she enrolled into. It is then the ethical
responsibility of institutions of higher learning to provide sufficient information on the business
major concerned and career options available to high school leavers who want to pursue a
business degree. Findings indicated that a higher percentage of the respondents who intent to
major in marketing will search for substantial amount of information on the higher education
institution and their major in comparison to respondents who want to major in other business
majors. This may be due to a higher percentage of them mentioned that they were highly
influenced by advertisement and reputation of the college when choosing the major option in
comparison to respondents who chose to major in accounting, finance, business administration
and international business. Advertisement is a form of external source of information. On the
other hand, those who want to major in accounting will search more on the subjects to be taken.
Respondents who want to major in business administration sought for more information on the
career options available. Informal interview with respondents who want to pursue a business
administration undergraduate degree revealed that they are not certain of what sort of career

choice available for business administration graduates besides being administrative officers or
executives.
Factors Influencing Choice of Business Major
To identify the influence of each factor on the choice of major, the mean scores were calculated.
(please refer to the following Table 1). The overall results revealed that interest in the subject
which had a mean of 3.509 had the highest influence on the students choice of major. This was
followed by potential for career advancement (M=3.41) and potential job opportunities
(M=3.37). On the other hand, high school teacher had the lowest mean, indicating that it had the
least influence on the students choice of major. Even the counselors, high school friends and
college lecturers had shown low level of influence. These findings are consistent with some
previous researches by Malgwi et al (2005) and Lowe and Simons (1997).
Table 1: Mean Scores of Factors Influencing Choice of Major
Factor
parents
counsellor
teacher
friends
lecturer
collegefriends
interest
ability
workload
reputation
advertisement
challenge
prestige
job
advancement
compensation
Valid N (listwise)

N
Statistic
216
215
215
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
216
215
214

Mean
Statistic
2.6019
1.8512
1.7023
1.8843
1.8565
2.1157
3.5093
3.2222
2.9630
2.6481
2.2222
2.7454
2.6389
3.3750
3.4167
2.9767

Std.
Deviation
Statistic
1.23845
.91518
.93965
1.02096
1.03553
1.08715
1.14928
.99612
1.06466
1.12737
1.03729
1.08905
1.08227
1.06667
1.08371
1.13336

Skewness
Statistic
Std.
.172
.817
1.173
.870
.951
.535
-.403
-.316
-.066
.137
.603
.107
.093
-.494
-.558
-.226

Error
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166
.166

Factors Influencing Undergraduates Choice of Business Major: A Comparison Among

Business Majors
To further explore the influence of each factor across different majors, the respondents were
divided into their respective majors (please refer to the following Table 2). Many of the
respondents across different majors mentioned that interest in the subject is the most important
determinant in their choice of major. Adams, Pryor and Adams; Cohen and Hanno; Malgwi et al.
as cited in Zhang (2007, p.312) also mentioned that students interest as one of the most
significant factors that influences students choice of major. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that
these young adults made the right choice of business major as their interest in a particular major
is essential to motivate them to study and excel in their chosen field. If they found that they made
the wrong choice then their academic performance will slack and they will start to play truant.
It is interesting to note that respondents in every major mentioned that career advancement, the
job itself and their ability to cope with the job as more influencing than compensation. Prestige is

seen as a crucial influence to respondents who want major in international business. This finding
concurs with the results of previous research that career advancement is important (Giladi, Amoo
and Friedman; Goff; Swenson, Swinyard, Langrehr and Smith; Daymon and Andrisani; Green;
Leppel; McKendall and Lindquist; Lysonski and Durvasula as cited in Kim et al., 2002, p.28-29;
Lowe and Simons, 1997, p.41) and offers more specific finding on the influence of compensation
and prestige on respondents who intent to pursue different business majors. Respondents who
want to pursue a degree in finance revealed that interest in the subject to have the highest
influence on their choice of major. When the means were compared across majors, the results
indicated that students selecting business administration found interest in the subject and
potential for career advancement more influential than other majors. Meanwhile, students who
want to major in marketing placed more importance on ability to do the major, workload
required of the major and potential job opportunities compared to other majors. Finance majors
decision was more influenced by level of compensation in the field relative to other majors. This
result is consistent with the findings of Kim et al (2002) where projected earning was placed as
important factor for finance students.
Normative referents either family or non family groups did not have any significant influence on
respondents except those who want to pursue the business administration undergraduate
program. Findings showed that respondents with the intention to pursue a business
administration major are influenced by parents when deciding on the choice of business major
whereas respondents who want to major in other business disciplines mentioned that parents
have no or little influence in their choice. Kim et al. (2002, p.30) found that parents do influence
students choice of business major except for those who chose to do accountancy. However, this
research findings indicated that parents do not influence respondents who want to major in
accountancy, finance, marketing and international business.
A comparison among students who intent to pursue different majors indicated that students who
wanted to major in accountancy and finance did very well in calculation subjects during their
high school. Almost 80 per cent of respondents who have chosen to major in either accountancy
or finance obtained highest marks for calculation subjects as compared with respondents of other
business majors. Pitchard et al. (2004, p.154) obtain similar result in their research.
Table 2: Mean Scores of Factors Influencing Choice of Major Across
Respondents Intention to pursue a particular Business Major

Mean

parents
counsellor
teacher
friends
lecturer
collegefriends
interest
ability
workload
reputation
advertisement
challenge
prestige
job
advancement
compensation

accountancy
2.6512
2.0233
1.9070
1.9070
1.8372
1.8837
3.5581
3.1395
2.9302
2.6047
2.1395
2.7442
2.6512
3.3721
3.3256

finance
2.2830
1.6038
1.4717
1.7170
1.5660
1.7736
3.3585
3.1321
2.8491
2.5094
1.9245
2.7925
2.6792
3.3396
3.3774

marketing
2.6964
1.9286
1.6429
1.8393
1.8214
2.2857
3.5536
3.3750
3.0714
2.6964
2.4821
2.7679
2.4643
3.4107
3.4643

course
business admin
2.8431
1.8800
1.8600
2.1373
2.1569
2.4706
3.6275
3.3529
3.0392
2.8824
2.3725
2.7059
2.7255
3.3922
3.5294

international business
2.3846
1.8462
1.6154
1.6923
2.0769
2.1538
3.3077
2.6923
2.7692
2.2308
2.0000
2.6154
2.8462
3.3077
3.2308

Total
2.6019
1.8512
1.7023
1.8843
1.8565
2.1157
3.5093
3.2222
2.9630
2.6481
2.2222
2.7454
2.6389
3.3750
3.4167

3.0465

3.0577

2.8393

3.0000

2.9231

2.9767

CONCLUSION
This research found that the business foundation students and first year business undergraduates
studying in private higher education institution do not search for sufficient information before
they enrol themselves into an undergraduate business degree and decide on their business major.
The implications of this findings suggest the importance of career counseling road shows and
career fairs to create awareness and understanding among young high school leavers who intent
to pursue a business degree in higher education institution. This will rectify the problem of
students enrolling into a business major of which they have no knowledge of the subjects taught
and future career options thus minimising the number of students dropping out when they found
out they are not interested in the subjects taught at all. The awareness and understanding of
subjects taught and career options available are important to high school leavers who intent to
pursue a business degree program as this research found that the utmost important factors
influencing their choice of major include interest in the subject, career advancement and career
opportunities available. Another implication derived from this research is the emphasis of factor
influencing undergraduates choice of major. It is vital to highlight to undergraduate who intent
to pursue a particular major on the possibility of the existence of factor influencing them to
choose a particular major. For example, business foundation students or first year business
undergraduate who want to pursue international business due to prestige of the job. They have to
be made aware of if a career in international business offers prestige. Similarly, undergraduates
chose to major in finance because of higher compensation. It is then vital to let these
undergraduates who intent to major in finance know on the salary level of different career
options in finance. This research hopes to highlight the importance of the role of the higher
education institutions in offering sufficient and relevant information to potential students who
want to pursue a business degree so that these young high school leavers are able to make
informed decision about their future career.

REFERENCES
1. Kim, D., Markham, F.S. and Cangelosi, J.D., 2002. Why students pursue the business
degree: a comparison of business majors across universities. Journal of education for
Business, 78 (1), 28-32.
2. Lowe, D.R. and Simons, K., 1997. Factors influencing choice of business majors - some
additional evidence: a research note. Accounting education, 6 (1), 39-45.
3. Malgwi, C.A., Howe, M.A. and Burnaby, P.A., 2005. Influences on students choice of
college major. Journal of education for business, 80 (5), 275-282.
4. Pimpa, N., 2007. The influence of normative referents on Thai students choice of
international education [online] Monash Centre for Research in International Education.
Available from: http://www.aare.edu.au/01pap/pim01016.htm [Accessed 6 April 2007].
5. Pritchard, R.E., Potter, G.C. and Saccucci, M.S., 2004. The selection of a business major:
elements influencing student choice and implications for outcomes assessment. Journal
of education for business, 79 (3), 152-156.
6. Zhang, W., 2006. Why IS: Understanding the factors influencing undergraduate students
intention to choose IS major in business schools [online]. Claremont, California, USA,
ACM.
Available
from:
portal.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=11252408&type=pdf
[Assessed 4 June 2007].