MWAIS 2024 Proceedings

Abstract

Business Analytics education is rapidly gaining importance today as applying business analytics for quantitative decision-making is becoming the norm in the business world. This has to do with the intense competition in the business world and the need to reduce errors in managerial decision-making. Towards this end, advanced software-based methods such as machine learning and predictive analytics are being used by industry. It is, therefore, expected that business analytics education will become an integral and important part of business schools in the near future. Training first-generation students in business analytics and related software will put them on a career path with great potential while also paving the way for a diverse workplace in the future. The goal of this research-in-progress is to uncover and understand the most important factors impacting the interest and enrollment intentions of first-generation students, minority students, and female students in business analytics programs, employing Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). Uncovering and understanding the factors should help academic institutions enhance student interest and improve enrollment in business analytics programs, and help in balancing supply-demand issues in hiring. Our research, in addition to making contributions to extant research literature, will also have important implications for industry and university managements concerned with the domains of business analytics and related application software.

Share

COinS