Explaining university students’ career path intentions from their current entrepreneurial exposure

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to predict future career paths of university students, distinguishing between paid employment, running one’s own independent business and running a family business. The main predictor is the students’ current mode of entrepreneurial exposure, both in terms of the students running their own business, and in terms of their parents running their own business. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a comprehensive survey held in May 2013 among 1,490 business and law students of Kozminski University in Warsaw, Poland. To predict future career expectations in ten years’ time, multinomial logit regressions were employed. Findings The authors find that, among students with a family business background, those students who are actively involved in their parents’ business are significantly more likely to pursue joining the family firm, rather than starting their own business. Practical implications In order to stimulate business succession, universities with a large proportion of students with family business background may consider launching dedicated programs promoting the interest of students in the businesses run by their parents. Originality/value The authors investigate to what extent active participation of university students in their parents’ business is associated with a higher probability to pursue a career in family business. The research has important implications in light of the increasing difficulty in Europe to find successors for family businesses.