Professional Social Network Participation of Business School Graduates: Effects of University, Degree Type, and Gender

Social networks are having a profound impact on how professionals communicate and connect with each other. Online professional social networks have become a significant resource for building and maintaining invaluable business connections. Recent university graduates are a particular population often in search of building social networks to further professional development. Participation in online social networks provides a valuable tool for recent university graduates to create and sustain their professional connections and business relationships. This paper seeks to gain a better understanding of the effect university (nationally ranked, large urban, and regional), gender and degree type (undergraduate and graduate) has on online professional social network participation. The authors' business school college graduate findings suggest that university, degree type, and gender were associated with the likelihood of joining the online professional social network LinkedIn. An analysis of the results and future research directions are presented.