The Effcts Of Percieved Support And Opportunites On Organizational Identification: A Study Of College Interns

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Marano, Carla Josepina
Graduate Program:
Human Resources and Employment Relations
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
October 12, 2015
Committee Members:
Xiangmin Liu, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
organizational identification
intern
internships
post-exit
Abstract:
Exponentially growing in popularity throughout the United States, internships exist as a strategic element of proactive career development for university students and employers alike. Beyond the short­ term value that interns generate for organizations during their internships, interns represent long­term potential for the organization’s full­time workforce and future leadership. As a step toward understanding what factors facilitate enduring post­-internship organizational identification, this thesis seeks to identify individual antecedents that predict this construct. Data was collected from 351 university students who participated in summer internship programs. Step­analysis revealed a significant, positive relationship between post­-internship organizational identification and perceptions of supervisory support, coworker support and career opportunities. A discussion of the findings offers ways that organizations may augment and sustain organizational identification of interns after the conclusion of contractual relations.