Aim/Research Question:
The employability and career development of college graduates is a major concern, not only for the graduates themselves, but also for organizations, policy makers, and higher education institutions. It is often asserted that garnering career-related work experience while pursuing an academic credential enhances employability as well as helps to identify appropriate career paths. Internships are one mechanism to bolster the employability and career development of university students. Indeed, internships have become an increasingly common feature of the labor market across a number of capitalist countries.
However, while there seems to be convergence surrounding the growth of internships internationally, it is unclear whether the characteristics and outcomes associated with internships are homogeneous across nations. Two research streams suggest a greater likelihood for heterogeneity in the nature of internships across capitalist countries. The first stream of research focuses on comparative capitalism. In this literature, the spotlight is frequently on the importance of institutional diversity across national contexts. The second research stream is focused on national culture. Individuals from dissimilar national cultures often differ in the way they view organizational events, their reaction to particular situations, and their expectations of individual-level relationships. In short, we have limited understanding of how internship context (e.g., the institutional environment and cultural factors) impacts the characteristics of internships and the quality of the internship experience. This paper proposes shedding light on these questions.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
In order to address these issues, we examine the internship experiences of university students in France and the United States. These two countries were chosen, in part, because of their dissimilarity regarding institutional and cultural characteristics.
A survey was developed to assess an array of variables relevant to internships, including: Autonomy, Task Goal Clarity, Supervisor Support and Mentoring, Internship Developmental Value, and Job Pursuit Intentions. In addition, respondents were asked to provide information regarding Academic Status, Internship Compensation, and Degree Program.
The survey was translated from English to French using a back-translation procedure. The survey was distributed on-line. Initially, French and American students enrolled in a joint university program were invited to participate in the survey and were encouraged to invite additional students to participate in the study. The students were encouraged to seek subjects outside their home university. A gift card incentive was offered to participants.
Findings:
Using OLS regression, we conducted a series of hierarchical and mediated regressions using the PROCESS macro controlling for internship compensation, academic status, and degree program. Our results show similarities and dissimilarities among students in France and the U.S. In the U.S., students
perceive their internships as having provided more developmental value and profess a greater desire to pursue employment with the intern-host than French respondents. However, we find that differences by country fade when we account for the mediating role of supervisor support and mentoring. Job pursuit intention is higher for paid internships.
Research Limitations/Implications:
Because this is a two-country, cross-sectional, retrospective self-report study using a snowball sampling technique, there are concerns about the representativeness of the sample, recall bias, and common method bias.
Practical Implications:
We provide implications for researchers studying internships from a cross cultural perspective. As well as practical implications for students, higher education institutions and intern-hosts.
Social Implications: This study begins to explore the role that public policy and educational institutions, as well as national culture play in facilitating the growth of internships – and the characteristics of those internships.
Originality/Value: By utilizing a comparative approach, we explore the extent to which institutional and cultural factors contribute to our understanding of internships. In addition, we are able to examine the generalizability of internship characteristics and outcomes that are common across dissimilar contexts.
