The most important reasons were accessibility, fit with personal life, perceived progressiveness of the program and desired specializations offered. On a number of variables, effects for age and gender were found. The older the respondent the greater was the influence of face-to-face interaction (t=2.84, p<.01), fit with personal life (t=3.41, p<.001) and shorter time to complete (t=1.87, p<.1). Compared to men, women were more influenced by how the program structure fit with personal life (t=2.87, p<.05), whether the program offered the desired specialization (t=2.73, p<.05), by recommendations from peers or colleagues (t=2.05, p<.05) and by the shorter time to complete (t=2.64, p<.01).
MBA Results
Correlations between MBA instrumentality and personal career outcome importance revealed the strongest relationships were those involving upward moves in new organizations (r=.48, p<.001), other industries (r=.48, p<.001), new fields (r=.46, p<.001) or moving into consulting (r=.52, p<.001). A career move within one‟s own organization was still significant (r=.31, p<.001) but not as strongly related.
Turning next to reasons for choosing an online MBA, the questionnaire asked respondents how various program features influenced their choice.
The most important reasons were accessibility, fit with personal life, perceived progressiveness of the program and desired specializations offered. On a number of variables, effects for age and gender were found. The older the respondent the greater was the influence of face-to-face interaction (t=2.84, p<.01), fit with personal life (t=3.41, p<.001) and shorter time to complete (t=1.87, p<.1). Compared to men, women were more influenced by how the program structure fit with personal life (t=2.87, p<.05), whether the program offered the desired specialization (t=2.73, p<.05), by recommendations from peers or colleagues (t=2.05, p<.05) and by the shorter time to complete (t=2.64, p<.01).
The most important reasons were accessibility, fit with personal life, perceived progressiveness of the program and desired specializations offered. On a number of variables, effects for age and gender were found. The older the respondent the greater was the influence of face-to-face interaction (t=2.84, p<.01), fit with personal life (t=3.41, p<.001) and shorter time to complete (t=1.87, p<.1). Compared to men, women were more influenced by how the program structure fit with personal life (t=2.87, p<.05), whether the program offered the desired specialization (t=2.73, p<.05), by recommendations from peers or colleagues (t=2.05, p<.05) and by the shorter time to complete (t=2.64, p<.01).
