Title: An exploratory investigation of motivation orientations of Indian business students: implications for educators

Authors: Suresh Gopalan; Moula Cherikh; Lalitha Balakrishnan

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salam NC, 27110, USA ' Department of Management and Marketing, Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salam NC, 27110, USA ' M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women, 20, IV Lane, Nungambakkam High Road, Chennai 600034, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: India's rapid economic growth and favourable youth demographics have created an unprecedented demand for business graduates. Employer feedback indicates that large numbers of graduates are deficient in their knowledge, behaviours, and skill-sets to be effective in the workplace. This arises due to subpar institutions, lecture-based teaching, rote memorisation learning, and progress by passing exams. The need to institute educational reforms is widely acknowledged but hampered by the lack of knowledge about Indian business majors and their motivation towards education. A modified version of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) with 22 items was used to collect data on five aspects of motivation (extrinsic, intrinsic control of learning beliefs, self-efficacy, and test anxiety) from a sample of 462 students drawn from three colleges located in Chennai. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the reliability and validity of the five constructs. A cluster analysis shows the emergence of three distinct clusters that differed across all five constructs. Implications for educators along with recommendations are discussed.

Keywords: motivation; extrinsic motivation; intrinsic motivation; self-efficacy; control of learning beliefs; test anxiety; Indian business students; Indian educational system; motivated strategies for learning questionnaire; MSLQ; cluster analysis; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2018.095679

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2018 Vol.17 No.4, pp.455 - 477

Received: 25 Nov 2017
Accepted: 14 Apr 2018

Published online: 16 Oct 2018 *

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