Anticipated Career Satisfaction, Affective Occupational Commitment, and Intentions to Enter the Sport Management Profession

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of internships on students’ career-related affect and intentions. Data were gathered from 138 upper-level undergraduate sport management students (71 interns, 67 noninterns). A doubly multivariate repeated measures model indicated that, although they did not differ at the beginning of the internship, interns had less positive attitudes toward the profession than did noninterns at the end of the internship. Structural equation modeling indicated that affective occupational commitment fully mediated the relationship between anticipated career satisfaction and intentions to enter the profession. The results contribute to the extant literature by demonstrating that internships can influence career-related affect and intentions.