Deconstructing the ‘Great expectations’: The route to personalized internship practices

Abstract

(Pre)Internship expectations have been a topic of numerous investigations, with findings portraying a somewhat ambiguous picture, particularly in comparison to post-internship perceptions. These studies reflect on a one-size-fits-all internship design that fundamentally overlooks students' traits and views, their awareness and psychological readiness, and, subsequently, the impact of these elements on expectations. Adopting a quantitative methodology and by using a survey administered to hospitality and tourism students who were about to participate in an internship experience, this study explores pre-internship expectations in relation to their awareness and psychological readiness. Findings classify students into three distinct clusters, whereas subsequent analysis enhances our understanding of the causal relationships between interns’ typologies and expectations. Results illuminate an uncharted territory of interest to industry stakeholders, particularly those seeking to challenge traditional designs and shifting toward providing technology-enabled, personalized internships.