A Study of Factors Influencing the Selection of Specialization by MBA Students with Reference to B-Schools in Tier 2 and 3 Cities

MBA program is a highly sought after course because it focuses on developing both the hard skills and soft skills which are essential to make a successful career. In most of the institutes, the first two semesters of an MBA program are crucial as there are courses covering all functional areas of management which will help the students in understanding the basics of management streams. Choosing the specialization from the areas such as marketing, finance, human resources, information technology, operations management, international business, business analytics, etc. is a crucial decision which needs tobe taken with a lot of due diligence. It has been observed that the students pursuing MBA course in tier 2 & 3 cites choose specialization mainly based on the advice of their senior friends in the institute and specialization wise past placement records. But there are many other factors which are influential in selecting specialization like the personal interest of the respondents, basic graduation, current market trends, family business, etc. The study reveals that institutes should have a mechanism to assess the students' interest and compatibility by conducting psychometric and personality test, counselling of students to be done with regard to specialization so that they make an informed decision.