The Trade-off between the Willingness of Risk-Taking Concerning Universal Values and Flourishing Level among Students and Employees

The main purpose of this study is to understand the order of importance of individual universal values as rated by both students and employees who have been enrolled or recently graduated from the same business school. The secondary purpose of this research is to learn the level and the differences (if any) concerning flourishing level (psychological well-being) of the respondents. The survey was distributed to nearly 1000 undergraduates and graduates of the business school at one of the largest private university in Turkey. More than 800 questionnaires were filled in but due to missing answers a total of 775 responses (439 undergraduates, 336 graduates) were considered satisfactory. Schwartz’s theoretical framework was used to conduct this study and quantitative research method was employed. There are basically two key constructs examined in the study: universal individual values and psychological well-being. Based on the results, while the priorities of the students are mainly on social focus, it is a personal focus for the graduates. Results indicate that traditional values keep its dominant impact on their lives for both groups. Students and graduates who belong to upper class indicated the highest level of (flourishing) mental well-being.