Forecasting career paths: the employee work passion model for accounting internship students

Purpose This study examines the impact of cognitive experience, affective experience and job engagement in hybrid internships on students’ interest in public accountants. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 82 undergraduate students who had undertaken internship programs in accounting firms in Jakarta, Indonesia. The reflective-formative disjoint two-stage approach, partial least square, was used for the empirical analysis. Findings Cognitive and affective experience is positively related to job engagement. This study further proves that cognitive and affective experiences during internships are key determinants for students’ intention to work as public accountants. However, job engagement does not mediate the link between cognitive and affective experiences during internships and the intention to work as a public accountant. Practical implications This study provides insights into the relationship between cognitive and affective experience, job engagement and students’ intention to work as public accountants by clarifying the effectiveness of internship programs. Originality/value This study investigates accounting internships in Indonesia by applying the employee work passion model, focusing on an area that has received limited attention.