Drivers in the generation of university students' job preferences: an empirical study of person–organisation fit in social enterprises

Purpose The objectives are to show how professional orientation towards cooperatives, as a universal model of social enterprise, stems from a different fit to professional preferences for other kinds of business forms; and to show how specific training has an impact on the change in professional orientation. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach was structured based on two stages. In the first stage, a cluster analysis was used on the responses obtained from a sample of Canadian university students, while in the second stage, experimentation was used to analyse how the professional orientation of students that did not have a preference for cooperatives changed after receiving specific training. Findings The results reveal how cooperative work preferences are found in students with symbolic values compatible with the essence of the cooperative model, their knowledge being the catalyst for the person–organisation fit. Furthermore, a change in professional orientation in most subjects stems from training, demonstrating the crucial role this has for individuals to be able to assess their match with the different business models. Originality/value Research on the pairing of university graduates with companies has had a strong development in recent years given the relevance of employability as a guiding principle of university education. This is the first empirical work linking person–organization fit in the formation of job preferences applied to social enterprises. The results have implications for universities, the cooperative sector and political decision-makers, who will have to improve the visibility and awareness of cooperatives to increase their attraction as an employment provider.