Cultural Values and Gender Differences in the Association Between Iranian University Professors' Authenticity and Generation Z Students' Intention to Migrate

ABSTRACT Given the significance of authenticity in higher education institutions and the growing number of Iranian generation Z (Gen Z) students migrating to pursue Ph.D. degrees, this study aims to examine how university professors' authenticity influences Iran's Gen Z students' intention to migrate (ITM). Additionally, employing a horizontal and vertical individualism (VI)/collectivism (HVIC) classification, this study investigates how students' cultural values and their gender moderate the relationship between their university professors' authenticity and their educational migration intention. This research is a sample survey and data was gathered via an online survey. Gen Z MBA students studying at six high‐ranked Iranian business schools were considered as the population. Overall, 337 responses were gathered. The results obtained through PLS‐SEM indicated that students who perceive their professors to be more authentic are less inclined to decide on leaving the country for educational purposes. Moreover, whereas vertical collectivism (VC) and horizontal collectivism (HC) significantly moderate the impact of authentic leadership (AL) on the ITM, VI and horizontal individualism (HI) do not moderate the effect of AL on ITM. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the negative relation between the professors' authenticity and the students' ITM was stronger for female students in comparison with male ones.