Business school interns’ intention to join: studying culture, work engagement and leader-member exchange in virtual internship

PurposeThis research aims to analyze the impact of work engagement, organization culture and leader-member exchange (LMX) on an intern’s intention to join the organization during the e-internship. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced interns and organizations to undertake the way internships. Internships from home affected the interaction and communication between the organization and interns. This study also investigates the moderating role of work engagement and LMX on the intern’s intention to join the organization.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from 190 interns through an online questionnaire. Standardized questionnaires were used in the study to measure all the variables.FindingsThe research shows that perceived Organizational Culture and Work Engagement are essential in impacting an intern’s intention to join the organization. Also, it was found that the Work Engagement and LMX do not moderate the relationship between Organizational Culture and the intention of an intern to join the organization.Research limitations/implicationsThey include factors which are not being considered for the research or are beyond the control of the researcher. This paper had a couple of limitations as well. The sample size taken for the research was less. More respondents would have given better results. Other factors that may influence the intention of an intern to join his/her respective organizations were not considered. This study only considered the three variables of Work Engagement, LMX and Organizational Culture. Intervening effects of other variables if any were assumed to be absent. Other intricacies may be there in the research variables that were beyond the scope of this study.Practical implicationsThe results of the present study are of use to organizations which are interested in converting their interns to full-time employees. These results clearly indicate the importance of organization culture in impacting an intern’s intention to join the organization, therefore organizations can make their policies, procedures and practices which confirm with the requirements to e-internship. Organizations need to empower the interns so that they feel confident to take decisions during e-internships and organizations also need to communicate and instill the core values among their interns, this alignment with core values is critical for ensuring a good person–organization fit. Also, managers should ensure that the culture of the organization is conducive to the development and mental well-being of the interns, by taking steps such as fostering team spirit, ensuring a customer-centric culture, open and amicable communication, navigating change admirably, and staying true to the core values of the organization. A holistic and wholesome organization culture will ensure that the organization is able to attract and retain the right talent.Originality/valueResearch has been conducted in investigating the impact of organizational culture on employee retention, but not much has been studied about the impact of organizational culture on the intention of the intern to join the organization also, how this relationship is impacted by work engagement and mentor–mentee relationship is also unexplored.