Finding supply chain talent: an outreach strategy

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify when students choose their major and when students become interested in a career field, to devise a supply chain management (SCM) talent outreach strategy. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was administered to undergraduate students in SCM classes, and the responses were explored through multinomial logistic regression analyses. Findings - The paper revealed that interest in the career field is a major factor in choosing a college degree, among other factors. The timing of when a student chooses a major is influenced by interest in the field and whether or not the student lived abroad. The career field chosen is influenced by race, by whether or not the student lived abroad and by prior experience. Outreach strategies to attract new talent to supply chain-related fields should start prior to a student entering college. Research limitations/implications - Results are based on a survey research with a limited geographic coverage, and the research is limited to investigating student whose college major is other than SCM, leaving opportunities for further research where the college major is SCM. Originality/value - The authors provide original findings that improve outreach strategies to attract next generation supply chain talent. They also further the development of theory for the determinants of when a college major is selected and when interest in a career field begins.