Effective Events : A quantitative study analyzing if event marketing can help business students find a potential employer

Abstract: The main object of this thesis is to study and explore if students at Umeå School of Business and Economics (USBE) can find potential employers though Event Marketing (EM). The authors will analyze EM as a tool for interaction and information, and if these tools will help students gain more knowledge about companies that can make them more interesting as potential employers. Previous research was found regarding both EM and Employer Branding (EB), however there was little research found on how they can be used together. There was also little research to be found from business students point of view since in both EM and EB the previous research had rather been done from a company standpoint. Therefore, with the aim to fill these research gaps the following research question was formulated: Does event marketing help business and economics students find potential employers? The study uses a deductive research design with a quantitative research strategy, and the data was collected using a self-completing questionnaire. The authors adopted objectivism and positivism as their research philosophical standpoints. The sample was drawn though multi-stage cluster sampling, the samples selected contained 384 students enrolled at USBE and 132 replies was received and analyzed. The questions in the online self-completing questionnaire were designed to measure variables such as information and interaction. Findings indicate that EM does help Umeå business and economics students find new potential employers. However, students do not feel that they learn that much about new companies, they do not feel that they are interacting with companies and they do not feel that they are gaining more knowledge about a company at an event. The findings contribute to the research field of business administration. Specifically, the merging of EB and EM and how it is perceived from a student´s point of view rather than from a company’s perspective. The students do believe that events are an effective way to meet companies, however the empirical results from event attendees show differently. The theories within the subject and the answers from students regarding if they believe in EM or not are counterintuitive. Therefore, this study opens up possibilities for future research.