Why Do Students Not Major in MIS? an Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

A McKinsey & Company report states that a gap in information technology skills remains in the U.S. and globally. Combined with continued projections for high growth in MIS positions such as Systems Analysts and Software Applications Developers, increasing student enrollment in MIS continues to be a focus for MIS academicians and professionals. Although studies addressing MIS enrollment issues abound, the manner in which relevant factors are collected is often not systematized. The current study uses established theory and instruments to examine student perceptions of majoring in MIS. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we employ an elicitation-based study uncovering beliefs about majoring in MIS. We subsequently use Partial Least Squares to analyze the importance of these beliefs in influencing intentions to major in MIS. The results lead to specific recommendations for improving MIS enrollments in the U.S. and international settings.