Recruiting Millenials into Student Organizations: Exploring Cialdini’s Principles of Human Influence

Laura Serviere-Munoz¹, R. Wayne Counts² 
(1. The Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, USA; 2. Lariccia Scholl of Accounting and Finance, Williamson College of Business Administration, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555, USA)

Abstract: Professional student organizations are a source for experiential learning opportunities widely available in many Universities. However, attracting and retaining the current Millennial has proven challenging and the research addressing ways to improve retention and participation using theory has been limited. Using Cialdini’s principles of influence, this study found support for social proof, authority, and scarcity as the significant values that have an impact on whether Millenials are active in their student life. In addition, age was a significant negative predictor of student participation. By being able to effectively recruit and retain Millenials, student organizations provide opportunities for developing communication proficiency, leadership and entrepreneurial skills that allow them to be better practitioners upon graduation.

Key words: experiential learning; student organization; millenials

JEL codes: J11, M31, M53