Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management ISSN: 2766-824X | Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024 195 A study of College Students' Employment Intention in Tourism Service Industry Based on Planned Behavior Theory -- A case study of Shenzhen college students Haolin Lyu The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom Abstract: Based on the theory of planned behavior, this paper conducted a questionnaire survey on the employment intention of some college students in Shenzhen in the tourism service industry, and obtained 310 valid questionnaires. With the help of SPSS27.0 software, descriptive statistics and difference analysis were carried out to explore the relevant influencing factors of college students' employment intention in tourism service industry, and corresponding countermeasures and suggestions were put forward. It is found that the behavioral attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavior in the theory of planned behavior have a significant impact on the employment intention of college students in the tourism service industry. According to the research results, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to promote college students' employment intention in the service industry from three dimensions: improving their own personality traits to improve college students' employment cognition in the tourism service industry, creating a social support atmosphere for service industry employment, and improving college students' comprehensive employment ability in the service industry, in order to provide reference and reflection for subsequent research on college students' employment intention in the service industry. Keywords: Employment willingness, Theory of planned behavior, Tourism service industry, College student. 1. Introduction 1.1. Background of the Study The current distribution of the number of employees in various industries in China shows a distinct structural imbalance. A large number of laborers gather in popular industries, making certain industries face the phenomenon of talent saturation and their value depreciation. At the same time, positions that need to be supported by a large number of workers are difficult to promote the balanced development of the industry due to the lack of laborers. In terms of the current status quo, this means that the employment choices of college graduates are heavily skewed by the imbalance in economic development, and the supply and demand of labor is out of balance between industries [1]; there is a serious disconnect between the skills of newcomers to the workplace and the market demand. On the one hand, a large number of college graduates are flocking to first-tier metropolises and more popular employment sectors, while on the other hand, there are few talented people in the less attractive sectors despite the large number of jobs available. According to the perspective of college students themselves, they are more inclined to choose jobs in the higher income, more room for advancement of the industry, not willing to sink to some cold industry to seek employment. This attitude of pursuing high- grade positions and refusing to accept lower positions makes them face the dilemma of job hunting [2-3]. 1.2. Research Methodology (1) Questionnaire Survey Method In order to collect the most up-to-date primary data, this study utilized the questionnaire survey method by compiling a set of self-administered questionnaires to conduct a random sampling survey. A total of 310 fillers were used as survey respondents, and they were surveyed about their majors, factors affecting employment, and suggestions for the future development of service majors [4]. (2) Statistical Analysis Methods The article used SPSS software in data processing to analyze the data descriptively and differentially, and to explore the degree of influence of college students' employment willingness in tourism services. 2. Model Construction and Research hypotheses 2.1. Model Construction In order to deepen the understanding of the influencing factors of college students' employment intention in tourism service industry, this paper explores the influence of the theory of planned behavior on college students' employment intention in tourism service industry with the help of the theory of planned behavior. Based on the above analysis, this paper constructs a research model from the theory of planned behavior. 2.2. Questionnaire Design The questionnaire for the study of college students' willingness to be employed in the tourism service industry mainly consists of two parts. The first part is the basic personal information to understand the basic situation of college students. The basic cognitive perspectives of employment in tourism service industry include whether they are willing to work in tourism service industry, the current cost of living level, the initial salary that can be accepted for employment in tourism service industry, the reasons that attract to employment in tourism service industry and the 196 reasons that hinder to employment in tourism service industry. The second part is a measure of willingness to be employed in the tourism services industry based on the theory of planned behavior, which includes three variables: behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and willingness to be employed [5-6]. 3. Differential Analysis 3.1. Difference Analysis of College Students' Willingness to Influence Employment in Tourism Service Industry from The Perspective of Subjective Norms Table 1. Differential analysis of subjective normative perspective What do you think of the prospects for the development of the tourism services industry Broad Development Prospects 72 23.15% 52 20 0.003 General development prospects 106 34.08% 78 28 Poor prospects 48 15.43% 37 11 Don’t know about it 85 27.33% 79 6 How would you rate the people working in the tourism services industry (multiple choice) Socially Necessary Occupations 256 82.32% 201 55 0.585 Occupations that promote social progress 252 81.03% 207 45 0.006 Low-skilled occupations 206 66.24% 167 39 0.232 Socially dispensable occupations 101 32.48% 81 20 0.741 others 18 5.79% 18 0 0.025 What do you think of the current employment situation Difficult to employ 105 33.76% 80 25 0.029 Easy to get a job 44 14.15% 29 15 Difficult to find a good job 94 30.23% 77 17 Not sure 68 21.86% 60 8 In the survey of respondents' views on the prospects for the development of the tourism services industry, the most popular choice is "general prospects for development", followed by "unclear". This shows that the development prospect of tourism service industry is affected by many factors, such as economic environment, policies and so on [7]. The p-value of the chi-square test is 0.003, which is less than 0.05, indicating that the perception of the development prospect of the tourism service industry has a significant effect on the willingness to engage in the service industry. Among them, those who believe that the development prospect of tourism service industry is promising are more willing to engage in tourism service industry because they see the potential and opportunity of tourism service industry. On the contrary, those who think that the tourism services industry has poor prospects or are not sure about it may choose other industries that they think are more promising [8- 9]. In the survey question "What is your evaluation of the tourism service industry", the most popular choices are "socially necessary occupation" and "occupation that promotes social progress". This indicates that the majority of respondents believe that the tourism service industry plays an important role in society and that the work of tourism service industry workers contributes significantly to the progress of society [10]. The option of "socially necessary occupation" reflects that the respondents have a positive perception of the importance of the tourism service industry in society, and the p-value of the chi-square test for this option is 0.585, which is greater than 0.05, indicating that it does not have a significant effect on whether they are willing to work in the tourism service industry or not; the option of "occupation that contributes to the progress of society" shows that most of the respondents believe that the tourism service industry plays an important role in society. The option "Occupation that promotes social progress" reflects the respondents' perception that the tourism service industry has an important contribution to social progress, and the chi-square test p-value of this option is 0.006, which is smaller than 0.05, indicating that it has a significant effect on whether they are willing to engage in the tourism service industry [11]; "Occupation with low technical content" This option reflects that the respondents have a negative perception of the technical content of the tourism service industry, and the chi-square test p-value of this option is 0.232, which is greater than 0.05, indicating that it has a non-significant effect on whether they are willing to engage in the tourism service industry; the option of "socially dispensable occupations" reflects that the respondents may have a negative perception of the importance of the tourism service industry in the option of "socially dispensable occupation" reflects the respondents' negative perception of the importance of tourism service industry in the society, and the p-value of the chi-square test for this option is 0.741, which is greater than 0.05, indicating that it has no significant influence on whether they are willing to engage in tourism service industry [12-13]. In the survey question "Do you think the current employment situation", the most popular choice is "difficult to get a job", followed by "it is difficult to find a good job", which shows that the current employment situation may be more severe and it is difficult to find a good job. This shows that the current employment situation may be more severe, and more efforts are needed to find a good job. The p-value of the chi-square test is 0.029, which is less than 0.05, indicating that the perception of the current employment situation has a significant effect on the willingness to engage in the service industry. 197 3.2. Differential Analysis of College Students' Willingness to Influence Employment in Tourism Service Industry from The Perspective of Behavioral Attitude Table 2. Differential Analysis of Behavioral Attitude Perspectives When to Consider Choosing Tourism Services Choose according to the direction of specialization 128 41.16% 108 20 0.105 When I can't find a job 175 56.27% 133 42 Others 8 2.57% 5 3 Regarding the circumstances under which they would consider choosing the tourism service industry, the majority (56.27%) said that they would consider the tourism service industry when they could not find a job, followed by choosing according to the direction of their specialty (41.16%). The p- value of the chi-square test is 0.105, which is greater than 0.05, indicating that this factor does not have a significant effect on the willingness to work in the tourism services industry. This suggests that although an individual's professional orientation and current employment status have some influence on choosing the tourism services industry, this influence is not significant. It is possible that other factors such as personal interest and industry prospects have a greater influence on this choice. It can be seen that the positive reaction of college students on the career behavior of tourism service industry tends to promote the positive identification of college students to work in tourism service industry. On the contrary, if college students fail to realize the value of the tourism service industry itself and form negative behavioral attitudes towards employment in the tourism service industry, their willingness to be employed will become lower. 3.3. Differential Analysis of College Students' Employment Influence Willingness in Tourism Service Industry from the Perspective of Perceived Behaviors In the survey on whether they have received training in the tourism service industry, most of the respondents (76.53%) indicated that they have received training in the service industry. The p-value of the chi-square test is 0.000, which is less than 0.05, indicating that those who have received training in the tourism service industry are more willing to work in the tourism service industry. This suggests that tourism service industry training may be effective in enhancing individuals' knowledge and interest in the service industry and increasing their willingness to work in the tourism service industry. Table 3. Differential Analysis of Perceptual Behavioral Perspectives Have you had any training in the service industry YES 238 76.53% 201 37 0.0 00 NO 73 23.47% 45 28 Would you like to take a service industry course or training YES 264 84.89% 225 39 0.0 00 NO 47 15.11% 21 26 The majority of respondents (84.89%) in the survey on whether they are willing to take courses or trainings in tourism service industry said yes. The p-value of the chi- square test is also 0.000, less than 0.05, which indicates that those who are willing to take courses or training in tourism service industry are more inclined to engage in the service industry, and those who are willing to receive training have more knowledge of and interest in the tourism service industry, and believe that the tourism service industry provides good career opportunities and development space. 3.4. Analysis of Factors of College Students' Willingness to Choose Employment in Tourism Service Industry Table 4. Difference Analysis of Employment Intention Factors Why would you like to work in the tourism services industry? (Multiple choice) Tourism services jobs can offer better income and benefits 200 81.30% 200 0 0.000 Tourism Services jobs are flexible, with less workload and less work pressure 118 47.97% 118 0 0.000 Wide scope for career development in the tourism services industry 74 29.96% 74 0 0.000 The employment threshold of tourism service industry is low 107 43.50% 107 0 0.000 Tourism service industry is a job with social value 158 64.23% 158 0 0.000 People around me, e.g. family members, teachers, friends, suggest me to work in tourism service industry. 79 32.11% 79 0 0.000 National policies push me to choose tourism service industry 102 41.46% 102 0 0.000 Others 16 6.50% 16 0 0.035 Why do you not want to work in tourism services (multiple choice) Low income and poor welfare in tourism service industry 52 80.00% 0 52 0.000 High work intensity in tourism service industry 28 43.08% 0 28 Difficulty in promotion in tourism service industry 29 44.62% 0 29 My parents and teachers don't recommend me to work in tourism service industry. 43 66.15% 0 43 Social concepts belittle the service industry and its employees 18 27.69% 0 18 Poor prospect of tourism service industry 25 38.46% 0 25 Others 4 6.15% 0 4 198 The p-value of the chi-square test for the option "Willing to choose employment in the tourism service industry" is 0.000, indicating that these options have a significant effect on the willingness to work in the service industry. In the survey on the reasons for the respondents' willingness to work in the tourism service industry, the specific choice of options is as follows: "Tourism service industry work can get a better income and welfare is" the option with the largest number of choices, which shows that the respondents have a positive economic expectation of the tourism service industry; " The option of "Flexible work, low workload and low work pressure" reflects the respondents' positive perception of the actual environment of the tourism service industry; the option of "Wide career development space in the tourism service industry" reflects the respondents' positive expectation of the long-term development of the tourism service industry; the option of "The service industry can get better income and benefits" has the highest number of choices, which shows that the respondents have a positive economic expectation of the tourism service industry. The option "The service industry has a low employment threshold" reflects respondents' belief that the tourism service industry is easier to enter than other industries; the option "The tourism service industry is a socially valuable job" reflects respondents' belief that the tourism service industry makes an important contribution to society; the option "The tourism service industry is a socially valuable job" reflects respondents' belief that the tourism service industry makes an important contribution to society. The option "Tourism service industry is a job with social value" reflects that the respondents believe tourism service industry has important contribution to the society; the option "National policies push me to choose tourism service industry" reflects that the respondents believe that national policies have positively promoted the development of tourism service industry. For example, tax incentives and training subsidies will have a certain impact on people's choice of tourism service industry. The p-value of the chi-square test for the above options of "not willing to choose employment in the tourism service industry" is 0.000, indicating that these options have a significant effect on whether people are willing to work in the tourism service industry. According to the frequency counts in the table, we can see that "low income and poor welfare in the service industry" and "parents and teachers don't recommend me to work in the service industry" are the two most important reasons for the respondents' unwillingness to work in the tourism service industry, which can be seen that there are certain negative perceptions of the service industry, and some of them think that the tourism service industry is the best choice. Some of them think that the work in tourism service industry is not well paid, the work pressure is high, and there is a lack of social recognition and respect. In the survey on the reasons for respondents' unwillingness to work in the tourism service industry, the most popular choice was "low income and poor welfare in the tourism service industry", followed by "parents and teachers don't recommend me to work in the tourism service industry". The option of "low income and poor welfare in tourism service industry" reflects the respondents' negative economic expectation of the service industry; the option of "high work intensity in tourism service industry" reflects the respondents' negative perception of the actual environment of the tourism service industry; the option of "high work intensity in tourism service industry" reflects the respondents' negative perception of the actual environment of the tourism service industry; and the option of "poor welfare in tourism service industry" reflects the respondents' negative perception of the actual environment of the tourism service industry. The option "It is difficult to get promoted in the tourism service industry" reflects that the respondents have a negative view of the long- term development of the service industry; the option "Parents and teachers don't recommend me to work in the service industry" reflects the influence of social pressure on the respondents; The option "Social concepts belittle the tourism service industry and its practitioners" reflects the impact of negative social concepts on the tourism service industry on the respondents. 4. Conclusion In today's society of China, the service industry can provide the best classroom for university graduates to understand and adapt to the society. Guiding and encouraging university graduates to enter the service industry for employment not only injects vitality into the service industry, but also broadens the employment channels for these university graduates. Based on the background that research on the factors influencing college students' willingness to be employed in the tourism service industry promotes the real need and the insufficiency of existing research, this paper takes the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical basis and conducts a questionnaire survey on some college students' willingness to be employed in the tourism service industry in Shenzhen City, obtaining 310 valid questionnaires. With the help of SPSS27.0 software, descriptive statistics and difference analysis were carried out to explore the relevant influencing factors of college students' employment willingness in tourism service industry and put forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions accordingly. The results of this study show that behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are significantly and positively related to college students' willingness to be employed in tourism services. References [1] Jing Degang. 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