Exploring the Gap Between Expected and Actual Return on Investment of Business Graduates from employability: Evidence from a Developing Country

Mismatched graduate to-job ratio, raised school fees, and industry-academia gap has caused uncertainty among business graduates. Ever since the global revolution, academia has been struggling to equip its students with diversified proficient skills and portfolios needed for today's competitive industry. Subsequently, students avail the first job offer they receive, this highly risky investment of students in business schools for higher returns has become a widespread question for the stakeholders. This study attempts to address the issue by exploring the expected and actual Return on Investment of business graduates and the reasons behind it, through mixed methods approach. The study concludes that increasing industry-academia linkages, redesigning the curriculum to make it more industry-driven, and introducing pedagogical reforms towards innovative and technological skills development can maximize return on investment of students. •The highlights of the revisions are as under.•Title revised to: Exploring the Gap Between Expected and Actual Return on Investment of Business Graduates from Employability: Evidence from a Developing Country.•Introduction, literature , methodology, finidngs and conclusion revised as per recmmendations of the reviewers.