Building Online Communities In Marketing Education: Undergraduate Student Experiences Of Peer E-Mentoring Programs

Online peer e-mentoring can foster academic success, career readiness and well-being in undergraduate programs. Using a mixed method design that combines the Critical Incident Technique with automated text analytics, we coded 209 surveys and 149 reflective narratives from mentors and mentees enrolled in a sector specific Bachelor of Commerce degree program in Canada. Mentors highlighted leadership growth, psychological and emotional support, and role modeling, yet noted persistent engagement hurdles. Mentees shifted from seeking academic and career guidance to prioritizing emotional reassurance, while scheduling and technical issues were common challenges. These patterns refine peer mentorship frameworks for virtual contexts, indicating that targeted mentor training, precise goal alignment, and digital support may improve transition, retention, and inclusion for business students. The study advances peer mentoring research by linking quantitative incident metrics with automated text analytics in a sector specific, marketing related setting. The findings suggest that with guidance and adaptation, a transition to online peer-mentoring has the potential to be as effective as in-person mentoring.