Toward an integrated model of applicant reactions and job choice

Previous research on applicant reactions to selection procedures has mainly emphasized the importance of procedural justice. However, much of this work has not examined other applicant reaction mechanisms (such as signals and expectancy) or additional variables known to influence job choice (e.g. pay, location and marketability). In contrast, this longitudinal field study took these other mechanisms and variables into account through the examination of the job choice processes of 588 applicants located in Canada to 215 organizations. Structural equation modelling was used to test an integrated model combining the three mechanisms of procedural justice, signals and expectancy, controlling for pay, location, and marketability. Support was found for signal and expectancy mechanisms influencing applicant intentions and job choice, and these effects were stronger for applicants with multiple opportunities and less pre-interview knowledge of the organization.     

The use of personality measures in personnel selection: What does current research support?

With an eye toward research and practice, this article reviews and evaluates main trends that have contributed to the increasing use of personality assessment in personnel selection. Research on the ability of personality to predict job performance is covered, including the Five Factor Model of personality versus narrow personality measures, meta-analyses of personality–criterion relationships, moderator effects, mediator effects, and incremental validity of personality over other selection testing methods. Personality and team performance is also covered. Main trends in contemporary research on the extent to which applicant “faking” of personality tests poses a serious threat are explicated, as are promising approaches for contending with applicant faking such as the “faking warning” and the forced-choice method of personality assessment. Finally, internet-based assessment of personality and computer adaptive personality testing are synopsized.     

Factors affecting the effectiveness and acceptance of electronic selection systems

There has been a rise in the use of electronic selection (e-selection) systems in organizations. Given the widespread use of these systems, this article reviews the factors that affect their effectiveness and acceptance by job applicants (applicant acceptance), and offers directions for future research on the topic. In particular, we examine the effectiveness and acceptance of these systems at each stage of the selection process including (a) job analysis, (b) job application, (c) pre-employment testing, (d) interviewing, (e) selection decision-making, and (f) evaluation and validation. We also consider their potential for adverse impact and invasion of privacy. Finally, we present some implications for e-selection system design and implementation.     

Applicant reactions to social media assessment: A review and conceptual framework

Applicant reactions to selection procedures have attracted much scholarly attention in the work and organizational psychology literature over the past three decades. While this body of literature is quite robust, scholarly research into applicant reactions to social media assessment more specifically is sparse. In this article, we develop a comprehensive theoretical framework to better understand applicant reactions to social media assessment. We explicate the process by which various individual, organizational, and labor market antecedents elicit different reactions from job applicants and the resulting behavioral consequences. We argue that SM assessments are very different from traditional assessments and thus require a new theoretical framework that is context specific to capture applicant reactions, and in so doing, add value to extant reactions frameworks. Our theorizing advances the applicant reactions literature by providing an expanded view of the significant role of social media in the hiring process and how applicants are likely to respond to this new assessment tool. Drawing on this conceptual framework, we offer propositions and discuss the implications for research and practice.     

Test of a multidimensional model linking applicant work experience and recruiters' inferences about applicant competencies

Previous research have shown that applicants' work-experience information influences recruiters' hiring recommendations. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing the relationship between applicants' work-experience dimensions (i.e. job tenure, job breadth, leadership experience and challenging job experience) and recruiters' perceptions of applicants' job competencies (i.e. professional knowledge, interpersonal skills, general mental ability and trait conscientiousness). Results from a policy-capturing experiment partially support our hypotheses and show that recruiters use different aspects of applicant work experience to infer different dimensions of applicant job competencies.     

Sex-Role Stereotyping, Gender Biases, and Job Selection: The Use of Ordinal Logit in Analyzing Likert Scale Data

Sex-role stereotyping and gender biases are examined in a study of 246 individuals. Results show that previous gender biases in job selection have all but disappeared; however, biases still seem prevalent in the assessment of individuals' long term success on the job. Specifically, the findings showed that while gender biases are found only slightly in the hiring decisions of male and females evaluators, the perception of the applicant's future job performance was generally less favorable toward the female applicant as compared to males. An important contribution of this study is in the methodology. It introduces the use of an ordinal logit framework which improves upon previous research by exploiting the simultaneous and ordered nature of a Likert scale.     

Bias against overweight job applicants: Further explorations of when and why

We investigated the impact of job candidate weight (average or overweight) on several job‐related ratings following a videotaped mock interview. In ad‐dition to weight, we manipulated the race of the applicant, level of job qual‐ifications, and type of job (e.g., public or private contact). We also measured the effect of rater race and negative affect on multiple work‐relevant ratings. Weight, applicant race, job qualifications, and job type each had a modest but significant impact on ratings of hireability, performance capacity, adapt‐ability, and interpersonal skills, in varying combinations. The implications of these results for practice and future research are provided. © 2007 Wiley Pe‐riodicals, Inc.     

Screening‐oriented recruitment messages: Antecedents and relationships with applicant pool quality

The ability of firms to attract qualified job applicants is a critical component of the human resource management process. However, while a large body of research has examined the relationship between firm recruitment practices and applicant pool attributes, very little research has investigated what factors are associated with organizational decision makers' utilization of specific recruitment tactics. We draw on labor economics, sociological, and agency theoretical perspectives to make predictions regarding the use of screening‐oriented recruitment messages in actual web‐based job advertisements. Results suggest that perceptions of labor supply, recruiting firm reputation, and the use of quality‐based compensation incentives are associated with use of screening‐oriented messages, which in turn are associated with applicant pool quality. These findings hold important theoretical insights into the factors shaping firm recruitment activity and provide practical strategic implications for managing firm recruitment objectives. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effect of human resource practices on organizational performance: evidence from Greece

The present study addresses a central research question: how do human resource management practices contribute to organizational performance? We examined the following HR practices: (1) job security; (2) selective hiring; (3) self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making; (4) compensation policy; (5) extensive training; and (6) information sharing. We surveyed food managers in Greece and recorded their perceptions on HR practices and their relation to firm performance.

Results provide overall support for all HR practices except of job security. Selective hiring was found to be a key practice that improved organizational performance. Compensation policy, information sharing, decentralization of decision making and extensive training were significant predictors for all performance variables. Directions for further research are provided.     

The role of employee HR attributions in the relationship between high‐performance work systems and employee outcomes

Although research has shown that the use of high‐performance work systems (HPWS) is associated with employee outcomes, our knowledge of the meanings employees attach to HPWS systems and how these shape employee outcomes is still limited. This study examines the signalling impact of enacted HPWS on HR well‐being and HR performance attributions, and how these influence happiness‐ and health‐related outcomes. Using multilevel data (1,065 employees nested within 150 work units) obtained from multiple sources (line managers and employees), our results show that coverage of HPWS was positively associated with the two HR attributions. In addition, HR well‐being attributions were associated with higher levels of commitment and lower levels of job strain. HR performance attributions were associated with higher levels of job strain. The findings of this study highlight the importance of taking into account how employees attach meaning to enacted HPWS in order to predict employee outcomes.     

Why does firm reputation in human resource policies influence college students? The mechanisms underlying job pursuit intentions

Business periodicals, such as Fortune magazine, rank organizations in lists such as the “Best Companies to Work For,” providing applicants with information about firms' human resource practices, including pay, benefits, work‐life, and diversity practices. It is not clear what influence this reputational information about HR practices has on applicant interest in pursuing employment or, more important, why it does so. Given that firms invest substantial resources in HR practices to vie for positions on these lists, the current study sought to fill these gaps in the literature. In the 2 (compensation) × 2 (work‐family) × 2 (diversity) factorial design, 232 college students read about magazine rankings in which a firm's reputation in each HR practice was manipulated as ranking either high or low relative to competitors. We examined perceptions of organizational prestige, anticipated organizational support, and anticipated role performance as mechanisms that explain the influence of HR practice reputation on job pursuit intentions. Our results indicate that a firm's reputation in compensation, work‐family, and diversity efforts increase college students' intentions to pursue employment with a firm. They do so because college students perceive that the organization is prestigious, will be supportive, and will foster their job performance. Our results suggest that a strong employer brand derived from employee‐centered HR practices is important for recruiting college students. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Core processes and applicant reactions to the employment interview: an exploratory study in Greece

This research explores the employment interview in Greece with two aims: first, to look at the practice of the employment interview from the interviewer perspective, exploring a number of issues, which have been identified as important for increasing interview's effectiveness and second, to look at the role of interviewers' characteristics on applicant reactions and their behavioral intentions to the actual interview, using two independent samples of interviewers (N = 131) and actual job applicants (N = 122), respectively. The results of the first study were quite supportive regarding the effective use of the employment interview in Greece. In the second study, interviewers' personal characteristics were related to applicants' post-interview attitudes and intentions, although this relationship was fully mediated by the overall perception of the interview held by the job applicant. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Preemployment urinalysis drug testing: A critical review of psychometric and legal issues and effects on applicants

This article reviews the research evidence on reliability, validity, utility, legality, and applicant reactions regarding preemployment urinalysis drug testing. Key criticisms of such testing are discussed as well. Drug testing does appear to correlate with various job outcomes (e.g., turnover), but the effect size seems to be quite small. Moreover, the utility of such testing is questioned. Research concerning applicant reactions shows considerable variance as to its acceptability, depending among other considerations, on the nature of the job. While preemployment urinalysis testing is generally legal, growing state and Federal regulations affect the conditions under which such tests may be given.     

Watch What You Say: Job Applicants’ Justice Perceptions From Initial Organizational Correspondence

Although it is a common practice for organizations to communicate with job seekers following application submission, little is known about how applicants react to this correspondence. Drawing from recruitment and organizational justice theories, we explore the possibility that specific correspondence content influences job seekers’ fairness perceptions. Data collected from 119 actual job applicants indicated that providing relevant information about the recruitment process (information adequacy) positively related to informational and interpersonal justice perceptions. However, delivering this information in an interpersonally sensitive manner (information sensitivity) had a stronger impact on interpersonal justice perceptions. Finally, post hoc analyses suggested that incorporating specific content delivered in initial job applicant correspondence could allow recruiting organizations to develop practical, cost‐effective strategies for enhancing job seekers’ fairness perceptions following their application submission. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Patterns underlying required HR and IT competencies: a content and cluster analysis of advertisements of HR manager positions

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of Information Technology (IT) in organizations, IT competencies for non Information Systems professionals such as Human Resource (HR) managers have been overlooked and limited attention has been paid to the interrelationships between IT and non-IT competencies. Building upon signaling theory and the configurational approach, this study characterizes actual IT and HR competencies that firms signal when recruiting for HR manager positions. A content analysis of 207 online job advertisements of HR manager positions is first conducted. Using factor analysis, three bundles of competencies are unveiled: IT, strategy, and employee and workplace well-being. Then, a cluster analysis approach that combines hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering algorithms is applied, followed by discriminant function analysis for validation. The study uncovers three strongly separated clusters of recruiting organizations based on required IT and HR competencies for HR manager positions. The clusters are labeled according to their dominant required competencies: (1) strategy proponents ?10% (2) technology proponents ?30%, and (3) basic proponents ?60%. The proposed classification goes beyond the normative understanding of IT competencies for HR managers and the way they combine with HR competencies: it provides a well-structured and parsimonious lens that is useful for recruiters, applicants, and educators.     

Are some sectors more “youth friendly” than others? Employment regimes,sectors, and gender disparities in the Great Recession

Despite national differences in youth employment, many countries share striking similarities in the uneven sectoral distribution of job opportunities for young women and men in Europe. A shift‐share analysis of European Labour Force data identifies “youth‐friendly” sectors, how this varies between countries, and how this changed during the Great Recession. This reveals how youth job opportunities were lost because the sector shrank or because employers were less likely to offer full‐time, permanent contracts. New jobs for youth were more likely to be in part‐time and temporary employment. Youth vulnerability to unemployment is contingent not only on employers' engagement with institutions shaping school‐to‐work transitions but also on gender segregation and to the fact that some sectors have been particularly fragile during the economic crisis. Future research needs to link institutional effects with employers' business strategies to understand how these shape job opportunities for young women and men.     

Employee well-being attribution and job change intentions: The moderating effect of task idiosyncratic deals

We developed and tested a research model in which employee well-being human resource (HR) attribution differentially influences the intention to change jobs across organizations (i.e., external job change intention) versus that within the same organization (i.e., internal job change intention). Furthermore, we posited that task idiosyncratic deals (I-deals) moderated the relationships between employee well-being HR attribution and external and internal job change intentions. Results indicated that employee well-being HR attribution was negatively related to external job change intention, but positively related to internal job change intention. Further, task I-deals significantly moderated the relationships between employee well-being HR attribution and external and internal job change intention. Specifically, employee well-being HR attribution played a less important role in reducing external job change intention when task I-deals were high rather than low. On the other hand, high task I-deals significantly strengthened the positive relationship between employee well-being HR attribution and internal job change intention. Our study extends the careers literature by differentiating the impact of employee well-being HR attribution on job change intentions within an organization compared with that across organizations and the important role of supervisors in enhancing or mitigating these effects.     

Repugnance for “menial jobs”

A man's sense of well-being and meaningfulness in work is not so much a matter of external circumstances—the kind of job he has—as it is of his deepdown belief that he is a worthy human being. If he lacks that, any job can seem dissatisfying and “menial.” Executives may suffer from this (or related behaviors) as much as assembly-line workers.     

HR practices and turnover intention: the mediating roles of organizational commitment and organizational engagement in a selected region in Malaysia

This study examined the mediating effects of organizational commitment (OC) and organizational engagement (OE) on the relationship between human resource (HR) practices (career management, performance appraisal, compensation, person–job fit and job control) and turnover intention. A total of 457 employees working in various sectors in a selected region in Malaysia participated in this study. It was found that all the variables used to measure HR practices have significant effects on OC and OE. However, multiple regression analyses indicated that career management and job control did not have any significant influence on turnover intention. OC and OE were discovered to give partial mediating effects on the relationship between HR practices and turnover intention.