Getting bang for your buck: the specificity of compensation and benefits information in job advertisements*

Even though some organizations are trying to attract high-level applicants through offering superior compensation and benefits, reward statements in job advertisements are sometimes rather general and vague. On the basis of person-environment fit theories, we examine whether providing more specific information on attractive reward packages in job advertisements leads to higher perceived person-reward fit and subsequent job pursuit intentions. Furthermore, based on signaling theory, we propose that person-reward fit allows job seekers to make inferences about broader person-organization fit. Applying an online experimental design among 283 experienced potential applicants, we find that more specific compensation and benefits information results in higher job pursuit intentions and that this relationship is fully mediated by person-reward fit perceptions. In turn, the effect of person-reward fit is partially mediated by perceptions of person-organization fit, indicating that people might use reward information as signals for other organizational attributes in early stages of recruitment.     

Exploring the mechanisms of the relationship between website characteristics and organizational attraction

With the development and application of Internet technology, the Internet has become a critical tool for employee recruitment. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether the characteristics of corporate websites would predict job seekers' perceptions of person–organization fit and person–job fit, which in turn would predict the seekers' attraction to the organization. Data were collected from 353 job seekers through a bulletin board system and websites of job-related forums. The results indicate that the website content (i.e. organizational culture, compensation, and job preview) and website stylistic features (i.e. aesthetics and navigational usability) had differential effects on job seekers' fit perceptions, which in turn affected organizational attraction. Directions for future research and practical implications are also discussed in this paper.     

The Lure of Work‐Life Benefits: Perceived Person‐Organization Fit As A Mechanism Explaining Job Seeker Attraction To Organizations

Drawing from person‐organization (P‐O) fit theory, we explain how the provision of work‐life benefits (WLBs) increases job seeker attraction to organizations during the early recruitment stage because of a perceived value fit between job seekers and the organization. Our results from an experimental study using a sample of 189 MBA students who belonged to two generational groups (Millennials and Gen Xers) and were seeking employment during a period of economic recession support our expectations. We found that job seekers develop higher P‐O fit perceptions for organizations that supplement standard pay with WLBs in their recruitment materials compared with organizations that supplement standard pay with health care benefits or offer only standard pay. In turn, such organizations are assessed as more attractive prospective employers. We also found that generational group moderated the path between P‐O fit and job seeker attraction such that Millennial job seekers were more likely to be attracted toward organizations with which they had strong fit perceptions than their Gen X counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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.     

Examining the Draw of Diversity: How Diversity Climate Perceptions Affect Job‐Pursuit Intentions

Organizations must target talented applicants, who will often be demographically diverse, to attract the most competent and competitive workforce possible. Despite the bottom‐line implications of attracting the best and brightest, surprisingly little is known about how and why diversity recruitment strategies affect recruitment outcomes (e.g., job‐pursuit intentions). To gain insight into this question, we conducted an initial experimental study (N = 194) to test the premise that other‐group orientation moderates the relationship between perceived organizational value of diversity and job‐pursuit intentions. In a follow‐up experiment (N = 255), identity affirmation was examined as the mediating mechanism for the interaction observed in the first study. Mediated moderation analyses supported the proposed model. Collectively, the studies indicate that job seekers high in other‐group orientation are more intent on pursuing employment with organizations deemed to value diversity because they feel that their salient identities are likely to be affirmed. No such indirect effect is present for those lower in other‐group orientation.     

Subjective fit with organizational culture: an investigation of moderating effects in the work stressor-employee adjustment relationship

Occupational stress has been a concern for human resource managers in light of research investigating the work stressor-employee adjustment relationship. This research has consistently demonstrated many negative effects between stressors in the workplace and employee adjustment. A considerable amount of literature also describes potential moderators of this relationship. Subjective fit with organizational culture has been established as a significant predictor of employee job-related attitudes; however, research has neglected investigation of the potential moderating effect of subjective fit in the work stressor-employee adjustment process. It was predicted that perceptions of subjective fit with the organization's values and goals would mitigate the negative effect of work stressors on employee adjustment in an employee sample from three organizations (N = 256). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed support for the stress-buffering effects of high subjective fit in the prediction of physical symptoms, job satisfaction, and intentions to leave. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Job involvement and performance among middle managers in Sri Lanka

This paper examines performance evaluation outcomes for middle managers in the garment sector in Sri Lanka and seeks to explain variations in levels of job involvement and perceptions of organizational support. Some 155 middle managers across three firms were segregated into high- and low-performing groups. High-performing managers tended to have higher perceptions of organizational support, resulting in a social exchange relationship with their employer, and expressed higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions. Managers assessed as low performers experienced more negative perceptions of organizational support, lower job satisfaction and an economic exchange relationship with their employer. Significantly, for both high and low performers these outcomes were moderated by job involvement. These findings highlight the need for organizations to pay careful attention to the factors influencing job involvement and perceived organizational support. The paper concludes with a discussion on the practical implications of the findings for human resource managers.     

Integrating job search behavior into the study of job seekers’ employer knowledge and organizational attraction

This paper reports on a study about the impact of job search behaviors and employer knowledge on organizational attraction during recruitment. A time-lagged study was conducted among job seekers from a Singaporean business school. Results indicated that preparatory job search (PJS) behaviors influenced organizational attraction through employer familiarity. PJS also moderated the effects of two-types of images – employer creativity and people focus – on organizational attraction. These findings imply that a recruitment strategy needs to consider PJS and the specific type of employer image when communicating employer-based information.     

Do I Really Want to Work Here? Testing a Model of Job Pursuit for MBA Interns

Job pursuit refers to the intentions, decisions, or behaviors indicative of a candidate's interest in a particular employer. This study develops and tests a process model of job pursuit for MBA interns with data collected before, during, and after their internships. Our model integrates theory from the person‐environment fit and organizational socialization literature. Results show pre‐entry person‐organization (P‐O) fit and social aspects tactics jointly motivate proactive information seeking about the employer (from those inside and outside the assigned department) during the internship, and interactively motivate information seeking outside the assigned department. Yet, only information seeking inside the assigned department is related to learning about the employer. Learning about the employer also predicts job‐acceptance intentions, which in turn predicts job‐acceptance decisions. The model developed in this study should serve as a guide to help human resource managers understand job pursuit and acceptance in internships and other similar employment relationships. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Employee recruitment and job search: Towards a multi-level integration

This study describes an attempt to develop an integrative model of job search and employee recruitment. Inevitably multi-level in nature, the model demonstrates the interplay between organizational-level factors and individual-level factors in influencing the outcomes of employee recruitment and job search activities. According to the model, influenced by job seeker and organizational characteristics, job search and recruitment activities jointly create job awareness, which is the first step in organizational attraction. Next, depending on the job seeker's current job situation, this attraction leads to job pursuit intention and behavior. The model also emphasizes the longitudinal nature of the process by which individuals gain employment. Finally, since each organization's applicant pool consists of job seekers with some common characteristics attracted to the same position, the model proposes that recruitment and job search can be examined by utilizing a multilevel framework.     

Linking job insecurity to well-being and organizational attitudes in Belgian workers: the role of security expectations and fairness

The aim of this study was to investigate how perceptions of job insecurity and fairness associate with individual well-being (job satisfaction and general health) and organizational attitudes (organizational commitment and turnover intention), under the condition that the psychological contract as perceived by the employee includes a promise on job security, or not. More specifically, we suggest that (H1) job insecurity is negatively related to individual well-being and organizational commitment and positively related to turnover intentions when job security is expected as part of the psychological contract, (H2) that job insecurity is negatively related to fairness perceptions when job security is expected as part of the psychological contract, (H3) that fairness associates positively with individual well-being and organizational commitment and negatively with turnover intentions and (H4) that the association between job insecurity, individual well-being and organizational outcomes is mediated by fairness under the condition that job security is expected as part of the psychological contract. Thus, we propose a model of mediated moderation. Results based on a sample of Belgian employees (N = 559) supported our hypotheses for organizational outcomes. For individual well-being, the mediation framework was not conditional upon a perceived promise of job security as part of the psychological contract. We conclude that employees' perceptions of job insecurity and fairness are important factors in employees' well-being and their attitudes towards the organization. More importantly, these perceptions can in part be shaped by organizational agents such as managers and supervisors. Additionally, the active utilization of the psychological contract in management strategies seems to have favourable results for the fostering of pro-organizational attitudes among employees.     

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.     

Effectiveness of organizational efforts to lower turnover intentions: The moderating role of employee locus of control

In the current career climate characterized by change and turbulence, employees may demonstrate limited psychological attachment to their employers. Rousseau (1998) suggested that organizations can elicit psychological attachment from employees by reinforcing perceptions of organizational membership and demonstrating care and support for them. The effectiveness of these strategies, however, may depend on individuals' personality traits. In this study, we examined the moderating effect of locus of control in the relationship among four valued aspects of the work environment—information sharing, job significance, opportunity for learning, and availability of rewards for performance—and employees' intentions to stay. In two empirical studies, we found that information sharing, job significance, and locus of control interacted to positively affect intentions to stay and that opportunity for learning, availability of rewards for performance, and locus of control also interacted to increase intentions to stay. Implications of these results for theory building and practice are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Individual job‐choice decisions and the impact of job attributes and recruitment practices: A longitudinal field study

The present research is intended to contribute to the understanding of how job‐choice decisions are made and the role of effective and ineffective recruiting practices in that process. The issues are examined by tracking job seekers through the job search and choice process. At multiple points in the process, structured interviews are used to elicit information from the job seekers pertaining to how they are making their decision and what factors play a role. Results provide theoretical and practical insights into the organizational and job attributes important to job choice, as well as how specific recruiting practices may exert a significant influence, positive or negative, on job‐choice decisions. For example, our findings reinforced the importance of providing job seekers the opportunity to meet with multiple (and high‐level) organizational constituents, impressive site‐visit arrangements, and frequent and prompt follow‐up. Also, imposing a deadline (i.e., “exploding offer”) showed little effect on job‐choice decisions. Recommendations for recruitment practice and continued research are provided. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A field study of corporate employee monitoring: Attitudes, absenteeism, and the moderating influences of procedural justice perceptions

Managers are responsible for creating and enforcing company policies governing organizational practices, and one practice that is on the rise in organizations involves monitoring of employees for security purposes. The research literature on security behaviors has focused almost exclusively on compliance with or obedience to such policies; however, compliance with prescribed behaviors is not complete in terms of organizational performance. People may comply with policies with which they disagree, but harbor resentments and exhibit counterproductive and even destructive behaviors in protest. We conducted a field study of organizational monitoring policies and practices using factors from the threat control model and found that perceptions of threat, self-efficacy, and trust in the organization were key factors in attitudes about monitoring, and that these factors interacted with employee perceptions of organizational procedural justice such that high perceptions of organizational procedural justice moderated negative attitudes toward corporate monitoring, and better attitudes about monitoring was found to associate with reduced employee absences from the job.     

When do employer awards pay off and when do they not? The impact of award familiarity on applicants’ job pursuit intentions and the moderating role of corporate brand awareness

Abstract

Employer awards are increasingly utilized in the recruitment context in order to provide positive signals to potential applicants. However, the impact of employer awards on applicants’ job pursuit intentions still requires empirical proof. This study elaborates on this impact and assumes that it is contingent upon corporate brand awareness. We show that employer awards only positively impact applicants’ job pursuit intentions if the award is well-known and the recruiting firm is not. Well-known employers however do not profit from the placement of an award, on the contrary, if the award is unfamiliar, its influence on job pursuit intentions is even deleterious.     

Coming to America: work visas,international diversity,and organizational attractiveness among highly skilled Asian immigrants

Abstract

U.S. firms are increasingly seeking foreign workers to help satisfy growing demands for technical and highly skilled labor, and many immigrants continue to seek jobs in America. Despite this, few studies in the management discipline examine immigration issues as they relate to organizational attraction and recruitment. In an experimental study, we investigated the relationship between stated recruitment policies, perceived work-related expectancy, and organizational attractiveness among graduate students from Asia as potential job seekers to companies in the United States. We found a relationship between perceived work-related expectancy and either emphasizing international diversity or work visa sponsorship. However, emphasizing work visa sponsorship weakened the effect of international diversity on perceived work-related expectancy. Perceived work-related expectancy was also found to positively affect organizational attractiveness, resulting in a conditional indirect effect of international diversity statements on organizational attractiveness. Implications for organizations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Committed to the organization or the job? Effects of perceived HRM practices on employees' behavioral outcomes in the Japanese healthcare industry

This paper attempts to document how employees' perceptions of organizations' human resource management (HRM) practices influence their work behavior and outcomes, including the level of turnover intentions and job quality improvement, in a Japanese organizational and management context. In particular, an examination was made to clarify the mediating role of person–environment (P–E) fit and multiple aspects of work commitment to reach possible explanations of the relationships between perceived HRM practices and employees' behavioral outcomes, following recent work that studied the above linkages. The results of structural equation modeling using a sample of 1052 healthcare service employees in Japan provided basic support for the idea that the effects of HRM practices and employees' behavioral outcomes are neither direct nor unconditional. Moreover, employees' evaluations of their fit and commitment to their organizations were found to be the important mediators of the relationships between perceived HRM practices, while their evaluations of their fit to and involvement in their jobs were not. The findings are used to discuss why the specific forms of P–E fit and work commitment appear salient in Japanese organizations. The generalizability of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.     

Person–organization fit and the war for talent: does diversity management make a difference?

This study investigates the importance of diversity management in applicants' job choice decisions. According to the person–organization fit theory, individuals make assessments of fit between their personal values and the values of the organizations, and they make job choice decisions based on these assessments. A survey of 113 MBA job seekers concluded that women and ethnic minorities found diversity management to be important when accepting offers of employment. In addition, high achievers and new immigrants rated organizations with diversity management as more attractive as potential employers. The findings suggest a need to place a higher emphasis on diversity management in women and minority applicant attraction.     

Web-based recruiting’s impact on organizational image and familiarity: too much of a good thing?

Abstract

Little is known about the efficacy of many of the newer forms of online recruitment. Using a quasi-experimental design, we tested the impact of individual exposure to corporate recruitment websites and Facebook on perceptions of organizational familiarity and organizational image over time. Most interestingly, we found evidence of a curvilinear or non-linear relationship between frequency of exposure to organizational communications and perceptions of organizational familiarity across time. Implications of our findings for HR theory and practice are discussed.