Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to generate insights into how multinational companies (MNCs) promote global mobility in their Employer Branding (EB) messages on Facebook.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed 13.340 EB messages found on the Facebook career pages of 30 major MNCs (10 of each in the US, UK and Germany) drawing on a methodological approach combining Grounded Theory and text-mining.FindingsBuilding on the perspective of psychological contracts as sensitizing concept, the analysis of the overall sample reveals a range of core themes in EB messages across all MNCs studied. With regards to global mobility, MNCs emphasize relational, i.e. socio-emotional, contents, particularly, highlighting opportunities of experience and personal development. While global mobility is an overall marginal theme, German MNCs extensively promote global mobility, whereas US- and UK-based MNCs do not explicitly make it a subject of their messages. The findings are discussed in the light of institutional theory.Originality/valueDespite mega-trend, little is known about social media EB, especially when it comes to the contents that MNCs communicate to (potential) employees. Applying an innovative methodological approach, the authors offer insights into these contents. Discussing the findings in the light of institutional theory, it is concluded that promoting global mobility in socio-emotional terms seems of high importance to reduce uncertainties associated with living and working abroad. This might help firms to hire internationally mobile employees, especially in countries where job mobility is generally low.
Highlights
As several industries experience severe talent shortage, attracting and retaining adequately qualified and motivated employees has become a difficult, yet paramount issue for companies (Beechler and Woodward, 2009; Boxall et al, 2007; Reichel and Mayrhofer, 2009)
4.1 General patterns across all multinational companies (MNCs) Starting with the list of most frequently occurring words, Table III shows the top 10 words in our sample, according to the content categories of psychological contracts
We have shown that MNCs put a high emphasis on relational contents when promoting global mobility, highlighting opportunities such as personal development, career opportunities and positive experiences, as well as inclusive work environments
Summary
As several industries experience severe talent shortage, attracting and retaining adequately qualified and motivated employees has become a difficult, yet paramount issue for companies (Beechler and Woodward, 2009; Boxall et al, 2007; Reichel and Mayrhofer, 2009). Multinational companies (MNCs) operating at a global level are said to be in need of attracting and retaining sufficient talent (Caligiuri et al, 2010; Farndale et al, 2010; Tarique and Schuler, 2010; Dowling et al, 2009), among them a certain share of globally mobile employees. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
