Corporate Teamwork and Diversity Statements in College Recruitment Brochures: Effects on Attraction1

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly emphasizing group work or teamwork as a source of competitive advantage in a diverse workforce. It has been suggested that such organizations must target their recruitment efforts at applicants who are both diverse and amenable to working in teams. Data were collected from 181 undergraduates at a large northeastern university who viewed a recruitment brochure of a fictitious firm in which statements about teamwork and diversity were manipulated. Results indicate that applicants' teamwork attitude moderated the relationship between teamwork statements and applicant attraction to the organization. Minority and gender status moderated the relationship between diversity statements and applicant attraction. These results provide evidence that organizations can target specific applicant characteristics with appropriate statements in recruitment brochures.