Abstract
While career-oriented social networking markets (CSNM) such as LinkedIn or XING are increasingly appreciated by a large number of internet users, our understanding of CSNM benefits and factors influencing the intention to use CSNM for a job search is very limited. For theoretical work on CSNM I extend Venkatesh’s et al. UTAUT2 model by presenting a new concept considering a user’s ties based on Granovetter’s social network theory. The evaluation of the extended model, which asks users of CSNM about their job search behavior and their search success, shows a predictive quality increase from 19.0 percent to 80.5 percent. Post hoc analyses reveal a substantial negative relationship between the number of a user’s ties and its job search success, which supports the experience of practitioners but contradicts scholarly findings. A level of about 150 contacts is most effective in terms of getting job offers, which confirms Dunbar’s number. The results are useful for scholars and practitioners.
Highlights
Electronic markets are becoming more and more enriched by social network data (Alt and Klein 2011; Alt and Zimmermann 2014; Akter and Wamba 2016)
Aiming to contribute to the research questions What is the role of the number of contacts in terms of getting job offers via careeroriented online social networking markets (CSNM)? (RQ1) and What drives the intention to use CSNM for a job search? (RQ2), the most important contributions from this work are: 1. By integrating the number of contacts as a new concept in UTAUT2, its predictive quality substantially rises from 19.0 percent to 80.5 percent, (RQ1)
In this paper I empirically analyzed the relationship between the number of CSNM contacts a person has (as the most important centrality measure (Shaw 1954)) and CSNM outcome in terms of getting job offers by integrating the number of contacts as an independent construct into Venkatesh’s et al UTAUT2 model (Venkatesh et al 2012)
Summary
Electronic markets are becoming more and more enriched by social network (big) data (Alt and Klein 2011; Alt and Zimmermann 2014; Akter and Wamba 2016). The social network big blues (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) are increasingly embedding electronic markets business functions in their applications, e.g., career markets (Przemyslaw et al 2013; Takac et al 2011). There is a tremendous increase in professional company profiles on LinkedIn, XING and similar careeroriented online social networking markets (CSNM). Despite some specific challenges when contracting employees electronically (Buettner 2007a, b; Landes and Buettner 2011; Buettner et al 2013) the market figures, such as 433 mio. XING members, and 208,000 company profiles on XING, show the significant recruiting potential of CSNM
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