Identifying Dimensions of Attractiveness in Employer Branding: Effects of Age, Gender, and Current Employment Status

Abstract

Attracting and retaining talented human capital become one of the very sources of competitive advantage. In order to attract better employees, firms recently started using branding principles and practices in the area of human resources management. The application of branding principles to HRM has been termed as employer branding. Firms appear to be expending considerable resources on employer branding campaigns, indicating that they find value in the practice. Consequently, the concept of employer branding has become a prominent topic in the HRM field. This study attempts to identify the dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding, to examine their perceived importance levels and to contrast perceptual differences (if any) regarding the age, gender and current employment status of the respondents. In order to respond to these questions, a field study is conducted and data is collected from a convenience sample of 600 adults (half of them were employed and the other half were un-employed college students at the time of data collection). Analyses results indicated significant differences between the perceived levels of importance of employer attractiveness dimensions concerning the gender of the respondents, but neither the age nor the current employment status of them. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.