The Use of Social Networking Sites in Job Related Activities: A Cross-cultural Comparison

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of the paper is to identify the use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) in job related activities and indicate the interdependencies between these activities and age, gender, as well as education in culturally diversified markets (China, Poland, Turkey, the United States). Research Design & Methods: In the exploratory empirical study the authors used two research methods: PAPI (Paper and Pen Personal Interview) and CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview). The empirical data were collected in 2016 and the total number of respondents from four culturally diversified countries was 1246. Findings: The analysis with the use of Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn post-hoc tests showed that the Turkish respondents most often use SNSs for job related activities, while it is the least often done by the studied Americans. Moreover, from among the studied factors (gender, age and education level) that differentiate the SNSs usage for job related activities in a statistically significant way age is of greatest importance. Implications & Recommendations: The results of the research provide implications for the recruitment policy of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Since more and more enterprises use SNSs in order to look for new employees and advertise themselves as employers (employer branding), the identified interdependencies between the SNSs activities and the analysed factors can support firm attempts to develop the proper recruitment policy taking into account the cultural diversity of potential workers. Contribution & Value Added: There are not many studies in the literature which present the usage of SNSs for job related activities from the perspective of individual users in the cross-cultural approach. The majority of studies are related to the usage of SNSs by enterprises in the recruitment process.