Job Pursuit Intentions Research Articles

Effects of green human resource management: testing a moderated mediation model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine organizational attractiveness as a mechanism through which adoption of green human resource management (GHRM) practices affects potential employees’ intent to pursue career in an organization. Specifically, an integrative moderated mediation model with employees’ personal environmental orientation as moderator of the above-stated relationship was proposed.Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprised 172 final-year engineering students registered in a four-year undergraduate program in one of the top higher education institutes in India. SPSS 24 was used to test the moderated mediation model with the help of hierarchical regression procedures.FindingsResults provided support for the moderated mediation model in which the indirect effect of GHRM on job pursuit intention through organizational attractiveness was moderated by environmental orientation of prospective applicants.Practical implicationsResults highlight the potential of GHRM in turning the organizations into talent magnets. This knowledge will motivate practitioners to effectively integrate GHRM with human resource policies, practices and employee initiatives for attracting quality applicants.Originality/valueThis research by presenting the positive outcomes of GHRM for the organizations contributes to scant academic literature on sustainable human resource management which is deficient with regard to knowledge around its consequences.

Predictors of job pursuit intention across career stages: a multi-phase investigation

The continuing war for talent requires business leaders to stay focused on the quality and mix of their applicant pool(s) at different levels of their organizations. As psychological needs, relational responsibilities, and key motivators differ across career stages, differentiated employee value proposition is critical, in order to attract the right talent to the organization. However, studies exploring predictors of job pursuit intention have typically investigated this topic with populations of on-campus students or early career-stage applicants. The present study was designed to better understand factors that influence job pursuit intentions of individuals at different career stages. In this multi-phase study, we supplemented the first phase of the study (a sample of 1127 professionals in the IT/ITeS industry at various stages of their careers) with interviews with 32 IT professionals and 15 HR leaders in Phase II. We find that the predictors of job pursuit intention differ for applicants at different career stages. We discuss theoretical contributions, practical implications and offer suggestions for future research.

Digital Word of Mouth and Organizational Attraction: Focusing on Message Characteristics and Time

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of valence, medium, and source of digital word-of-mouth messages on organizational attraction, and to investigate if organizational attraction ratings change over time. As expected, findings showed a significant main effect of valence on company attractiveness and job pursuit intentions, such that ratings were higher for the positive than the negative message. However, there was a significant interaction between valence and medium on company attractiveness ratings, such that valence had a stronger effect on company attractiveness when the medium used was text as opposed to video. Results also indicated that evaluations of company attractiveness and job pursuit intentions became significantly less extreme (more neutral) after a 2-week period, regardless of message valence.

Why Spelling Errors Matter: Online Company Reviews and Organizational Attraction

This study examined the effects of quality (spelling errors vs. no spelling errors) and valence (positive vs. negative) of online company reviews on organizational attraction. One hundred and sixty-one participants were told to imagine they were searching for a job and were then randomly assigned to read one of four online company reviews, which were formatted similar to Glassdoor.com reviews. Overall, results indicated that participants who viewed a company review with no spelling errors rated their organizational attraction more aligned with the valence of the review than participants who viewed a company review with spelling errors. In other words, participants who viewed positive reviews with no spelling errors rated general company attractiveness, job pursuit intentions, and company prestige higher than participants who viewed positive reviews with spelling errors. Similar results were found for the negative review, with the exception of company prestige. Specifically, participants who viewed the negative review with no spelling errors rated the company’s attractiveness and their job pursuit intentions lower than participants who viewed the negative review that had spelling errors. Overall, the current findings suggest that an organization will appear more attractive to potential applicants if current or former employees write positive, high-quality reviews about the company.

Personality Congruence Among Brands, Recruiters, and Applicants During the Anticipatory Socialization Process

Drawing on congruence theory, this study aims to examine the impact of internal brand management, perceived level of job opportunities, and their interaction effects on job applicants during the anticipatory socialization process in the hospitality industry. Data were collected from students and job seekers in the hospitality industry with qualitative (focus group interview) and quantitative approaches (2 × 2 and 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design). The findings indicate that recruiters who receive internal brand management have a positive impact on applicants’ congruence perception toward the brand. Furthermore, this effect becomes stronger when candidates perceive employment opportunities as abundant, which increases job attraction and job pursuit intentions.

Fit and Congruency

Abstract. Applicant job pursuit intentions impact the composition of an organization’s applicant pool, thereby influencing selection outcomes. An example is the self-selection of women and men into gender-congruent jobs. Such self-selection contributes to a lack of gender diversity across a variety of occupations. We use person-job fit and the role congruity perspective of social role theory to explore job pursuit intentions. We present research from two cross-sectional survey studies (520 students, 174 working adults) indicating that at different points in their careers women and men choose to pursue gender-congruent jobs. For students, the choice was mediated by value placed on the job’s associated gender-congruent outcomes, but for working adults it was not. We offer suggestions for practitioners and researchers.

When CEO Sociopolitical Activism Attracts New Talents: Exploring the Conditions Under Which CEO Activism Increases Job Pursuit Intentions

When CEO Sociopolitical Activism Attracts New Talents: Exploring the Conditions Under Which CEO Activism Increases Job Pursuit Intentions

Exploring Dimensions of Corporate Social Performance as a Strategy for Attracting Quality Job Seekers

The main objective of this paper is to explore job seekers’ perception of an organisation’s corporate social performance (CSP) credentials as a plausible consideration in the employment decision-making process as suggested by existing literature. Similarly, the paper provides a contextual extension of previous studies that were conducted in different cultural work environments. The paper developed a conceptual model based on a literature survey in order to achieve its objectives. A survey of 515 final year undergraduate and postgraduate students in a public university in Gauteng, South Africa, was conducted to empirically determine the relationship between various dimensions of CSP in relation to a job seeker’s attractiveness to an organisation. The economic responsibility dimension of CSP was found to have the greatest influence on organisational attractiveness to job seekers. Previous studies used organisational level as the unit of analysis in arriving at conclusions, without corresponding evidence at the individual level of analysis. Our analysis in this study was conducted at an individual level, thus filling an existing gap in the literature. This paper further extends the work of some previous scholars on job pursuit intention. The study is, however, limited by our assumption that all participants would enter the labour market immediately after graduation, withoutÂ

The influence of political climate on job pursuit intentions and the moderating effect of Machiavellianism

AbstractJob seekers now have access to a number of internet resources (e.g., social media, chat rooms, and message boards) that provide information about potential employers. These resources provide potential job applicants with extensive amounts of third‐party information about organizations, including information about the extent to which a particular organization's climate can be characterized as being political. Unfortunately, owing to a dearth of research on this topic, it is unclear to what extent such information about an organization's political climate might affect the recruiting process. Therefore, drawing from the Attraction‐Selection‐Attrition model, we considered the extent to which potential job applicants are less (more) likely to pursue jobs in organizations that are perceived as more (less) political. We further identified Machiavellianism as a potential moderator of this relationship, given that this trait reflects the extent to which an individual would “fit” into a highly political work environment. Across three studies, our findings provide evidence that job applicants report being less likely to pursue jobs in organizations characterized by high levels of workplace politics. The results further indicated that Machiavellianism attenuates this negative effect. In light of our findings, we discuss implications for how information that is not controlled by the organization (e.g., information provided by social media or other internet‐based sources) affects job pursuit intentions and the organization's applicant pool.

Impact of Informational Characteristics of the Recruitment Website on Graduating Students' Job Pursuit Intention

The purpose of this article is to examine the dimensionalities, mechanisms, and the conditions under which information characteristics of the corporate employment website influence job seekers' job pursuit intention and recommendation intention. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, the data collected from 181 active job seekers posit that the effects of information characteristics, such as information relevancy, information accuracy, and information timeliness on organizational attractiveness are mediated by job seekers' attitudes towards the website, which in turn direct to create job pursuit intention and intention to recommend. Furthermore, it is also postulated that the relationship between the above-said characteristics and attitude towards the website is moderated by the perceived privacy concern of the job seekers. In addition, the article results also supported that the relationship between job seekers' website attitude and organizational attractiveness is moderated by perceived organizational reputation.

Social media screening and content effects: implications for job applicant reactions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to pursue several goals: first, what is the relationship between perceived respect for privacy and potential job pursuit of student applicants in a hypothetical application scenario which includes social media screening as part of the selection process? Second, if the job involves vulnerable others, what are the implications for privacy perceptions? And third, to what extent does the use of social media for non-work purposes relate to perceived respect for privacy?Design/methodology/approachUsing a cross-sectional sampling approach, data were collected from 388 student participants in two different data collection rounds via an online survey.FindingsPerceived respect for privacy was positively correlated, and information privacy concern was negatively correlated, with job pursuit intention. However, perceived respect for privacy differed across the different jobs. Specifically, respect for privacy was higher when the employer screened social media for jobs involving explicit work with children. Social media use and content effects also emerged. Those who either observed others online or interacted with others online to socialize reported lower respect for privacy. Participants with more sensitive content online and content they would be unwilling to share also reported lower scores for privacy.Research limitations/implicationsThe results were based on cross-sectional data, correlational analyses and hypothetical job scenarios due to ethical considerations and causal restrictions in what may be bi-directional effects.Originality/valueThe current study adds to the limited research on the negative effects of social media screening by employers on applicant reactions and the role of job-specifics on how applicant may react to screening.

Green human resource management and job pursuit intention: Examining the underlying processes

AbstractThe present study was conducted with an objective to illuminate the complex psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship of green human resource management (GHRM) with job pursuit intention (JPI) of potential applicants. Specifically, a sequential mediation model linking GHRM with JPI through organizational prestige (OP) and organizational attractiveness (OA) was proposed using arguments from theories of signaling and social identity. A sample of 172 students enrolled in the final year of a Bachelors in Technology program at one of the leading technology institutes in India was used to empirically validate the hypotheses. Results largely provided support for the proposed hypotheses. OP and OA sequentially mediated the effect of GHRM on JPI. By offering an understanding of complex microlevel processes through which GHRM shapes prospective applicants' JPI, the study advances the understanding on human element of environmental management and provides a foundation for designing effective GHRM systems.

Effects of Ethical Certification and Ethical eWoM on Talent Attraction

Whilst previous studies indicate perceived company ethicality as a driver of job seekers’ job-pursuit intentions, it is poorly understood how and why ethical market signals actually affect their application decisions. Perceptions of company ethicality result from market signals that are either within the control of the company (e.g. ethical certifications) and from market signals that are beyond the company’s control (e.g. ethical eWoM). Building on communication and information processing theories, this study therefore considers both types of ethical market signals, and examines the psychological mechanisms through which they affect job seekers’ intention to apply for a job. The results from a controlled online experiment show that both types of ethical market signals increase job seekers’ job-pursuit intentions. These relationships are mediated by applicants’ attitude towards the job advertisement, their perceptions of corporate employment image and self-referencing. Consequently, the present study alerts practitioners to consider the effects of company-controlled and non-company-controlled ethical market signals, particularly when aiming to recruit highly-qualified millennial candidates.

Do instrumental and symbolic factors interact in influencing employer attractiveness and job pursuit intention?

PurposeThe changing demographics of talent market calls for a better understanding of the expectations of diverse job seekers. However, there is limited research on employer attractiveness (EA) factors which cover the expectations of new generation job seekers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of career growth opportunities (CGO), work–life benefits (WLB) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reputation on the perceived attractiveness of an organization as an employer and the job pursuit intention (JPI) of job seekers.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (CGO: many vs limited)×2 (WLB: many vs limited)×2 (CSR reputation: high vs low) between-subjects experimental design was used for this study. A total of 240 respondents participated in the study.FindingsThe results showed that provision of CGO had the highest effect on both EA and JPI. This effect was strong enough to compensate for limited WLB and a low CSR reputation. A significant interaction effect between CGO and CSR reputation revealed that the effect of CSR reputation on EA depends on the availability of many or limited CGO.Originality/valueThe study contributes and expands literature on attributes relevant in job choice decisions by providing useful insights regarding how job seekers weigh these attributes while making an employment choice. Also, the study offers suggestions for designing organizations’ recruitment strategy for attracting talent.

Family business employer brand: Understanding applicants’ perceptions and their job pursuit intentions with samples from the US and Belgium

Recruiting college educated non-family employees has been one of the challenges identified by family business owners affecting the success and continuity of family firms. To better understand this challenge, we build on previous work from recruitment, branding, and family business literature to introduce the family business employer brand construct and its components. We explore the perceptions that non-family applicants have about the family business employer brand components, and how these perceptions affect intentions to pursue a job with a family firm. Data were collected through surveys in the USA (N = 293) and Belgium (N = 324). Results from both countries indicate that participants evaluated instrumental (i.e., compensation, job security, and advancement opportunities) and symbolic (i.e. trustworthiness, innovation, thrift, style, and dominance) components of the family business employer brand differently in the two countries and these factors varied in the effect that they had on the intent to pursue a job in a family firm. Implications of these results for practice and further research are discussed.

Can green human resource management attract young talent? An empirical analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of perceived green human resource management (GHRM) on job pursuit intention (JPI) of prospective employees. In addition, an attempt was made to unfurl the underlying psychological mechanisms and illuminate the boundary conditions of the aforementioned relationship by proposing organizational prestige (OP) as mediator and environmental orientation (EO) and gender as moderators.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 172 undergraduate engineering students of a reputed engineering institute in India constituted the sample for this scenario-based study. Direct, mediation, moderation and moderated mediation hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear regression analysis and bootstrapping procedures in SPSS.FindingsGHRM was found to relate significantly with JPI of prospective applicants and OP mediated the above linkage. EO was found to significantly moderate the association of GHRM with JPI. However, gender failed to add to the understanding of the above relationship.Practical implicationsBy providing evidence on the psychological processes which the applicants engage in during employer selection, organizations will be able to form appropriate strategies for attracting talent to their organizations.Originality/valueThe study addresses the call for research to integrate the diverse disciplines of environmental management and human resource management and provides additional insights into human aspect of environmental sustainability. It advances the sustainable HRM literature by providing comprehensive understanding of how and when GHRM influences prospective employee outcomes.

The Impact of Job Advertising on Hospitality Graduates’ Job Pursuit Intention

ABSTRACTThis study uses signaling theory to investigate the influence of recruitment signals, including compensation, firm reputation, and advancement prospects, on hospitality undergraduates’ job pursuit intention. By including career self-efficacy as a moderator and anticipated organizational support as a mediator, this study provides insight into the psychological process that applicants use to interpret signals received from recruitment advertisements. Two experiments are reported that used hospitality college students close to graduation as subjects. The results show that applicants’ career self-efficacy influences signal interpretation and that anticipated organizational support is a conditional mediator between job characteristics and applicants’ job pursuit intention. The results suggest that when applicants review multiple recruitment advertisements, compensation becomes less important in their job pursuit intentions. The findings have implications for effective recruitment strategies and suggest that recruitment advertisements should be tailored to the type of applicant desired for the position.

Do organizations' diversity signals threaten members of the majority group? The case of employee professional networks

Employee Professional Networks (EPNs) are now commonplace in today's organizations, and they are frequently used to signal diversity and inclusion in line with public policy mandates. Despite EPNs' pervasiveness, scant research has explored their impact on attracting prospective employees. The authors address this gap by exploring the influence of EPNs on job pursuit intentions. Across two studies, the authors find that EPNs focused on minority employees (vs. all employees) reduce perceived threat and increase job pursuit intentions among majority group members (Caucasian Americans) as a function of their support for social hierarchy (Social Dominance Orientation). The integration of perceived threat and social hierarchy attitudes to explain the impact of EPNs is a novel theoretical contribution to literature on marketplace diversity with important implications for managers, policy makers, and researchers.

The importance of sector‐stereotypical images in relation to job pursuit intentions

This study broadens the concept of employer image and demonstrates the relevance of applicants’ sector image when looking for employment in either nonprofit or for‐profit organizations. We apply the Stereotype Content Model to conceptualize image through perceived competence and warmth and use multilevel analyses on data from final‐year Master’s students. Results show the importance of the sector‐stereotypical image and are partially in line with our hypotheses. Job pursuit intentions for specific organizations are predicted by both the organizations’ as well as the respective sectors’ perceived warmth and competence. Pursuit intentions for the for‐profit sector are predicted only by the image of that sector. However, the intention to pursue employment in the nonprofit sector is predicted by both its competence and warmth as well as by the perceived warmth of its organizations. These findings are discussed in view of a trickle‐down effect and compared to previous findings on sector image among consumers.

Employee recruitment and job search: Towards a multi-level integration

This study describes an attempt to develop an integrative model of job search and employee recruitment. Inevitably multi-level in nature, the model demonstrates the interplay between organizational-level factors and individual-level factors in influencing the outcomes of employee recruitment and job search activities. According to the model, influenced by job seeker and organizational characteristics, job search and recruitment activities jointly create job awareness, which is the first step in organizational attraction. Next, depending on the job seeker's current job situation, this attraction leads to job pursuit intention and behavior. The model also emphasizes the longitudinal nature of the process by which individuals gain employment. Finally, since each organization's applicant pool consists of job seekers with some common characteristics attracted to the same position, the model proposes that recruitment and job search can be examined by utilizing a multilevel framework.