Recruiting on the Net: insights for employers from prospective employees

PurposeDrawing on the signaling theory and technology acceptance model, the main purpose of this study was to predict prospective employees' intentions to apply for jobs in a firm, with a special focus on the mediating role of attitudes toward corporate websites and the moderating role of perceived value fit.Design/methodology/approachCollecting data from a convenient sample of 318 prospective job candidates, the research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS (version 24) and SPSS Process Macro (version 3.4).FindingsThe test results revealed that prospective employees' attitudes toward corporate websites partially mediate the association of corporate reputations, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with their intentions to apply for jobs in an organization. Noticeably, perceived value fit moderated the perceived usefulness–application intentions link in such a way that the impact of perceived usefulness on intentions to apply appears higher for individuals with a low level (than a high level) of perceived value fit.Research limitations/implicationsConsistent with the research findings, a notable theoretical contribution and practical implications for HR professionals have been discussed. This paper ends with outlining some limitations and future research directions.Originality/valueDespite having the salient buffering effects of perceived value fit on the applicant attraction process, empirical study on this theoretical phenomenon is still sparse in a pre-employment context. This may be the first study that demonstrates under what circumstances prospective employees' job pursuit intentions could be optimized in respect of their perceived value fit within a single framework comprised of two theories.

The Effects of Entrepreneurship on the Enterprises’ Sustainable Innovation Capability in the Digital Era: The Role of Organizational Commitment, Person–Organization Value Fit, and Perceived Organizational Support

The concept of entrepreneurship in the digital era has been developed rapidly in recent years, and it has a more significant impact on a company’s sustainable innovation capabilities. In the digital era, entrepreneurship has gradually become a spiritual trait of organization members and appears on all levels of an organization. This research examines the impact of entrepreneurship on a company’s sustainable innovation capability in the digital era from the perspective of organizational commitment. Through a questionnaire survey, 378 valid questionnaires were collected. The results show that: entrepreneurship has a positive impact on sustainable innovation capability of enterprises; affective commitment plays a positive mediating role between entrepreneurship and enterprises’ sustainable innovation capability, while continuance commitment plays a negative mediating role between entrepreneurship and enterprises’ sustainable innovation capability; and perceived organizational support and person–organization value fit play a moderating role between entrepreneurship and organizational commitment. This article emphasizes the key role of entrepreneurship on enterprises’ sustainable innovation capability and discusses the realization path of the enterprises’ sustainable innovation capability from the perspective of organizational commitment.

The Mediating Effect of Person-Organization Value Fit on the Relationship Between University branding and Academic Staff Citizenship Behavior

Nowadays, research on employer branding is still growing. A specific focus on branding in the higher education sector is still limited, so this research investigates how employer branding impacts organization citizenship behavior and whether person-organization value fit mediates this relationship on a sample of 332 academic staff members working in the private higher education sector in Egypt. The data collection was performed using a self-administered survey. The research employs correlation and regression analysis to test the research hypotheses. First, the results revealed a moderately significant effect of employer branding practices on organizational citizenship behavior. Second, person-organization value fit has a positive significant mediation effect on the relationship between employer branding and organizational citizenship behavior. These results will help private universities determine to what extent investing in building a strong employer brand will help retain academic staff members. Received: 7 October 2020 / Accepted: 11 December 2020 / Published: 17 January 2021

Influence of Business Commitment to Sustainability, Perceived Value Fit, and Gender in Job Seekers’ Pursuit Intentions: A Cross-Country Moderated Mediation Analysis

Recruitment messages can help organizations to attract talent by influencing job seekers perceived fit with the company. As sustainability issues have become more relevant for 21st century citizens, messages communicating companies’ commitment to sustainability can send information that could influence young job seekers perceived fit with their future organizations. This between-subjects study analyses the influence of six messages showing business commitment to sustainability on job seekers pursuit intentions, considering a sample of 265 job applicants from three countries (Spain, Kazakhstan, and Germany). We are particularly interested in studying the role of perceived value fit as a mediating mechanism, as well as the moderating role of gender. Results obtained from a between-subjects factorial design confirm that different actions showing business commitment to sustainability positively affect job seekers’ job pursuit intentions. Our findings also show that the importance of every message is different depending on the studied country. The obtained results confirm that recruitment messages showing business commitment to sustainability influence job seekers’ pursuit intensions by increasing the perceived fit between job seekers’ and business values. Finally, results show the moderating role of prospective employees’ gender in the proposed model.

Person-Environment Fit Perceptions and Satisfaction at Work

This study aims to fulfil two literature gaps in the person-environment fit theory, in particular, relating to the supply-value fit or S-V fit. Firstly, previous research in S-V fit tended to look mainly at autonomy and supervision style. However, there appears to be no reported research that has simultaneously investigated in a single study, the effects of the discrepancy between the perceived and desired levels of work quantity, variety, power, responsibility and concentration required for the job. This study aims to fill that gap. This study examines the discrepancy between the supplies and values of work quantity, variety, power, responsibility and concentration, and its relationship with satisfaction at work. Secondly, the S-V fit theory has been relatively established in developed countries such as America and Britain. However it would be interesting to discover whether the theory is also applicable among civil service workers in a small isolated town, in a developing country such as Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed and collected from one hundred respondents working in a government department in a small town of Gua Musang in Peninsular Malaysia. Support for the S-V fit theory was obtained, as results suggested that the greater the discrepancy between the supplies and values of work quantity, variety, power, responsibility and concentration required at work, the lesser was the satisfaction. The implication therefore was that if managers were desirous of improving satisfaction of their workers, they should ensure that their workers receive neither too much nor too little work variety, power, responsibility and concentration at work-for either state can result in lower satisfaction.

Speaking up when values are aligned

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of both value congruence between employees and supervisors as well as the important role of employee voice for optimal outcomes in organizations. Design/methodology/approach A heterogeneous sample of 495 working adults across business sectors completed instruments on value fit, voice, citizenship behaviors, commitment and psychological well-being. Findings Results suggest when employees experience value fit with their immediate supervisor, they express voice in organizations. Employee voice partially mediated the effects of value congruence on citizenship behaviors, commitment and psychological well-being. Originality/value While it is common for employees and supervisors to share and observe personal values at work, few studies have considered the effects of alignment between these values. Further, this is one of the very few studies that have considered the employee consequences of this value congruence.

Winning CSR strategies for the talent war

Purpose The authors analyze the relationship between perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity bundles and prospective employees’ work values to assess how CSR strategies contribute to new staff recruiting strategies. Design/methodology/approach Building on personal and organizational value fit theory, the authors propose a positive correlation between facets of work values and particular CSR activities. We use work values, as they reflect personal values, and CSR activities to reflect organizational value. We test this relationship using a sample of senior marketing and international business majors. Findings The authors found that the relationships are threefold: all negative, all positive and selectively positive. Some viewed CSR as irrelevant to their choice of employer – those who focused on security and pride, with low degrees of other work values, and those who were concerned with growth and knowledge utilization. People who seek security and meaningful jobs hold preferable attitudes toward CSR, regardless of the areas of CSR. Selectively positive relationship between work values and CSR bundles was founded in those who seek meaningful jobs and the workplaces for which they feel proud to work. Practical implications This paper contributes to better understanding of the influence of CSR on prospective employees over preferences for companies as ideal employers. CSR matters, but not to everyone. Those who perceive that CSR matters are more active regarding work. This study links two topics – personal values through work values, and organizational values through CSR – opening a new area for investigating the effects of CSR on human resource management (HRM). Originality/value This study identifies why CSR is attractive to potential employees by using person-value and organizational-value fit theory to elaborate on a company’s social performance through CSR perceptions. No study links these two topics, which examine the same results. Research suggests that fit between personal and organizational values leads to job satisfaction, and thus a tendency to select a specific employer. CSR literature suggests that a company’s reputation gained by engaging in CSR attracts talent. By classifying talent according to work values and mapping them with CSR bundles, the authors argue that there is relationship between types of talent and CSR bundles.