The effect of applicant-employee fit and temporal construal on employer attraction and pursuit intentions
Journal
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
ISSN
0963-1798
ISSN-Digital
2044-8325
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-03
Author(s)
Abstract
Although applicant-employee fit has emerged as an important topic in recruitment research, little is known about how job seekers' perceived similarity with the employees working for an organization affects employer attraction. In this research, we introduce temporal construal as a crucial moderating variable and study how the temporal decision context affects the weighting of applicant-employee fit. In particular, we argue that applicant-employee fit is construed in abstract, high-level terms and exerts a stronger influence when prospective applicants hold a distant time perspective. In contrast, instrumental attributes such as pay level represent low-level construals and gain greater relevance when prospective applicants hold a near time perspective. Two experiments involving a student sample and a sample of unemployed job seekers supported these predictions.
Language
English
Keywords
recruitment
applicant-employee fit
temporal construal
employer branding
organizational attractiveness
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher place
OxFord UK
Volume
85
Number
1
Start page
116
End page
135
Pages
20
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
70127