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An exploratory study of jobseekers' decision-making style, recruitment information source and organisational attractiveness

Liu, Yu-Lun, Keeling, Kathleen A., Papamichail, K. Nadia (2016) An exploratory study of jobseekers' decision-making style, recruitment information source and organisational attractiveness. Personnel Review, 45 (6). pp. 1403-1427. ISSN 0048-3486. (doi:10.1108/PR-11-2014-0250) (KAR id:62486)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequences of jobseeker decision-making style on information search behaviour, information evaluation and perceptions of organisational attractiveness (OA). In this study, the authors assess whether, when presented with a realistic job information searching scenario of receiving basic job information from a typical formal short job advertisement, maximisers and satisficers differ on need for further information and evaluation of further information from informal information sources in relation to valence and tie strength. Design/methodology/approach: A scenario-based experiment was conducted on 280 participants from the USA, with work experience in retail, using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Findings: The results show that, compared to satisficers, significantly more maximisers chose to search for further information about the company/vacancy after receiving a typical short advertisement message. Furthermore, the results highlight the moderating effects of decision-making style (maximiser vs satisficer), tie strength (strong-tie vs weak-tie provider) and message valence (positive vs negative) on jobseekers’ perceived OA. Practical implications: Companies seeking to increase their candidate pool should consider accommodating the different decision-making styles of jobseekers by carefully designing the content of recruitment information and utilising recruitment information sources. Although conducted in just one sector, the ubiquity of the maximiser/satisficer decision-making style implies further research to assess the implications for other sectors. Originality/value: Research on decision-making style in recruitment is relatively limited. This study demonstrates the differences between maximisers and satisficers in terms of job-related information needs, and the evaluation of the source/content, when searching for a retail trade job.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1108/PR-11-2014-0250
Uncontrolled keywords: Decision-making style, Maximiser, Organizational attractiveness, Quantitative, Recruitment information sources, Satisficer, Staff word-of-mouth,
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Kent Business School (do not use)
Depositing User: Yu-Lun Liu
Date Deposited: 31 Jul 2017 11:15 UTC
Last Modified: 23 Jan 2023 08:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/62486 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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