TILBURG UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIC YEAR 2009/2010
Facilitate attraction:
a literature study on the effect of corporate image on recruitment
BACHELORTHESIS ORGANIZATION & STRATEGY
Supervisor
Written by:
Tina Thomas Punnanchira
ANR :
715550
Date
Word Count
:
:
13.08.2010
7467
:
Drs. A.D. Timmers
Management Summary
Human capital is one of the most important factors that build a company. Academics as well as
human resources managers ask themselves the five W’s: why hire, by which method to hire,
whom to hire or when to hire. An answer could be based on this literature review on the topic
‘corporate image and its influence on the recruitment success of organizations’.
This literature review is representing the existing knowledge on recruitment and corporate image
and examines the concepts critically. The main assumption of corporate image is that people
have different types of knowledge and attitude towards a company. This means that the same job
advertisement can be perceived differently by applicants. Hence, recruitment success is
dependent on the organizational characteristics or individual characteristics or the influence of
both together. Recruitment is seen in this thesis as less perfect and more complex than only being
an organizational decision. It means that different views on recruitment can be taken.
Consequently, recruitment and corporate image can be examined from a multi-actor perspective,
i.e. from the organizational, group or individual perspective. For this thesis special attention is
given to the individuals’ perception of the corporate image and how it influences recruitment
success. Reason is that the author sees the necessity for organizations to understand the different
perspectives individuals can have on an organization. Also, it can be used to explain the
importance of the initial stage of recruitment. By understanding the individual applicant,
managers are enabled to put better questions in job interviews, advertise for them more
effectively and engage in better communication in general.
II
Table of Contents MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ............................................................................................... II LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ IV LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... V CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1.1. Problem indication ................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Problem statement .................................................................................................. 1 1.3. Research questions ................................................................................................. 1 1.4. Research method .................................................................................................... 2 1.5. Structure of the thesis............................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RECRUITMENT ..................................... 3 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3 2.2. Definition of recruitment ....................................................................................... 4 2.3. Process of recruitment............................................................................................ 4 2.4. Forms of recruitment.............................................................................................. 5 2.5. Models of recruitment ............................................................................................ 5 2.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CORPORATE IMAGE ............................. 9 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 9 3.2. Importance of corporate image .............................................................................. 9 3.3. Definition of corporate image ................................................................................ 9 3.4. Forms of corporate image .................................................................................... 10 3.5. Characteristics forming an image ........................................................................ 10 3.6. Perceived corporate image ................................................................................... 12 3.7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 4. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE IMAGE AND RECRUITMENT 16 4.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 16 4.2. Effect of corporate image on recruitment success ............................................... 17 4.3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 5. LIMITATIONS OF THE LITERATURE STUDY............................................... 22 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..................................................... 23 6.1. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 23 6.2. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 24 6.3. Managerial and academic recommendations ....................................................... 24 REFERENCES III
List of Figures
Figure 1: Factors forming the corporate image............................................................................. 10 Figure 2: Creation of corporate image .......................................................................................... 13 Figure 3: ex ante self selection, person-organization fit and corporate image ............................. 17 Figure 4: ex post self selection, person-organization fit and corporate image ............................. 18 Figure 5: self selection, person-organization fit and corporate image .......................................... 20 IV
List of Tables
Table 1: The different forms of recruitment. .................................................................................. 7 Table 2: The purpose of self selection and person-organization fit ................................................ 8 Table 3: Concepts and explanation ............................................................................................... 20 V
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1. Problem indication
The attractiveness of a company seems to be relevant for job application (Turban & Forret, 1998).
But it is not known why job seekers are attracted and decide to apply for a job. The concept of
corporate image may give an adaquate answer. It is seen as one reason to apply for a job
(Gatewood, Gowan and Lautenschlager 1993). Even more, corporate image is probably relevant
in the acceptance of a job (Chapman, et al. 2005). Corporate image can be defined as the
perception of the company (Zinknan, Ganesh, Jaju, & Hayes, 2001). To summarize, corporate
image could be related to recruitment success. Recruitment success can be understood as the
choice of the best people and their acceptance of job (Carlson, Connerly and Mecham 2002).
Recruitment success can be important for organizations in two ways. Either, individuals are
found who fit the job (Lawler 1993). Or, recruitment results in finding competencies of
organization for shorter and long term goals (Lawler 1993). Organizations may need to
understand how their company is perceived to coordinate their recruitment actions.
The author conducts a literature study on the problem stated below.
1.2. Problem statement
The problem that will be researched in this literature study is:
What is the relationship between corporate image and recruitment?
The answer to this problem statement can give an intuition on some reason for an individuals’
attraction to an organization.
1.3. Research questions
In order to answer the problem statement three research question will be answered.
1. Which perspectives on recruitment exist in literature?
2. Which points of view on corporate image exist in literature?
3. What are previously found effects of corporate image on recruitment in literature?
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1.4. Research method
The research conducts a literature study on the corporate image, recruitment and the relationship
between the two concepts.
The literature study uses an exploratory method (Sekaran 2003) .Exploratory studies are
‘”undertaken to better understand the nature of a problem (Sekaran, 2003). Information on the
topic was searched on the university databases.
Compared to other exploratory methods the benefits of a literature study are that it identifies the
critical concepts related to a problem, explains why these concepts are considered important, and
it serves as a guideline how the problem should be approached (Sekaran, 2003).
By reading this literature review companies can improve their recruitment. Only 16% of
international companies are doing well in recruitment (Balaguer, Chesse and Marchetti 2006).
The academic researcher can work more systematically and can focus on the research he
conducts.
1.5. Structure of the thesis
The main chapters of the thesis are related to the order of the first three research questions. The
remaining chapters explain the limitations of the study and the conclusion and recommendations.
Chapter 2 explains the main concept of recruitment of employees and answers the first research
question. Chapter 3 answers the second research question and discusses the corporate image.
Chapters 2 and 3 will give general descriptions, definitions and explanation of the concepts. The
definitions of the concepts are intended to give the reader a better understanding of the concepts’
used. The explanations have two functions. First, the reader understands which perspectives exist
in literature. Secondly, he sees which models are central to the literature review. Chapter 4
combines the concepts used in chapter 2 and 3. It discusses the effect of recruitment image on
corporate image and answers the third research question.. After reading the first four chapters
the reader should be able to understand the problem. Chapter 5 elaborates on the limitations of a
literature study and the final chapter will give conclusions and will give recommendations to the
academic and managerial field.
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Chapter 2. Theoretical Perspectives on Recruitment
2.1. Introduction
The research on recruitment includes many aspects. Some researchers, as Barber (1998) and
Breaugh (2008) tried to give an understanding of the recruitment concept and the recruitment
process. Others as Wanous (1992) described the effects of recruitment activities on pre-hire and
post-hire outcomes. Furthermore, the literature on recruitment can be divided into the
organizational, group based or the individuals’ perspective on recruitment. Organizational
perspectives can be linked with on the organizational planning, strategies of recruitment and
objectives of recruitment. The group based theories include the group of individuals the
organization plans to recruit. Group based theories can be related to topics as internal labor
markets and high commitment models of recruitment (Lawler, 1993). Individuals perspectives
related to the decision making process of applicants, the decision the applicant makes as will be
shown later in the text. Thus, a multitude of perspectives exist by which recruitment can be
examined. Within these perspective researchers call for further research that may combine all 3
types of theories.
This thesis narrows down the focus on the individual perspective and partly on the organizational
perspective. The part on self-selection focuses on the individual perspective of recruitment. The
P-O theory focuses on matching the individuals needed with that of the organization. This
literature study has the goal to stimulate the research on viewing recruitment as a multi-actor
perspective, which includes both individuals and organizations.
The following section will define the concept of recruitment. Thereafter the process of
recruitment is described and the forms of recruitment. The main part follows with the models of
recruitment. These models will be used in chapter 4 to combine the concepts of corporate image
and recruitment. The models in this chapter have been used since literature provides most recent
information on them. Also, the main literature regarding the combination of corporate image and
recruitment indicate the use of models in chapter 4. Furthermore, the use of the models serves a
nearly complete explanation for the effect of corporate image on recruitment success from an
individuals’ perspective.
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2.2. Definition of recruitment
Barber (1998) points out that through the common use of the term ‘recruitment’, not many
definitions of the concept exist. Despite this notion, a number of definitions will be presented.
Recruitment is defined as all organizational activities and practices with the purpose to identify
and attract employees (Barber, 1998). The definition uses the word ‘purpose’ and can be
interpreted as ‘intended goal’. This implies that the actual outcome of attracting potential
employees can be influenced by factors other than organizational activities and practices. This
definition can make the understanding of the concept of corporate image in the next chapter
easier. Rynes and Barber (1990) define recruitment as one means of organizations to attract
applicants. Thereby, they distinguish the terms attraction and recruitment. Other means to attract
applicants are job inducements and targeting different types of applicants (Rynes & Barber,
1990). Somehow, it is not stated explicitly what is the meaning of ‘means’. Other definitions,
define recruitment as the process of mutual attraction between the potential applicant and the
organization (Wanous, 1992). Wanous (1992) views this process of mutual attraction as the first
stage of selection and defines the second stage of selection as the process of mutual choice. But,
it is also possible to define the outcome of mutual choice as recruitment success. Since, in case
only one of the parties agrees to the job offer, the individual is not selected for the job. The
definition of recruitment can thus vary if the focus in on processes or the outcome. To conclude,
recruitment is viewed in this thesis as the attraction of applicants and the mutual choice. This
thesis focuses on the outcome. In the next section, the process of recruitment is explained.
2.3. Process of recruitment
The process of recruitment is viewed from an individual perspective. The literature provides
many stages but they will not be considered into the thesis since more focus is on the
perspectives on recruitment. In order to simplify the process, it is divided into two parts. The first
part of recruitment is the attraction to the organization. It includes the finding of information
about job openings and determining the accuracy of information (Wanous, 1992). The second
part can be related to job choice decisions. The second part consists of coping with interviewing
and assessment methods, the decision to apply for the job and choosing among job offers
(Wanous, 1992). As explained in Chapter 2.2 the second part and the first part of the selection
4
process are defined as recruitment. The process of recruitment is viewed from the organizational
perspective is left out.
2.4. Forms of recruitment
Recruitment can be done internally or externally (Breaugh, 2008). Internal recruitment
definitions refer to the recruitment via the internal labor market (ILM) of organizations.
Examples of recruitment via an ILM are the employee referral or promotion. External
recruitment relates to the direct or indirect recruitment methods of the organization.
Recruitment can also be defined by the methods of recruiting personnel. Either the recruitment
can be done directly or indirectly by the corporation (Russo, Gorter, Nijkamp, & Rietveld, 1997).
Direct recruitment includes formal contacts to applicants through the job postings of
organizations in various media e.g. newspapers, the internet. Furthermore, direct contact can be
established through meeting recruiters in interviews or career fairs. Indirect recruitment can only
be indirectly controlled by the organization and is done informally. Examples are the word-ofmouth (van Hoye & Lievens, 2009) or employee self-selection.
The direct and indirect recruitment will be used later in this literature study. Internal recruitment
is left out of the literature study as existing employees are not considered in this thesis.
2.5. Models of recruitment
In this section, the reader will be introduced to some existing perspectives on recruitment. Of
course, more perspectives than the Person-Organizational models and the model of self selection
exist. But, only the models of recruitment introduced in this part are required to understand
Chapter 4 of this thesis. Models related to ILM or employee referrals are related to the
expectations that are generated in a potential applicant. The latter models are more relevant to
post-hire outcomes of met expectation and resulting commitment, job satisfaction or justice
perceptions. Therefore, the choice on perspectives on recruitment is restricted to self selection
model and the Person –Organizational model. These models take a view on organization and
the individual side of recruitment. Based on the understanding managerial recommendations are
easier to generate.
5
•
Person-organization model of recruitment
Person - Organizational models can be subdivided into the concepts of (1) perceived personorganizational fit, (2) perceived person-job fit. The term ‘perceived’ means that fit is subjective.
Each person can have a different feel of fit towards the organization (Piasentin and Chapman
2006).
(1) perceived person-organizational fit
The review of literature by Piasentin and Chapman (2006) has shown that there can be a fit
betweeen the organizational characteristics and the individuals charactersistics. Individual
characteristics can consist of personality, values, goals and attitudes (Kristof 1996).
Organizational characteristics can include the culture, the values, the goals and norms (Kristof
1996). When applicants compare themselves to organizations they can feel themselves similar or
adding value to existing employee (Piasentin and Chapman 2006, Kristof 1996). Similarity is
called supplementary fit and the adding of value is called complementory fit (Kristof 1996).
(2) perceived person-job fit
Percieved person job fit means that applicants feel that the organizations fits to themself either if
the organization fullfills their personal needs (needs-supplies) or if they fullfill the organization’s
demands by their knowledge, skills and abilities (demands-ablities) (Edwards 1991). The
recruitment processes itself can help individuals to acesss the percieved fit (Kristof 1996)
Perceived person-job fit can be described as part of person-environmental fit (Kristof 1996).
The implications of the person-organizational fit are discussed in Chapter 4.
•
Self selection
Self selection is defined as the recruitment success for the organization. Self selection can be
related to the decision to apply for the job and to the acceptance of a job offer (Ryan, Sacco,
McFarland, & Kriska, 2000). Thus, the applicant expresses the willingness to work with the
corporation before and after having direct contact with the company (Chapman, Uggerslev,
Caroll, Piasentin, & Jones, 2005). If the decision to work with the corporation is made before the
direct contact with the company it is called ex ante self selection. In the second stage, the ex
6
ante stage, the applicant goes from application to the job acceptance. Ex post selection reflects
the decision of the individual after the direct contact with the firm.
•
Self selection and P-O-fit
The term self selection can be related to Holland’s studies of careers. The study shows that
individuals choose occupations similar to their personalities
(Gottfriedson & Holland, 1974).
Self selection is then based on subjective fit estimations by the applicant. To estimate the
perceived fit the applicant can use any sources of information. Thus, the perceived organizational
fit and self-selection can be related.
2.6. Conclusion
The first part of this chapter can be described in the following way. It relates to the different
forms of recruitment as they were introduced in section 2.4.
Direct
Formal
Informal
indirect
High commitment strategies, Job posting by the company or
company visits
other party’s medias
ILM strategies, career fairs
Word of Mouth
Table 1: The different forms of recruitment.
There can be forms of recruitment that combine different forms of recruitment. Examples as ILM
strategies are informal in nature and the applicant directly approaches responsible people in the
organization. The indirect form of recruitment does not include direct contact with corporate
representatives.
7
Explanation
Self selection
decision making based on information
Person-Organizational fit
Similarities between the organization and the
applicant
Self selection & Person-Organizational fit
Self selection is based on the perception of person
organization fit, it justifies the recruitment decisions
of applicants
Table 2: The purpose of self selection and person-organization fit
In the main section of this Chapter the model of recruitment has been introduced. The self
selection serves as basis to start contact with the organization. Self selection is based on
information provided indirectly or directly by the company. When applicants perceive a fit
between themselves and the organization they select themselves into organizations. This is called
self selection.
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Chapter 3. Theoretical Perspectives on Corporate Image
3.1. Introduction
Most researchers agree on that the corporate image is a complex concept. Some papers argue that
the corporate image is difficult to change by corporations (Dowling 1986, Bernstein 1986),
whereas others see a possibility (Zinknan, et al. 2001). The literature so far has different
perspectives on the concept of corporate image. Also similar concept as corporate identity,
corporate reputations are sometimes not clearly distinguished from the concept of corporate
image.
The coming section of this chapter will describe the importance, the definition and the forms of
corporate image. In the section thereafter the characteristics of corporate image will be explained.
The final section tries to emphasize the perceived corporate image from an individuals’
perspective.
3.2. Importance of corporate image
No company can ignore corporate image since every organization has an image (Bernstein,
1986). Whether the image is created consciously or unconsciously, it affects the behavior of
people (Bernstein, 1986). Knowledge of the corporate image helps managers direct their
communication effort in a more efficient way (Bernstein, 1986).
3.3. Definition of corporate image
Corporate image is defined as the perception of a company (Bernstein, 1986; Zinknan, Ganesh,
Jaju, & Hayes, 2001). Corporate image can also be defined as the impression of an organization
created through corporate communication, e.g. mission statements and advertising, and the name,
symbols or reputation to give just a few examples. (Gray & Balmer, 1998; Bernstein, 1986).
Gray & Balmer (1998) define corporate image as the mental picture of the corporation and
include value judgements of the companies attributes.
9
3.4. Forrms of corp
porate image
The diffferent form
ms of corpporate imag
ge are the external and the inteernal corpo
orate imagee
(Zinknaan, et al. 2001).
2
The corporate image is formed
f
by internal annd externall influence.
Whereaas the inteernal factorrs are direectly controollable, thee external factors aree indirectlyy
controlllable by thee organizatioon.
This model
m
of Zinnkhan et all. (2001) dooes not foccus on applicants explicitly. Appllicants may
y
interpreet informatiion differenntly than intternal or exxternal stakkeholders. N
Nevertheless, it can bee
used to understandd componen
nts of generral corporatte image. It shows thatt the public image of a
corporaation, e.g. heeld by singlle external individuals, can also bee consideredd as corporaate image.
haracteristics formingg an image
3.5. Ch
Much of
o the literaature on corrporate imaage is not clearly strucctured. Therrefore, in th
his part, thee
characteeristics of the
t concept ‘corporate image’ are covered too give an ovverview of the
t existing
g
literaturre. Attentioon will be given on the distincction betweeen corporaate image and related
d
conceptts.
Figure 1 summarizzes the diffeerent perspeectives takenn by researcchers. The following
f
models
m
show
w
a indicationn why the corporate im
mage conceppt is so comp
plex.
no interrrelationshipp but give an
fa
actors in the co
ompany
factors in the envio
ornment
faactors in the applicant
corporate identity
work contracct c
corporate repu
utation
social settingg rational
emotionaal
corporate cullture
size
corporate image
Figure 1: Factors fforming thee corporate image
•
factors in tthe applicaant
Corporaate image caan be the reesult of ratioonal plus thee emotionall attributes. Rational atttributes can
n
be baseed on real experiencee with the company and/or acttual knowleedge of th
he company
y
(Bernstein 1986). (Lievens and
a Highhouse 2003). Lievens and
a Highhoouse (2003)) called thee
10
0
factors like payment, advancement, flex-time arrangement or location instrumental concepts. The
latter can influence the perception of the job and the organization (Lievens and Highhouse 2003).
They are characterized by Lievens and Highhouse (2003) as tangible. The instrumental variables
can also be seen as rational attributes as it is the actual knowledge of a company. Emotional
attributes can take the form of feelings, beliefs and impressions of individuals (Bernstein 1986).
On the emotional basis, individuals use the corporate image as substitute for real knowledge of
the company and it depends on the sources each individual uses (Dowling, 1986). Atevson points
out that most of the time applicants have no accurate picture of the company especially when low
information of the company is available or in times when no attention is paid to seeking
information (Atevson 1990). c called factors similar to personality characteristics of humans
symbolic factors. Symbolic factors are intangible and subjective.
They are essential for
distinguishing one company from another. Also these attributes form the perception of the
company and relate to the factors in the applicant that form the corporate image. The difference
between rational and emotional attributes is that emotional attributes can make a company
distinguish itself from others in the industry more easily. It can be concluded from the definition
of Gray & Balmer (1998) that the perception of the company can only be influenced by the
organization to a limited extent.
•
Factors in the target company
Another type of attribute relates to the factors in the target company. While some factors are
taniable, e.g. level of centralization, payment and size of the organization (Lievens and
Highhouse 2003), others are intangible as the culture and the values (Rynes and Barber 1990).
They can be used to communicate to the applicants. In that sense corporations try to influence
corporate image by tools of communication (Bernstein 1986). Companies usually try to create a
more positive picture rather than a negative picture of the organization (Atevson 1990) .
Therefore, the corporate image the corporation wants to communicate might rather be different
from an applicants’ perspective (Dowling 1986). This view contradicts the before mentioned
view that that only factors within the applicant actually create image.
11
•
factors in the environment
A third type of attribute relate to the work environment such as work contract, social
environment, ethical environment. To sum up, the three attributes are attributes in the perceiver,
the attributes in the object and the attributes in the environment. They form the perception of the
organization or the corporate image. As stated earlier (see definition), the perception of the
company by the applicant is the corporate image.
Other studies also point out the social environment forming the corporate image e.g. the presence
of minorities, gender management, the political environment or the ethical environment etc.
(Atevson 1990). Atevsons’ study concludes that the corporate image perceived by people depend
on that the societal environment e.g. the amount of influence from mass media, industrial
development, collectivistic cultures (Atevson 1990).
Finally, the symbolic and instrumental concepts, used the study of organization Lievens and
Highhouse (2003), can be distinguished. They emphasize that the symbolic factors are
incremental to instrumental attributes of the organization. If the instrumental attributes do not
make one company distinguish from another it is not clear what the lack of them would imply.
Both instrumental and symbolic factors create attraction to the organization. Somehow it is
recommended by Lievens and Highhouse (2003) that companies better focus on the promotion of
symbolic attributes rather than instrumental concepts. Therefore, symbolic factors are rather
competitive factors where better performance lead to a higher likelihood of being attractive to
applicants.
3.6. Perceived corporate image
Next, it will be explained why the image can vary by each person. There can be three factors are
the elements that create the corporate image. The 3 factors are established by different papers.
The figure 2 gives no indication that the 3 factors are related. Therefore, it cannot be assessed if
the 3 factors influence each other. But, it may be that they may influence each other since, all
three factors are experienced by the same person it is assumed.
12
feeelings, beliefs, im
mpressions
percieved behavior and actions of the foccal company
image
reaso
on to evaluate a situation
Figure 2: Creationn of corporaate image
First, feelings,
f
beeliefs and impression
ns are useed (Bernsteein 1986). On a gen
neral level,
organizzational imaage is aboutt how indiv
viduals perccieve certain
n factors. T
These factorrs can causee
attentio
on to the company orr it can creeate feeling
gs towards the compaany (Dowliing, 1986)..
Dowlin
ng (1986) ex
xplains that people use corporate im
s
whhen they hav
ve no directt
mage as a subsitute
experien
nce with th
he company
y. Several types
t
of communicatio
on of the ccompany e.g
g. company
y
advertissing, press releases or web sites can generatte impressio
ons of the organization. Both thee
commu
uncation of the
t compan
ny and also individual
i
e
emotional
attributes of image (as described
d
in
n
secrtion
n 2.5) can fo
form the feeelings, belieefs and imprressions of the companny. They caan generally
y
be the result
r
of ex
xperience with
w second
d-hand sourcces, coincid
dental inforrmation and
d infrequentt
informaation (Atevvson 1990). Also they
y include only part of the infoormation we
w perceivee
(Atevso
on 1990).
Secondly, perceiveed behaviorr and action
ns of the foccal compan
ny are used to create th
he corporatee
(
et al. 2001). These relaate more to direct expeerience withh the compaany in somee
image (Zinknan,
form. An
A examplees is the frrontline em
mployee behhavior (Zink
knan, et al.. 2001) ano
other is thee
behavio
or of recruitters (Connerrly and Ryn
nes 1997).. Direct
D
contaacts are morre importan
nt than masss
media information
i
n in forming
g opinions about the organization (Atevsonn 1990). It is not clearr
from litterature if tthis could imply that the corporaate image based
b
on perceived beehavior and
d
actions might closse the gap between ex
xpectation and reality better thann the corpo
orate imagee
based on
o impressioons. When having direect contact with
w the org
ganization, the organizzation it can
n
have an
n influence on the percceived imag
ge. Then thee perceived
d image based on corpo
orate action
n
may no
ot be the reeal image. And here the problem
m occurs. It
I is difficuult to summ
marize from
m
literaturre what is meant
m
by reaal corporatee image.
13
3
Thirdly, the reason is used for evaluating a situation. At least in the service sector it has been
found that more experience and knowledge diminishes the importance of corporate image
(Atevson 1990). So the illustrated in the figure above may not hold. The reason may get relevant
in internal recruitment. But, this point is not part of the thesis.
In conclusion, the literature gives three types of explanations. All three of them can be used to
explain the creation of image within an individual. All three types can be used by an individual
to form the image of an organization. The difficulty of course is that no real interrelationships
between the 3 forms of image exist. Somehow it can be used to explain the variety of existing
literature and different perspectives on corporate image even when considering the individual
perspective.
Due to the three factors the perception of the company may be subjective. The perception may be
different from how the organization perceives itself to be or who the organization really is.
Furthermore, it is not possible to estimate if other factors are relevant to create the image of a
company with a literature study alone. To conclude, further research in the areas mentioned is
needed for further clarification of the factors forming the corporate image for an individual. They
also can be used to explain the following two assumptions about corporate image. The image the
individual has is believed to change over time (Gray & Balmer, 1998). But, it is also assumed
that corporate image is the current picture of the company (Gray & Balmer, 1998).
3.7. Conclusion
The corporate image varies by every person. On the one hand, it can be created by various
influencing factors and the strength of each factor varies by each person. On the other hand, the
concept may be unclear, inconsistent, and/or temporarily inconsistent. Upon the same thought,
there is no single image of the company held in the public. This makes it difficult to have a direct
influence by managers. The concept can vary dependent on time or person. This characteristic
14
makes it difficult for corporations to control their corporate image of the company. The concept
is thus challenging to academics as well as managers.
If different images exist it is not clear which images can be accepted by the company. Also it is
not clear if the company likes the applicants to have different views or if they attempt to reduce
the variety of corporate image by communication and thereby try to reduce ambiguity. So the
goal of corporate communication can go further than just trying to create a corporate image
especially when corporate images have long been established in public. Also it is not clear why
corporation would desire to be linked to more positive rather than a negative corporate image
attributes in general. Especially the type of job should be considered to conclude about the
corporate image e.g. if applicants are actually qualified of the job. Also the terms positive and
negative image are ambiguous since it is not clear to according to whom e.g. the different
applicant or the company.
By the variety of perspective on corporate image it also not clear
what papers mean when taking about the true corporate image.
The three factors related to the corporate image of a company are factors in the perceiver, the
factors in the object and the factors in the environment. These factors needed to be mentioned to
understand the differences in perception of organization by an individual. In model situations
image should be a predictor for the future behaviour of applicants. But, the measurement of
corporate image can be difficult for an aggregate amount of people, e.g. when applicant differ in
their characteristics. Research needs to show whether this assumption holds.
15
Chapter 4. The relationship between Corporate Image and Recruitment
4.1. Introduction
In this chapter the concepts used in Chapter 2 and 3 will be combined.
The recruitment success of organizations can be defined as application decision and acceptance
of the job. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) explains how the application decision of an
individual is made. This background information helps to understand the link between corporate
image and recruitment success.
The ELM explains that in the early stages of recruitment peripheral cues dominate over central
processing (Larsen and Philips 2002). The stated assumption is not true for applicants with high
ability and motivation (Larsen & Philips, 2002). High involvement practices can include detailed
information on the job and are can attract applicants with prior knowledge of the company
(Collins and Han 2004). Low involvement practices have information on the employer and they
can create awareness for the potential employer (Collins & Han, 2004). Company websites
provide initial job information on the attributes of organizations, information on job openings,
and submit employment applications (Williamson, Lepak, & King, 2003 ). It means website are
low involvement practices to attract qualified applicants. Corporate image may be used for a
high involvement strategy since familiarity is given. It implies that a certain level of involvement
is needed to create a corporate image and with it to attract applicants. Cable & Turban ( 2001)
use brand image in a similar way to explain job choice decisions. Brand image can be seen as
part of corporate image. Both studies imply that corporate image and the recruitment sucess is
related to high involvement practices but not to low involvement decisions.
The remaining section will try to connect the concepts of corporate image and recruitment. The
models of recruitment introduced in chapter 2 will be used here. Also the following section will
refer to the process of recruitment (see chapter 2).
16
4.2. Efffect of corp
porate imagge on recru
uitment succcess
In orderr to explain the effect of
o corporatee image on recruitment
r
t success thee concepts of
o corporatee
image, self selection and P-O
O fit concep
pts are com
mbined. The concept off self selecttion will bee
distingu
uished by thhe term ex ante
a and ex post
p self sellection.
indirect communication
c
with thee organization
co
orporate image
self selecttion
ex an
nte recrruitment sucess
Percieeved P-O-fit
Figure 3: ex ante self
s selectionn, person-organizationn fit and corp
rporate imagge
Figure 3: ex ante self
s selectionn, person-organizationn fit and corp
rporate imagge
•
First: attraactiveness to
t an organ
nization
Ex–antee self selecction happeens through
h indirect communica
c
ation with tthe organizzation. It iss
related to the indiividual firstt impression
n as they w
were mentio
oned in chaapter 3. Otther studiess
relate corporate im
mage and thee organzatio
onal fit percceptions witth the intenttion to applly (Horvath,
Ryan an
nd Kriska 22005, Chap
pman, et al. 2005). Thee study of Cable
C
& Ju
udge (1996)) has shown
n
that thee subjectivee peception of person-o
organizationnal fit influ
uences the aattractiveneess to apply
y
for a co
ompany. Gaatewood, Gowan
G
and Lautenschla
L
ager (1993) explain thaat the comp
pany image,
i.e. meaasured by reesponses to the compan
ny name, leeads to the decision
d
to apply for th
he job. Thuss,
the corp
porate imagge leads to ex-ante
e
selff selection when
w
the app
plicant percceives a fit between
b
hiss
person and the org
ganization... In this staage self sellecting out of the appllication was related to
o
ges (Kriska, et al. 20000).
more neegative orgaanizational image than in later stag
The mo
odel assumees that theree is a fit beetween the person’s ch
haracteristiccs and the individual’s
i
s
characteeristics (Heerriot 2002)). It also assumes
a
a supplementa
s
ary fit as eexplained in
n chapter 2
(Herriott 2002). Th
heir study co
ould validatte the suppllementary fit
f and meassured percep
ptions of fitt
17
7
before the interv
view with a company
y (Judge and
a
Cable 1996).Thuus, perciev
ved person-organizzational fit ccan be based
d on supplem
mentary fit..
•
Second: job pursuit decision
d
direct com
mmunication withh the organizationn
self sselection
recru
uitment sucess
expost
Percieved
P-O-fit
•
rporate imagge
Figure 4: ex post sself selectionn, person-orrganizationn fit and corp
The job
b pursuit deccision can be
b related to
o the direct communicaation with thhe company
y (Chapman
n,
Uggersllev, Caroll, Piasentin, & Jones, 20
005). Ex-po
ost self selection is estaablished thrrough directt
commu
unication wiith the orgaanization, e..g. job interrview Furth
hermore it can
c be conccluded from
m
the latteer study that the job pursuit
p
deccision requirres from th
he applicantt to apply for the job.
Corporaate image annd person organization
o
n fit are relaated to the intention to apply but not
n to actuall
applicattion (Horvaath, Ryan, & Kriska, 20
005). They somehow found
f
that person-orga
p
anization fit,
includin
ng person-job fit was related to corporate image but did not tesst the direcction of thee
relation
n (Horvath, Ryan, & Kriska, 2005). Somehhow the stu
udy did noot distinguish between
n
person-j
-job and peerson-organ
nization fit.. This cou
uld be the reason w
why the ressults to thee
previou
usly mentionned researcch do not match
m
with Chapman, Uggerslev,, Caroll, Piasentin and
d
Jones (2
2005) who found that organizatio
onal image and job purrsuit decisioons were reelated. They
y
also staate that with
h time morre informatiion will be available to
o the appliccant which makes him
m
access the
t fit. Alsoo, the study of Kriska, McFarland,
M
Ryan,and Sacco
S
(20000) states thaat applicantss
self seleect out of th
he process when
w
expecctations of fit
f regarding
g the job annd organizaation are nott
met.
18
8
•
Third: job choice decision
Also, the job choice decision can be related to the direct communication with the organization
(Chapman, Uggerslev, Caroll, Piasentin, & Jones, 2005). Cable and Judge (1996) show that the
applicants self select themselves into or out of the organization based on the person-organization
fit rather than the person-job fit perceptions. The person-job fit is created before the interview
and might be less relevant thereafter (Cable & Judge, 1996). Also it can be concluded from
Cable and Judge (1996) that the actual job choice decisions can be predicted from the job choice
intentions and that subjective person - orgnization fit are related to corporate image perceptions .
Another study shows that the percieved fit to the job and the organization can be used for
predicting the job choice decison (Chapman, Uggerslev, Caroll, Piasentin, & Jones, 2005). In
this last stage it seems that applicants judge corporate image differently than in earlier stages.
The information throughout the recruitment process may let them evaluate the corporate image
on a more rational basis.. It seems that the job rejection decision in later stages is based on
corporate image factors of the organization like corporate culture, size or industry (Boswell,
Roehling, LePine, & Moynihan, 2003). On the other hand the rational information forming the
corprate imagein later stages by company visits, meeting with company representatives and in
genral the frequent contact with the company have been found to have the most impact on the
job choice decision (Boswell, Roehling, LePine, & Moynihan, 2003). It seems that the direct
experience with the company may make them evaluate if the intial perception of person
organization fit were accurate The study also indicates that the corporate image formed is based
on the percieved company’s behavior as an employer (Boswell, Roehling, LePine, & Moynihan,
2003). Thus the corporate image in the initial stage is more based on impressions wheras the
later stages close to job choice seem to be related to the actual behavior percieved by the
applicant. Further research can examine if this form of corporate image can be related to job
choice decsion since currently no direct reletionship between corporate image and job choice
decision has been established in literature.
19
4.3. Conclusion
Indirect comm
munication
direct com
mmunication
with the organiization
with the organization
self seleection
corporate image
reccruitment sucesss
ex ante I expost
Percievved P-O-fit
Percievedd P-O-fit
Figure 5: self selecction, persoon-organization fit and corporate image
i
It can be
b concludeed that the person-orga
p
anization fitt can be relaated to the recruitmentt success off
an orgaanization wh
hen the expeectations off applicants are met. Th
he expectation on the other hand iss
based on
o the corporate imagee which had been creaated throug
gh intentionnally or unin
ntentionally
y
seeking
g informatioon. When ex
xpectations are met thee self selecttion occurs as Holland’’s study hass
shown. The researrchers preseented in this research show that with moree informatio
on provided
d
h the increassing contactt with the co
ompany an lead to chan
nges in the initial corporate imagee
through
perceived.
more PO models
m
can be
b used to explain thee expectations an appliicant can haave towardss
Furtherm
an orgaanization.
Conceptts Exxplanation Ex ante self selection
n PO
O fit concepts caan be re
elated to motivatio
on to apply;
Co
orporate image is based o
on feelings, b
beliefs and im
mpressions Ex post self selectio
on and PO
O fit can be related to the accuracyy of image beliefs (Cable & Judge, 1996 recruitm
ment success (Bo
oswell, et al.. 2003)); Co
orporate imaage is based
d on perceiived behavio
or and actio
ons of the focal company Table 3:
3 Concepts and explannation
20
0
In later stages the actual behaviour of the organization is the base for corporate image. Managers
can best decide which forms of contact have generated the most job choice decision in certain
time period e.g. month, year etc. Also, the success of the initial stage of recruitment could be
accessed with the collaboration of department as marketing and human resources. Together they
could evaluate how good the recruitment success of several recruitment methods was by asking
the applicants in the initial stage. The information in recruitment interviews can be collected and
be later used to improve the influence on corporate image in initial and later stages of
recruitment. The initial information collection could be used to collect information both on
reasons for attraction to the company, application for the company as well as the opposite e.g. on
websites. The long term success of the integration of more information can thus be accessed.
21
Chapter 5. Limitations of the Literature Study
This literature study concentrates on the individual side of recruitment. Psychological aspects are
not covered to the extent as psychological study programs would do since the literature review is
taken within a business study program. Within these person-organization and self selection are
considered. The discussion about the realistic job preview is left out since it is not directly
related to corporate image. Also the characteristics of the applicants is not treated in the thesis
e.g. the quality of individuals that apply for assessed in not considered as not many papers exist
that compare different quality levels of applicants. What is not considered is the long term
recruitment success. It means everything what happens after the job is accepted f.ex. do
applicants with a more positive corporate image or a realistic corporate image have a lower
intention to quit in the long run, or does a positive corporate image increase job satisfaction.
Most of the aspect mentioned before were not included as the thesis intended to be clear on the
introduced subjects. If the author had more pages available the amount of aspects discussed
would have been extended. For this thesis it was about introducing the core aspects of the
concepts. Therefore also, Other theories related to the individual side e.g. expectancy theory,
attributes theory etc. are not considered.
22
Chapter 6. Conclusion and Recommendation
6.1. Conclusion
The research tried to start to introduce the concepts of recruitment and image on a general level
before going deeper. Some concepts were discussed in an elaborative manner as the corporate
image and its link with recruitment lacked clarity and structure in the existing literature. The
research questions put at the beginning of the research were:
1. Which perspectives on recruitment exist in literature?
2. Which points of view on corporate image exist in literature?
3. What are previously found effects of corporate image on recruitment in literature?
The research questions were used to answer the main question. The problem statement is:
What is the relationship between corporate image and recruitment?
Now, it is tried to answer this problem statement .But, it is difficult to give a single conclusion
that answers the problem statement based on the literature study alone. The conclusions need to
be tested for validity in following researches. They conclusions should thus serve as a basis for
further research and not be understood as one and only truth.
The literature review reveals that the answer to the problem statement depends on which
recruitment stage the focus lies on. In earlier stages of the recruitment applicants are recruiting
themselves into organizations based on the corporate image of the organization. Corporate image
in this stage is not based on real knowledge of the organization. The applicant in this stage may
even not be able to tell why he has a specific corporate image of the organization. Much of the
influences on the corporate image are unconscious. He recruits himself to the organization as he
assumes to fit to the organization. The perceived fit is probably based on the opportunity he sees
that his goal towards work and the organization can be fulfilled by his employee. Otherwise it
would be unreasonable that he self selects into the organization. In later stages of recruitment the
answer to the problem statement is not clearly established since the meaning of corporate image
for the applicant changes. The corporate image is based on the increasing experience with the
23
organization. The corporate image lets the applicant self select into the organization if he thinks
he can imagine to work with the employer in the future. In these stages the perception of the
organization as an employer serves various opportunities for the organization to influence the
corporate image. In earlier stages it could be a problem for the organization to have a direct
influence on the corporate image. This lets conclude that the corporate image can change over
time. And this change could work in favour for the organization. By self selection they maybe
able to get employees that fit the organizational goals towards an employee.
6.2. Discussion
Most studies used in this thesis relate to studies are conducted from a western point of view. The
research papers used in this thesis were set in an Western or American setting.Therefore it
remains open if the proposed relationship holds in other cultures as well.
Furthermore, the study did not measure corporate image in the same way. This makes it difficult
to compare the results of different studies. The qualifications of applicants in the studies were
also different. As an example, it has not been researched if lower qualified applicants perceive
corporate image differently than higher qualified.
In some papers the term corporate image were not distinguished from related terms as corporate
identity or corporate reputation. Most of these papers were left out because of conceptual lack of
clarity. In the papers, that were considered, the corporate image was related to different
recruitment stages. Hence, there are different forms to create corporate image (see Chapter 3).
Regarding the same point, the debate in literature about the ability of corporations to influence
corporate image has been discussed in the conclusion above. The answer has been that
depending on the recruitment stage corporations can have more or less influence.
6.3. Managerial and academic recommendations
In the academic field longitudinal studies would be advisable. They should include the whole
recruitment process for individuals. Longitudinal studies have several benefits compared to
24
shorter period studies as cross sectional studies. First, they could explain which factors are most
important for applicants throughout each stage of the recruitment process. Second, these studies
could also explain if there are significant differences in groups e.g. in terms of experience, age,
gender, sex of applicants. Furthermore, most studies did not explain the difference in concepts
that are related to the time, type of organization or the environment of the company. The reason
could be that it has not been realized. Maybe the overview of this literature review can help.
In the academic field researchers could use collaboration based on preset agreements as done in
business. Agreements can include the definition and measurement of concepts. Furthermore, they
could agree on the research methods and have a common research plan. The research could then
be divided and be executed from the individual research teams. Maybe, the collaboration can
help to understand the relationship between corporate image and recruitment better. It could then
be possible to integrate multiple perspectives ranging from individual, organizational, or group
perspectives on recruitment.
More specific suggestion for further research is the following. First, it could be researched if
image is created in the same way in different cultures. This would allow to estimate whether the
national culture has influenced the research results. Secondly, it would be interesting to see
which influencing factors on corporate image have are consistent over time in general as well as
for individuals or similar groups. As an example, topics as corporate social responsibility or flex
work seem to be more relevant in the creation of corporate image today than in earlier years.
The managerial recommendation will describe what managers should do in general. A particular
solution for every single company is difficult to make. Somehow the literature review can be
used to develop ideas about the improvement of recruitment strategies.
Long term recruitment strategy and desired corporate image should be determined first. Then, a
plan for the implementation of the strategy should be developed e.g. which research questions
and sub questins should be answered in the internal research. Thereafter, the company’s
recruitment mangers should be trained to conducts job interviews and to prepare questions for all
25
meetings with the applicant. The manager could find out for the company why the applicant has
developed a specific corporate image. Additionally, the information can be used for the
improvement of the recruitment strategy.
Another recommendation is to collect information in earlier stages of recruitment f.ex. on the
website of the company. Hereby, the company would know not only why people choose to apply
but also why not. The tests should test if potential applicants have similar goals towards the
organization as an employer and job. This procedure can reduce the number of people applying
for the job if they see early on that they do not fit the organization.
People are a competitive factor as human resources are difficult to imitate by competitors.
Employees may quit if they realize they are not fit for the organization after years. Or, employees
leave after realizing their own goals. Quitting can become a problem for the organization.
Organizations can try to prevent quitting early on by accessing if applicants have a correct
corporate image and similar goals as the organization.
As a final word, the goal of this literature review and both recommendations is to develop
(research) questions that go further than this literature review to increase konwlege about the
problem statement of this literature review.
26
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